Coming to Western Collegiate Hockey Association fans: More puck for the buck — occasionally.
The WCHA, which includes UAA and UAF, on Tuesday announced changes to its regular-season overtime format that will eliminate ties and should deliver occasional bonus overtime minutes and a sudden-death shootout.
Games tied after 60 minutes of regulation will continue to go to a five-minute overtime with teams skating 5-on-5. If the game remains tied, teams will play a five-minute OT skating 3-on-3. And if still tied, the game will go to a sudden-death shootout that can be as short as one round, or as long as it takes to determine a winner.
A team that wins in regulation, or 5-on-5 OT, will earn three points in the standings. The loser does not receive any points. A winner in 3-on-3 OT, or a shootout, will receive two points and the loser will receive one point.
One caveat — games tied after the 5-on-5 OT will, for NCAA purposes, be considered a tie.
[Get the full rundown of the WCHA's OT and shootout provisions]
The changes push the WCHA closer to pro formats. In the ECHL, for instance, which includes the Alaska Aces, an OT or shootout winner receives two points and the loser receives one point. Overtime in the ECHL, like the NHL, is played in a 3-on-3 format and both leagues use a three-round shootout.
Previously, an OT winner in the WCHA's regular season received two points and the loser did not earn any points. Games tied after overtime merited each team one point, and there was no shootout.
WCHA playoff games will continue to use 20-minute, sudden-death OT periods.
For what it's worth, had the expanded overtime and shootout been in existence in the last three seasons, about one out of every 10 games played by UAA and UAF would have been extended.
UAA in the last three seasons played to a tie in 12 of 106 games, or 11.3 percent. UAF in that span played to a tie in 10 of 107 games, or 9.3 percent.