The Big Ten Hockey Conference

As of 2/8/2024

Tournament Seeding/Tie Breakers
Seeding for the Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament shall be determined by points accumulated in conference games. A team shall receive three points for a win in regulation, two points for a win in overtime or a shootout, and one point for a loss in overtime or a shootout. When two teams are tied, ties shall be broken according to the following procedure.

NOTE: In the event of an unbalanced schedule due to the cancellation of games, the conference champion and seeding for the Big Ten Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament shall be determined by regular-season points percentage in all Big Ten games, with ties broken according to the following procedure.

1. Seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by the team with the best regular-season points percentage against the other tied team(s);
2. If not determined by (a), seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by the greater number of Big Ten regular-season regulation wins;
3. If not determined by (a) or (b), seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by the team with the fewest number of Big Ten regular season regulation losses;
4. If not determined by (a) or (b) or (c), seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by comparison of the points percentages of the tied team(s) against the remaining highest ranked Big Ten teams in conference games, successively, until the determination is accomplished or all Big Ten regular-season contests have been considered;
5. If not determined by (a) or (b) or (c) or (d), seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by comparison of total goals for and against each team in contests between (among) tied team(s) in conference games. For sake of clarity, a team’s goals-against shall be subtracted from its goals-for, in order to compare;
6. If not determined by (a) or (b) or (c) or (d) or (e), seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by the flip of a coin. 

When three or more teams are tied, ties shall be broken according to the following procedure:

1. Seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by the greater number of Big Ten regular-season regulation wins;
2. If not determined by (a), seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by the team with the best regular-season points percentage against the other tied teams;
3. If not determined by (a) or (b), seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by the team with the fewest number of Big Ten regular season regulation losses;
4. If not determined by (a) or (b) or (c), seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by comparison of the points percentages of the tied team(s) against the remaining highest ranked Big Ten teams in conference games, successively, until the determination is accomplished or all Big Ten regular-season contests have been considered;
5. If not determined by (a) or (b) or (c) or (d), seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by comparison of total goals for and against each team in contests between (among) tied team(s) in conference games. For sake of clarity, a team’s goals-against shall be subtracted from its goals-for, in order to compare;
6. If not determined by (a) or (b) or (c) or (d) or (e), seeding amongst tied teams shall be determined by the flip of a coin.

In the case of ties among three or more schools, the criteria will be used in order until a team, or teams, is separated from the pack. At that point, the process will begin anew to break the “new” tie. In other words, when a four-way tie becomes a three-way tie, the three-way tie is treated as a “new” tie and the process begins with the first tie-breaking criterion.

Note: Shootout wins shall not count as regular-season wins for the purpose of breaking ties in the standings for tournament seeding.  Games that go to shootout will be considered a tie game and treated as such in calculating winning percentages.