Robertson Cup playoffs FAQ
March 27, 2014
The Robertson Cup is awarded to the national playoff champion of the NAHL. The oldest junior hockey trophy in the United States, the Robertson Cup is named in honor of Chuck Robertson, a pioneer of junior hockey in the NAHL and youth hockey in the state of Michigan. Chuck Robertson was the owner of the Paddock Pools Saints when they won a record seven straight NAHL championships from 1976-83.
So how do teams qualify? Clubs are seeded within the four divisions based upon their finish in the NAHL regular-season standings. If necessary, the tie-breaking policy adopted in the NAHL Rules and Regulations will be applied to determine the final order of finish.
TIE-BREAKING POLICY
At the conclusion of the NAHL regular season, Clubs that have an equal amount of points shall have their final position in the NAHL standings determined by applying the following tie breaking procedures:
A. Most wins during the regular season.
B. Head to head competition during the regular season.
C. Goal differential in head to head competition during the regular season.
D. Total goal differential during the regular season.
E. Coin flip.
Round 1: Division Semifinals (Best of 5)
The Club seeded first in each division will compete in a best-of-five series with the fourth seeded Club in the same division. The Club seeded second in each division will compete in a best-of-five-series against the Club seeded third in the same division.
The Division Semi-Finals may begin no earlier than Thursday, April 3, 2014 and must conclude no later than Monday, April 14, 2014.
Clubs shall cooperate to schedule division semifinal series competition. The Club seeded higher in each division semifinal series has the right to host up to three games in Round 1, and the Club seeded lower in each division semifinal series must be able to host at least two games.
The first Club to win three games in a division semifinal series will be declared the winner of the series and advance to the next round of playoff competition. The first Club to lose three games in a division semifinal series shall be eliminated from further playoff competition.
Round 2: Division Finals (Best of 5)
The two Clubs in each division that won a division semifinal series shall compete in a best-of-five series against each other.
Round 2 of the Division Finals may begin no earlier than Thursday, April 17, 2014 and conclude no later than Sunday, April 27, 2014.
Clubs shall cooperate to schedule division final series competition. The higher seeded Club will have the right to host up to three games. The lower seeded Club must be able to host a minimum of two games.
The first Club to win three games in a division final series will be declared the winner of the series and advance to the Robertson Cup Semi-Final round. The first Club to lose three games in a division final series will be eliminated from further playoff competition.
Round 3: Robertson Cup Semi-Finals (Best of 3)
The four remaining teams shall be seeded 1-4 based upon their finish in the NAHL regular-season standings. If necessary, the tie-breaking policy adopted in the NAHL Rules and Regulations will be applied to determine the final order of finish. The Club seeded first will compete in a best-of-three series with the fourth seeded Club. The Club seeded second will compete in a best-of-three-series against the Club seeded third.
The Robertson Cup Semi-Finals may begin no earlier than Thursday, May 1, 2014 and must conclude no later than Sunday, May 4, 2014.
The higher seeded team will host all three games. The first club to win two games in the Robertson Cup Semi-Final series will be declared the winner and advance to the Robertson Cup Finals. The first club to lose two games in the Robertson Cup Semi-Final series will be eliminated from further playoff competition.
Round 4: Robertson Cup Finals (Best of 3)
The two winners of the Robertson Cup Semi-Final series will advance to the Robertson Cup Finals and will be seeded #1 or #2 based upon their finish in the NAHL regular-season standings. If necessary, the tie-breaking policy adopted in the NAHL Rules and Regulations will be applied to determine the final order of finish.
The Robertson Cup Finals may begin no earlier than Thursday, May 8, 2014 and must conclude no later than Sunday, May 11, 2014.
The higher seeded team will host all three games.
