AT&T Metroplex HS Hockey League Playoff Races

The AT&T Metroplex HS Hockey League Regular Season will be wrapping up the regular season tonight with still plenty to play for throughout the League. The Silver Tier South Division Title between Midlothian & Keller ISD should be one of the most exciting races as Keller ISD holds their fate in their hands while Midlothian has a chance to take over thanks to a tie-breaker.

During the 2 head-to-head matchups this season, Midlothian took over both the games late as back in October, Midlothian was able to off a 3rd period Keller ISD Surge when Brent Jones scored in the final minute after Keller ISD made it 3-2 with just under 3 minutes left. Back in Februrary when the Division Leaders met again, it was Joseph Dancy & Brent Jones teaming up to score at the beginning and near the end of the periods along with Daniel Deweerd to turn a 1-1 game into a 4-1 victory.

For Midlothian to win the South Division Title, they need a win over FM Marcus while Denton County needs to beat Keller ISD in regulation for the scenario to happen. Anything else and Keller ISD would clinch the South Division Title tonight.

It will be interesting to see how Denton County comes out tonight after seeing both GCISD & Mansfield ISD losing in regularization to keep their slim Playoff Hopes alive only to lose to Flower Mound in OT after coming back from 3-0 down late in the 2nd period to force OT, only to lose 4-3 where they were under 30 seconds from at least forcing a shootout.

Expect it to be all or nothing for Denton County as they would like to end the season on a high with no playoff hopes and looking to pull off a major upset to end the season, or it could be that they so devastated from last week's loss that they have nothing left for this week.

For the 4th & Final Playoff Spot in the South Division, Mansfield ISD holds the advantage as they play Southlake Carroll where a win or OT Loss would get them into the playoffs. GCISD has been falling in recent weeks as Grapevine/Colleyville has lost 4 of their last 5 games where after being in the South Division Playoff Picture for nearly the entire season has them now looking for Southlake Carroll looking to knockoff Mansfield ISD tonight as GCISD holds the Tie-Breaker as they have beaten Mansfield ISD both times they have played this season.

Back in October, both teams played in what was the highest scoring game of the season where a combined 24 goals were scored in that game where Blake Gober, Ryan Macho (4G), Trey McMillian (3G 2A) & Blake Gober (3G 1A) each had hat tricks for GCISD. Despite the loss, Mansfield ISD responded well where Spencer Erickson had an 8 Point Night (5G 3A) & Bryce Claxton had a 6 point night (2G 4A). One of the most dramitic parts of that game saw Claxton & Erickson team up on two goals in 23 seconds to get the game within one before Gober scored an unassisted goal in the final seconds to secure the 13-11 win in a game where they needed every goal scored that night.

Unfortuantley in recent weeks for GCISD, losses in 4 of their last 5 games have seen them lose 4th Place to Mansfield and now need Southlake Carroll's Help to beat Mansfield in Regulation. If they can do that, then a GCISD Regulation Win over Flower Mound would clinch the league's final playoff spot where the winner will play the North Division Champion Plano East Panthers in the Silver Tier Quarterfinals next week.

Elsewhere in the league will have a battle for the 2nd of the Gold Tier QF Round Byes as Plano West will not only look to finally fight off Dallas Jesuit who sits in 3rd but are still in position to overtake Arlington ISD for the #1 Seed in the Gold Tier Playoffs. AISD can put any fears of being taken over to bed with a win over last place Coppell tonight, if Plano West can win and Arlington ISD losses, then the Wolves will take over the #1 Spot.

The Wolves also have a tie-breaker as well after beating Arlington ISD three-out-of-four games this season where the Wolves need a victory and have Arlington ISD lose to Coppell in Overtime tonight where both teams would finish the regular season with 29 points during the regular season.

For Highland Park, Prosper & McKinney ISD, it's a battle for seeding as three teams are separated by just a point to determine 2-4 in the North Division. Unfortunately, it will be a tough matchup as they will all get caught up in the Keller ISD, Midlothian & Southlake Carroll trio that has dominated the Silver Tier all year long and will be looked as favorites when the Silver Tier Playoffs begin on March 7th.

Highland Park has kind of been stuck in a rut over the last few weeks as they barely beat teams like Frisco ISD & Bishop Lynch who are both eliminated from playoff contention and even got beat by Garland ISD who has the area's worst record (Gold or Silver Tier) this season.

Only 2 games throughout the area tonight have nothing on the line for tonight. Those are Garland ISD VS. Frisco ISD over in McKinney and Bishop Lynch VS. Richardson/Rockwall in Farmers Branch with teams that are either out of the playoffs or hve teams witht heir playoff seed already locked in. The rest of the games have teams that are either looking to get in or at least looking to improve their seeding situation when the playoffs begin next week.

For the HS Gold Tier Champions, they will advance and repersent Texas at the USA Hockey HS National Championship in Salt Lake City from March 21-25. While the Top Silver Tier Teams will join the top HS Teams from Houston & Austin at the State HS Silver Tier Championship from March 23-25 in a location yet TBD.

Here's a look at tonight's Schedule for the AT&T Metroplex HS Hockey League Regular Season Finale.

Gold Tier

Coppell VS. Arlington ISD  7:00 PM @ Euless Stars Center

Dallas Jesuit VS. Plano Senior  7:00 PM @ McKinney Stars Center

Allen VS. Plano West  8:45 PM @ McKinney Stars Center

Silver Tier

Keller ISD VS. Denton County  6:30 PM @ Farmers Branch Stars Center

McKinney ISD VS. Highland Park  7:15 PM @ McKinney Stars Center

Southlake Carroll VS. Mansfield ISD  7:30 PM @ Euless Stars Center

Prosper VS. Plano East  8:15 PM @ Farmers Branch Stars Center

GCISD VS. Flower Mound  8:45 PM @ Euless Stars Center

Garland ISD VS. Frisco ISD 9:00 PM @ McKinney Stars Center

Bishop Lynch VS. Richardson/Rockwall  9:00 PM @ Farmers Branch Stars Center

FM Marcus VS. Midlothian  9:15 PM @ Euless Stars Center

Up-to-Date Playoff Scenarios in the AT&T Metroplex HS Hockey League

With just 3 games left for all 22 teams in the AT&T Metroplex HS Hockey League and the playoff picture beginning to come into focus. I wanted to show you the latest Playoff Clinching & Other Scenarios that would result from the upcoming Schedule coming up this Thursday Night at the McKinney, Euless & Farmers Branch Stars Centers.

There is without a doubt that the most exciting battle going into the final 3 weeks of the season will be the battle for the #1 Seed in the Silver Tier South Division as Midlothian, Southlake Carroll & Keller ISD who are separated by just 2 points for the South Division Title. Last week, Midlothian won a convincing 4-1 victory where Midlothian Forward Joseph Dancy scored twice in the 3rd period to break open a 1-1 game at the 2nd intermission into a 4-1 victory. In addition to Dancy's 2 goals, Brent Jones took his scoring total 70 points with a goal and two assists in last weeks victory.

Also thanks to a 4-2 win for the Carroll Dragons over Flower Mound which has allowed the 2 point gap to persists. Midlothian will go back into the 1st Place Battle as they will take on the Dragons on Thursday Night at 9:15 PM at the Euless Stars Center. The Midlothian/Southlake Carroll Winner paired with a possible Keller ISD Loss to Flower Mound would have a 1st Place Tie with 2 games left in the season. Expect this race to go to the Final Night of the season on March 1st when Keller ISD takes on Denton County, Southlake Carroll takes on Mansfield ISD & Midlothian takes on FM Marcus.

Elsewhere in the South Division, they will be an important game for the 4th & Final Playoff spot as Mansfield ISD take on FM Marcus as it will be a huge result regardless of the outcome this week. If Mansfield ISD Wins paired with a Grapevine/Colleyville ISD victory over Denton County will officially knock out the Marauders from Playoff Contention. However, if FM Marcus can pull off a critical win would put them just a point back of Mansfield.

Realistically though, to keep FM Marcus' Playoff hopes alive, they would need a victory plus a Denton County Victory over GCISD where if that scenario happens, FM Marcus would be just 1 point back of both teams for the 4th & Final Playoff Spot in the South Division with 2 games left. Also FM Marcus could be viewed as a possible Spoiler as they have won 6 of their last 8 including important wins over both McKinney & Grapevine/Colleyville who are in the midst of the playoff race in the Silver Tier.

Finally, even though Flower Mound & Denton County are technically not out of the playoff race. Both teams face daunting challenges this week as Flower Mound take on Division Leading Keller ISD, while Denton County takes on a motivated and desperate GCISD Team where a loss from either team will basically take them out of the playoff hunt. Not only that, even just one point from either Mansfield ISD or GCISD would also knock them out of the race, so they need not only to take care of business but need a lot of help to hang on to their slim playoff hopes.

Up North were getting ready to possibly crown a Division Champion as the Plano East Panthers can clinch the North Division Title this week if they can beat Richardson/Rockwall along with a desperate Frisco Team which currently sits in 5th if they can beat the Highland Park Scots in McKinney. That Frisco ISD VS. Highland Park Game will be important in both the North Division Title Race and for 3rd & 4th as both McKinney (Currently in 3rd) & Prosper (Currently in 4th) could be in position to clinch playoff spots this week.

For both teams, a win for either side paired with a Highland Park Win would clinch a playoff spot for either McKinney or Prosper. However, if both team win paired with a Highland Park Victory over Frisco; both McKinney & Prosper would clinch the last two playoff spots and knocking Frisco ISD Out of contention in the process.

That could put the spotlight on a possible 3 way battle between Highland Park, Prosper & McKinney for the 2nd Spot in the North Division. Garland ISD has been out of playoff contention in the last three weeks. Fellow Division Bottom Feeders Richardson/Rockwall & Bishop Lynch were eliminated from playoff contention last week with both teams losing to Highland Park & Garland last week in a 9-8 thriller last week just after the League All Star Game.

Even though no one can officially clinch a QF Round Bye in the Gold Tier this week, Thursday's games will tell us a lot going forward. Both Arlington ISD & Plano West can put themselves in great shape if both teams win their games this week as Arlington ISD faces Plano Senior & Plano West plays Dallas Jesuit.

If both Arlington ISD & Plano West win, they would be on the cusp of clinching the QF Round Byes as 3rd Place Dallas Jesuit could only hope to be in a 3 way tie for 1st with by winning their final two games with Arlington ISD & Plano West would have to lose their remaining games for that scenario to happen. Jesuit's best hope of setting themselves up for a Quarterfinal Round Bye would be beating Plano West & Arlington ISD losing to Plano Senior in McKinney this week which would set up a 3 way tie for first, especially if Coppell pulls off an upset of Allen this week where neither Allen or Plano Senior would be able to earn enough points to even catchup with the top 3 in the final 2 weeks of the regular season.

If they is a 3 way tie for first place in the Gold Tier, it more then likely lock Allen & Plano Senior into the #4 VS. #5 Quarterfinal Matchup when the Gold Tier Playoffs starts on March 5. assuming who ever finishes in the #3 Seed and a favorable QF Matchup against Coppell, could set up a very tough Semifinal Matchup against who ever finishes on top of the Gold Tier. So it's going to be important to at least finish in the top 3 when the regular season ends on March 1.

As for Coppell who sits way back in 6th Place, last week's win against Plano Senior wasn't enough for them to get them back in the battle for the 2 1st Round Byes. With a maximum of 19 points along with Plano Senior & Allen tied for 4th with 20 points each, Coppell is locked into the 6th & Final Seed for the start of the Gold Tier Playoffs which begin on March 5.

If the playoffs would begin today, these would be the 1st Round Matchups in both Tiers.

Gold Tier

#1 Arlington ISD & #2 Plano West would have QF Round Byes

#3 Dallas Jesuit VS. #6 Coppell

#4 Allen VS. #5 Plano Senior

Silver Tier

#1N Plano East VS. #4S GCISD

#2N Highland Park VS. #3S Southlake Carroll

#1S Keller ISD VS. #4N Prosper

#2S Midlothian VS. #3N McKinney ISD

Here's this weeks Schedule

Gold Tier

Arlington ISD VS. Plano Senior  7:00 PM @ McKinney Stars Center

Allen VS. Coppell  8:15 PM @ Farmers Branch Stars Center

Dallas Jesuit VS. Plano West  8:45 PM @ McKinney Stars Center

Silver Tier

Garland ISD VS. McKinney ISD  6:30 PM @ Farmers Branch Stars Center

FM Marcus VS. Mansfield ISD  7:00 PM @ Euless Stars Center

Highland Park VS. Frisco ISD  7:15 PM @ McKinney Stars Center

Denton County VS. GCISD  7:30 PM @ Euless Stars Center

Flower Mound VS. Keller ISD  8:45 PM @ Euless Stars Center

Bishop Lynch VS. Prosper 9:00 PM @ McKinney Stars Center

Richardson/Rockwall VS. Plano East  9:00 PM @ Farmers Branch Stars Center

Southlake Carroll VS. Midlothian  9:15 PM @ Euless Stars Center