All they can do now is watch, hope and prepare for a multitude of possibilities.

It's not the ideal situation for members of the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team, but they have no choice in the matter.

The Badgers will spend their upcoming bye weekend monitoring scores from around the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, results that will dictate where they will open the playoffs and who they will play.

UW could finish in the top five — either fourth or fifth — and kick off the postseason March 14 at the Kohl Center. Possible opponents include St. Cloud State, Minnesota State-Mankato, Minnesota-Duluth or Minnesota.

The fourth-place Badgers also could tumble to sixth on the final weekend of the regular season, which could send them to either Mankato or St. Cloud for a first-round, best-of-three series.

After UW split a weekend series at St. Cloud — winning 2-1 Friday and dropping a 3-2 decision Saturday — sophomore right winger Michael Davies had a rather curious take from the waiting room.

"It's going to be interesting and fun to watch," he said.

While it's hard to imagine the Badgers (15-14-7 overall) having fun with their powerless predicament, Davies has a point when it comes to the overall theatre.

"What game isn't important in our league right now?" St. Cloud coach Bob Motzko asked rhetorically.

Not just to the WCHA playoff picture, either.

There also is the matter of the Pairwise rankings, the unofficial, but highly accurate barometer of how the 16-team NCAA tournament will be seeded and aligned.

At this point, eight WCHA teams are situated among the top 13: North Dakota is first, Colorado College is tied for fourth, Denver is fifth, St. Cloud is tied for eighth, Mankato is 11th, Minnesota is 12th and UW and Duluth are tied for 13th.

Adding to the intrigue is the fact a ninth WCHA team, Michigan Tech, remains under consideration in the Pairwise rankings despite its 12-17-5 overall record.

Every WCHA series Friday and Saturday has major implications on the postseason.

• First-place CC (24-9-1 overall) will try to secure the MacNaughton Cup in a home-and-home series with third-place Denver (22-11-1).

• Second-place North Dakota (23-8-2) can still win the McNaughton Cup at home, but sixth-place St. Cloud (17-14-3) is fighting for a top-five berth and home ice.

• Fifth-place Mankato (17-13-4) will be at home with a chance to move up to fourth, but Michigan Tech could move from ninth to eighth with a sweep.

• Seventh-place Minnesota will be at home with a chance to move up to fifth, but Duluth has a lot to play for given its status in the Pairwise rankings.

The Badgers will take today off, but will spend the rest of the week preparing for whatever assignment awaits.

"We just have to keep working hard in practice and keep getting better every day," Davies said.

"We can't let it get to our heads. Hopefully, we'll get games back at the Kohl and we'll be ready to go."

UW could have steered clear of this mess with a sweep in St. Cloud — which would have clinched home ice — but couldn't hold on to a 2-1 lead in the series finale Saturday night.

"We played well enough to win," Badgers coach Mike Eaves said.

"We played well enough to get four points this weekend," UW senior defenseman and captain Davis Drewiske said. "It just didn't happen."

Leaving the Badgers to face a lot of uncertainty.

"We can't really worry about it," UW senior defenseman and assistant captain Kyle Klubertanz said, "because if we worry about it, it's going to take away from our focus."