NCDC Eastern Conference Playoff Preview

Can the PAL Islanders repeat as champions, or will the New England division take home a title for the first time in five years?

The junior hockey playoff season is upon us, and the first league to enter its end of the year tournament is the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC). The 18-team league is forced to take a unique approach to its playoff due to off-season expansion that birthed a “Western Conference.”

The best four teams in the West will battle until one earns a spot in the Dineen Cup National Championship. But we will save that preview for another day.

The Eastern Conference — which is made up by a New England Division and an Atlantic Division — begins its series’ based competition today.

The four remaining teams in the New England Division are Islanders Hockey Club (1), South Shore Kings (2), Utica Comets (3), and the Boston Junior Bruins (4). The Bruins earned the final spot in the playoffs after beating the fifth-seeded Northern Cyclones, 5-2, in a play-in game. The Twin City Thunder finished last in the division, six points out of playoff position.

In the Atlantic Division, the following teams will fight for their right to win a championship. The PAL Islanders (1) won the Founders Cup as Regular Season Champions, and they are joined by the Mercer Chiefs (2), the Rockets Hockey Club (3), and the Jersey Hitmen (4). The Hitmen downed the Connecticut Junior Rangers (5), 6-2 in the play-in game. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights missed out on a spot in the playoffs thanks to an incredible collapse on the final day of the regular season.

The first round of the playoffs on the East Coast will consist of four, best of three semi-final series, followed by a second round that will serve as “Divisional Finals,” and they will be played as a best of five series’. Finally, the winners of the New England and Atlantic divisions will meet for an Eastern Conference Final, which will also be a best of five series. The last team standing will host the Western champs in a best of three National Title round.

Below you will find our preview of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

New England Division Semi-Final 1

(1) Islanders Hockey Club vs. (4) Boston Junior Bruins

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