Why is everyone so gung-ho on avoiding intra-conference matchups?
Well, this is a matter of opinion, and not everyone agrees on the degree in which the committee should go to avoid these matchups. But we can explain the reasoning. Since there are just four major conferences in college hockey and only 16 teams in the tournament, the likelihood of seeing first-round matchups similar to regular-season or conference tournament games is very high. The tournament should be a time for different teams to play each other. In the case of second-round matchups, the committee weights advantages and drawbacks before moving teams around. For example, if two teams did not meet in their conference tournament, the committee may be more likely to allow a second-round matchup of teams from the same conference. Or perhaps the committee is concerned about attendance, a very real issue. Or, for another example, two teams may have played recently, but split the season series, in which case seeing them play again might be a plus. It appears, however, that since the advent o
