NCHC Announces Shootouts Will Break Ties in Conference Games

The National Collegiate Hockey Conference announced its overtime and shootout policy today. The NCHC will break ties in conference games by having a shootout after the customary five-minute overtime period. The winner of the shootout will receive an extra point in the league standings. The conference's Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve the move, according to the release by the league.

The shootout will have three players pre-selected by each team and the winner will be decided by which team has the most goals after all three shooters have gone. In the event of a tie after three shooters have gone, there will be sudden-death rounds until a winner is decided.

The shootout results will only apply to conference standings and will have no bearing on the all-important Pairwise Rankings, the formula that helps decide the NCAA Tournament field.

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Jeff Cox is a hockey reporter for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.