"The parity is scary," said Michigan coach Red Berenson, whose team enters the first-round of the CCHA Tournament against Ferris State this weekend.

Despite the fact that no team other than Michigan, Michigan State and Lake Superior has taken the crown home from Joe Louis Arena in the tournament"s 18-year history, there could be a new owner of the coveted trophy as this year"s field includes 10 teams that are pretty evenly matched.

"Nobody"s that good that they can take a night off and expect to win we"ve seen that before. We"re a pretty good team, but we"re not good enough to have a bad night and win."

Berenson remembers Michigan"s losses to three teams that were in last place at the time.

The Wolverines fell to Alaska-Fairbanks and Ferris State early on, along with a defeat to Lake Superior in the last few weeks of the season proving that statistics and standings are not as indicative as one might think.

In fact, only three of the 10 playoff teams clinched their spots prior to the final weekend of the season.

Many of the coaches have emphasized the importance of three ingredients good goaltending, efficient special teams and balanced scoring. But old-fashioned intangibles and the bounce of the puck may bring a few surprises into this weekend"s series.

No. 1 Michigan State (21-4-3 CCHA, 28-4-4 overall) vs. No. 10 Alaska-Fairbanks (7-14-7, 9-17-8)

Carrying the No. 1 ranking for over four straight months now, there"s no question that Michigan State has been a dominant team this year. The reason?

The Spartans don"t make mistakes.

And if they do by chance slip up, the Spartans carry the deadly weapon of goaltender Ryan Miller with a stifling goals against average of 1.33 who can erase any wrongdoing.

"It"s tough to lose with Ryan Miller in goal," Western Michigan coach Jim Culhane said earlier this season.

But he"s not a one-man show, as the Spartans boast the nation"s best defense, giving up just 37 goals in 28 league games this year. They play a balanced, disciplined style of hockey where every player on the team knows his role and sticks to it.

But Michigan State coach Ron Mason feels the performance of each team"s stars is most important come playoff time.

"Most important thing is, are your best players going to be your best players?"

While Alaska-Fairbanks pulled some amazing upsets over some top teams this year, including Michigan and Miami, the combination of the Nanooks winning only one game in their last 10 and the Spartans impressive home record of 13-1-1 will equal an early return flight for the Nanooks.

Prediction: Michigan State in two.

No. 2 Miami (17-10-1 CCHA, 20-14-2 overall) vs. No. 9 Bowling Green (8-15-5, 13-18-5)

While Miami is the hottest team in the CCHA, winning nine of its last 12 games, Bowling Green coach Buddy Powers is just as elated that his team is still playing.

"We"re just happy as hell we made it," Powers said with a chuckle.

Bowling Green has been settling near the conference cellar all season. But with a few precious weeks remaining, a postseason spot was still within reach, forcing the Falcons to play playoff hockey for their final six games and pull off a little bit of magic in their final weekend of play against Ferris State.

"It"s like playing game seven every night," Powers said.

This sense of desperation makes Bowling Green a confident team with nothing to lose except a playoff series to Miami.

The RedHawks have too many weapons, including Jason Deskins and Gregor Kranjc, to go along with one of the best home-ice advantages in the league in a hostile Goggin Arena. Miami has posted an 11-3-2 record there this season. While the Falcons will turn some heads behind the impressive play of goalie Tyler Masters, their lack of more than two consistent scoring threats will be their downfall.

Prediction: Miami in three.

No. 4 Nebraska-Omaha (15-10-3 CCHA, 22-13-3 overall) vs No. 7 Ohio State (13-13-2, 16-16-2)

Nebraska-Omaha, a team that began play just three seasons ago, sizzled down the stretch to go 13-2-1 in its final 16 games to climb to No. 13 in the nation.

But no one could have guessed what adversity the Mavericks would have to face this year.

"We"ve had five or six of our top players out at times this season," Kemp said. "But I"m pretty pleased with the way our depth has come through."

The Mavericks have dealt with the absence of their three top defensemen and two leading forwards for huge chunks of this season by rallying around solid goaltending by freshman Dan Ellis.

Ellis, who received CCHA All-Rookie team honors, adds a strong wall along with the Mavericks" up-tempo, in-your-face, physical style of play.

But Kemp feels that the Buckeyes" scoring capabilities will pose a problem for his team.

"We look at Ohio State as dangerous offensively," Kemp said.