The 2021-22 GWMHL closed with a bang, as some last-minute jockeying will have major playoff implications.

The final order in the Plante didn’t change much from the third quarter, but El Dorado retook first from upstart Charleston. Both teams will receive a bye in the first round, but the Lynx having home ice advantage could help them go on an extended run.

Further down the standings, the expansion Hershey Bears have made it to the postseason in their first year. Are they the beneficiaries of brand-new, expanded playoff rules? Yes. Is it still a remarkable achievement that few would have predicted? Also yes.

Your Plante matchups for the first round will be:

Salem (3rd) vs. Hershey (6th)
Baltimore (4th) vs. Pittsburgh (5th)

In the Sawchuk, Adirondack cruised to first with a remarkable 57-20-5 record — no surprise there — and West Virginia held off Vancouver by a single point to keep hold of second and get the bye. The Night Train’s strong fourth quarter did allow them to leapfrog Farmington, however, to grab third place. Meanwhile, San Jose snapped a 22-year futility streak by holding off Hamilton to claim its first playoff birth since 2000.

Your Sawchuk matchups for the first round will be:

Vancouver (3rd) vs. San Jose (6th)
Farmington (4th) vs. Ice Harbor (5th)

West Virginia’s Leon Draisaitl captured his second straight scoring title with 125 (just a point back of last year’s total), narrowly beating out Ice Harbor winger Alex DeBrincat who had 122.

The most surprising individual performance of the year was, without a doubt, Vancouver’s Connor Brown, who led all scorers with an unbelievable 70 goals — his previous high? 18. Portland’s Brad Marchand had 62 goals, DeBrincat 59 and Adirondack rookie Kirill Kaprizov 57. Kaprizov’s 89 points also led all rookies by a healthy margin. El Dorado’s Jeff Petry set the pace for defensemen with 95 points and, among starting goalies, Salem’s Marc-Andre Fleury faced the most shots (1,978 in 51 games) yet posted a league-leading .923 save percentage.