Tournament format guide
Double elimination
Four teams move through winners and elimination paths and must lose twice to exit.
When this format works well
Use this when ice is limited and a decisive advancement path matters more than equal game guarantees. Leave enough time between dependent rounds for rest and score confirmation.
How scheduling is handled
The optimizer schedules every division against the shared ice pool, keeps dependent playoff games after their prerequisites, and compares rest, daily balance, stage progression, schedule efficiency, and start-time fairness.