9:34 p.m.: I stumbled upon an interesting tidbit while looking back at the past four years of CCHA playoff hockey.

Starting in 2006, 13 of the 16 teams that earned top-four seeds advanced to Detroit's Joe Louis Arena. No surprise there. The conference now is structured to reward the clubs that finish among the top four in the standings, with the Nos. 1 through 4 seeds all earning first-round byes and home ice for round two.

But check out the list of second-round upsets, with one apiece happening in each of the past three seasons:

• In 2006-07, eighth-seeded Lake Superior State swept No. 3 seed Miami in the second round.

• In 2007-08, sixth-seeded Northern Michigan upended No. 3 seed Michigan State in three games.

• In 2008-09, Northern again was the sixth seed, and the Wildcats took down No. 3 seed Miami in three contests.

So let's recap this: Since the CCHA adopted it's current playoff format for 2005-06, the Nos. 1, 2 and 4 seeds have never lost in the second round. The No. 3 seed, meanwhile, has only made it to Detroit's Joe Louis Arena once — in 2006, when third-seeded Michigan swept its way to the semis.

Now in 2009-10, sixth-seeded UNO will open its best-of-three second-round showdown on Friday at, yep, No. 3 seed Ferris State.

You certainly could argue that the Mavericks have created enough good vibes on their own while going 10-3-1 during their past 14 games. It's been a long time since UNO took this much momentum this deep into the playoffs. The Mavs have been firing on all cylinders, they've been getting contributions from every skater on the bench, and they're playing a Ferris State squad that did not finish the season as strongly as it wanted to.

But maybe this history of No. 3 seeds faltering will be just the extra bit of Maverick mojo that can carry UNO to The Joe. Stay tuned.

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