The MIAA seedings were completed Saturday and Westfield was handed the #3 seed.  They’ll face off against the #2 seed Minnechaug Falcons Thursday 2/28 at 8pm at the Olympia.  Meanwhile #1 seed Longmeadow will take on #4 seed East Longmeadow in the other semi-final.

Westfield's regular season ended with a tough loss to Berry Division Champion Longmeadow last Friday.  The loss was the 7th of the season for the Bombers, who played a very challenging out of conference schedule this season.  There were rumbles when the seedings came out putting the Bombers 3^rd.  Westfield was ahead of Minnechaug in every calculated ratings method performed (RPI, KRACH, Simple, and Walker).  It’s evident that strength of schedule plays very little in the seedings particularly to WMass and in reality, where teams are seeded has very little bearing on things.  With the playoffs centralized, no matter where the Bombers are seeded, there's never the advantage of a home game.  And in this season's reality, Westfield played better on the road logging an 8-3-2 away from The Pahk and a 3-1-1 record at the Olympia.  Showing up as the underdog has traditionally been a good omen in Westfield hockey.    

The Bomber coaching/scheduling team has continually set up the schedule with games against strong programs knowing that when the Bombers make their playoff runs, they need to be able to compete with these teams if they have any chance for the State title.  They should be commended for that.  This recipe has been borrowed fellow Berry power Longmeadow this season and it’ll be interesting how it plays out.  The Lancers played 10 out of conference games finishing 4-5-1 in those. 

·        They went 2-1 against D1 teams (the loss was to Billerica, the only 1 who made the postseason)

·        They tied a very good D2 Lincoln-Sudbury squad who is ranked 3^rd in D2

·        They were 2-3 against D3 teams all of which are in the postseason

·        They lost to D3A Grafton/BVT very early in the season

·        8 of the 10 non-conference teams the Lancers played qualified for the post season

·        Longmeadow did host 6 of these games

As a point of comparison, here’s how the Minnechaug’s 10 non-conference schedule broke down:

·        0-1 vs D1 team; a loss to Newton-North who is 3-17 on the season

·        1-1 record against D3 teams

·        5-2 record against D3A teams

Clearly not the same level of competition faced for the Falcons to get to 11 wins. 

Next, here’s how the Bombers non-conference results looked:

·        In single D1 game, Westfield tied Shrewsbury

·        The Bombers were 1-1 against D2 teams splitting their games in the Cape Ann Savings Bank Tournament in Gloucester 

·        Westfield ended up 3-3 against D3 teams

·        They won their lone matchup against D3A power Grafton/BVT

·        Of note, Westfield played 8 of 10 of these games on the road

With all of that, the situation remains the same.  A tough 1^st round matchup against a physical team in Minnechaug who gave the Bombers all they could handle this season.  The Falcons manhandled the Bombers early in January in a 6-1 drubbing at Amelia.  Westfield carried the play in the rematch at the Olympia but the Falcons capitalized on a couple of mistakes to scrape out a 2-2 tie.  Over a month has passed since then. 

The Bombers have settled on a lineup that should give them the edge from a depth and experience perspective.  The forwards will need to be more accurate with their passing and better receiving passes.  They’ll also have to do a better job sustaining pressure on the forecheck.

Their defense has been solid with much fewer turnovers in their own end, but this needs to continue to improve. 

The goaltending has been terrific all season for the most part, especially on the road.  That will need to continue for this underdog to prevail.