When one thinks of confusing things, visions of driving through the downtown streets of Boston come to mind.

Or watching a foreign film with no subtitles.

But the ECAC playoff situation? Confusing? What's so difficult about a post-season format that gives eight out of 12 league teams at least one extra weekend of hockey? It's not that hard to figure out, is it?

The easiest part of determining who makes the playoffs is finding out who won't make them. Brown (1-19 ECAC), Princeton (3-16-1) and Army (4-15-1), come on down, you're the next contestants on "Wait 'Til Next Year."

The hardest part is trying to figure out the playoff positions of the eight lucky contestants.

Okay, that's it for now. You really don't want me to do this, do you? Let's make a deal: I'll explain the essence of the "One Thousand Points of Light," and we'll wait until Saturday night when all the playoff spots will be definite.

But who's Harvard (18-2) going to host next weekend in the opening round, you ask? The crimson has already gained home-ice advantage--along with St. Lawrence (17-3) and Colgate (14-5-1)--but has yet to clinch the regular-season title and still does not know who will visit Bright Center next Friday.

First, the easy part. Harvard will capture its fourth consecutive regular-season crown if it defeats the Saints tomorrow at Bright. If St. Lawrence beats the Crimson, Harvard can still clinch the title Saturday. A win over Clarkson (12-6-2) and a Dartmouth victory over the Saints would give Harvard the title.

But what if both Harvard and St. Lawrence tie for first place, you ask?

Good question. The ECAC threestep tiebreaking policy is as follows:

1. Results of head-to-head competition during the regular season.

2. Results of competition against the top four teams in the league.

3. Results of competition against the top eight teams in the league.

Hope the Crimson defeats the Saints tomorrow. Makes things a whole lot easier.

Now, the hard part. Harvard will host either RPI (8-10-2), Yale (9-11), Vermont (11-9) or Dartmouth (7-12-1). Both the Engineers and the Elis are assured the last two postseason spots if they win at least one of their two games this weekend.