Brahmas guaranteed a post-season berth?

CHL announces 2010-11 playoff format

Well, the season hasn't even begun and the Texas Brahmas, like 16 of 18 teams, are virtually assured a spot in the 2011 post-season. Yeah, that's right, 88.8 percent of its teams will advance to the postseason. Where else does this happen?

Basically, the playoff "races" are gone - instead, 18 teams will play to avoid being the worst in the league. So what's next - those two bottom feeders (one from each conference) are voted out of the league? Or maybe they participate in a special playoff to see who is absolutely the worse?

Komets president Michael Franke, offered this enlightening explanation to the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette's Ben Smith:

“The thought process is the way the economy is going right now, it probably would make sense if all the teams coming into those last six weeks of the season had an opportunity to make the playoffs,” Franke said. “There are so many other things people can do right now, and if teams are way out of it in late January, are they gonna continue to come to the games? Number two, we looked at it from the perspective that we believe the league is going to grow the next two or three years, and be more than 18 teams. So why not institute a 16-team format now, rather than switch it around every year?”

Genius.

On Tuesday, the CHL announced that the 18 member teams will be divided into two conferences of nine teams. The North will be comprised of Bloomington, Colorado, Dayton, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Missouri, Quad City, Rapid City and Wichita and the South will consist of Allen, Arizona, Bossier-Shreveport, Laredo, Mississippi, Odessa, Rio Grande Valley, Texas and Tulsa.

The post-season format will be as follows:

- A total of sixteen (16) of eighteen (18) teams will qualify for the post-season, consisting of eight (8) clubs from each conference. Both conference winners will be seeded 1st in their conference heading into the playoffs based on point totals. The next seven (7) highest teams in each conference’s regular season standings based on point totals will be seeded 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th in each conference and will also qualify for post-season play.

- The playoffs will consist of four (4) rounds. (Conference Quarterfinals – Best-of-5, Conference Semifinals – Best-of-5, Conference Finals – Best-of-7, CHL Championship Finals – Best-of-7).

- The brackets for the post-season will remain constant with no re-seeding taking place during the competition.

- The second round (Conference Semifinals) will consist of the victorious four (4) teams from each Conference’s Quarterfinals series’.

- The third round (Conference Finals) will consist of the victorious two (2) teams remaining from each conference, with Conference Semifinal seeding remaining in effect to determine home ice advantage.

- The fourth round (Championship Finals) will consist of the victorious two (2) teams remaining, one from each conference. Home ice advantage in the Finals will be awarded to the club with the higher regular season point total, regardless of any earlier playoff seeding.

Should two (2) or more teams be tied in points for any seeding issue throughout the playoffs, the following tiebreakers will be used: Most wins, then head-to-head record, then goals for and against differential.

In other news, the CHL’s regular season will consist of 66 games, running from Friday, October 15 through Sunday, March 27 with the post-season starting the week of March 28th. That's two more for the CHL teams and 10 less for "former" IHL teams (compared to last season).

The regular season schedule is expected to be released tomorrow.

Photo Credit: Robert Keith