Bandits, Blizzard secure playoff berths

The St. Louis Bandits have clinched the North Division's first Robertson Cup Playoffs berth, while the Alexandria Blizzard locked up the fourth and final berth in the Central Division.

The Topeka RoadRunners have also won the South Division's regular-season championship.

The North-leading Bandits have 78 points - 17 more than the fifth-place Motor City Metal Jackets, who have seven games remaining on their regular-season schedule.

The Blizzard, which is in fourth place in the Central, have 61 points - 18 more than the fifth-place Austin Bruins, who have eight games left on their schedule.

The division-leading Owatonna Express, Coulee Region Chill and the defending Robertson Cup champion Bismarck Bobcats are the other teams who have locked up playoff berths in the Central.

The RoadRunners, hosts of this year's Robertson Cup Championship Tournament, have 87 points - 14 more than the second-place Amarillo Bulls, who have six games remaining and are also bound for the postseason.

The other NAHL teams to clinch playoff berths are the West Division's Fairbanks Ice Dogs (division champions), Alaska Avalanche, Kenai River Brown Bears and Wenatchee Wild and the South Division's Texas Tornado.

View the 2011 Robertson Cup Playoffs format here.