October 19, 2016
New Playoff Format Adopted
ECRHA ACC Passes Vote
During the 19th Annual Columbus Day Event earlier this month, the ECRHA Active Club Committee voted nearly unanimously to change the playoff format for the 2016-2017 ECRHA Championships.
New for this season, Divisions 1, 2 & 3 will determine the ECRHA Champions by playing a double-elimination tournament, with a single championship game.
The Championship for Division 1 will be played on Saturday night, the time still to be determined, for the first time in league history.
With ten teams in both Division 1 & 2, only 6 teams will qualify for postseason play, a reduction of two teams from last years field of eight.
The goal for the new format was to increase the importance of regular season play and eliminate the need for tiebreakers and shootouts at the league tournament in March.
The new format was passed by the Division 1 teams by a margin of 8-2, while Division 2 saw a unanimous vote of 7-0 with three clubs not voting. Division 3 adopted the format by a 6-0 vote.
Division 4, primarily due to the lack of a national tournament voted to adopt an 8-team round robin tournament.
The block schedule for the 2016-2017 ECRHA Championships will be announced early next month.