yes, but for the last however many years the final field has been based off the pairwise. this isn't like the ncaa bb tournaments where it's all subjective after the autobids. 5 years ago cc was host and didn't make it and I think the same with NH a few years ago as well. thurs game will be an elimination game for one team. the winner still probably needs to win one more to solidify a spot as who knows what may happen with the ecac or hockey east or for that matter the wcha.