Frozen Four Preview

Two historic programs, two newcomers. Two northeastern teams, two from the Midwest, playing for hockey supremacy in Florida. It's the Frozen Four and it's on tonight.

The first semifinal starts at 4:30pm (ESPNU) and pits the Union College (NY) Dutchmen against the Ferris State Bulldogs. Many people don't even know where these schools are, let alone how good they are at hockey. FYI, Union is just outside of Albany, NY and Ferris State is in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Union has the goaltending. Ferris State's netminder isn't bad either. I didn't expect Union to get this far. They play in a league that isn't very deep. They were also inexperienced. I still have trouble picking them to win this game, but goalie Troy Grosenick is quite capable of stealing it.

Ferris State won two close games to get to Tampa, but they were against Denver and Cornell. Cornell gave the Bulldogs some trouble, and Union finished ahead of Cornell in the ECAC.

Union went through Michigan State and UMass-Lowell to get this far. They rolled through the ECAC tournament. They haven't allowed more than 3 goals since February.

Union wins a goalie duel 3-2.

At 8:00pm on ESPN2, BC takes on Minnesota in the other smeifinal.

Boston College vs. Minnesota represents an historic theme in college hockey. East vs. West. The Hub of Hockey vs. The State of Hockey. BC and Minnesota have 9 national titles between them (5 since 2001), 43 Frozen Four appearances, 27 conference tournament titles, and 26 regular season conference titles. These programs know how to win.

Minnesota will be BC's biggest challenge of the season. The Eagles have won 17 in a row. They're accustomed to elimination hockey. They won the Beanpot, won at Fenway Park, even beat North Dakota in North Dakota back in October. They're goaltending situation has been resolved thanks to the tremendous play of Parker Milner. They roll 4 lines and 3 of them can score at any moment.

Minnesota, however, is big. They're strong. They can skate and keep pace with BC while also punishing them. UMass gave BC trouble this season because of their ability to skate. And if UMass had better finishers, then the Minutemen could have beaten the Eagles with regularity. Minnesota have those better finishers.

Based on pure logic, I might pick Minnesota. But I'm sentimental. And I also don't bet against a team that's won 17 straight games.

BC wins 5-4 in double OT. Then goes on to win their 5th national title, 3rd in 5 years, and 4th under Jerry York.

The Championship Game will be Saturday night at 7:00pm on ESPN2.

BC, Minnesota, Union, and Ferris State Advance to Frozen Four

One of the reasons I love college hockey is the diversity of the successful teams. In this year's Frozen Four you have two state schools, two private schools. Two northeastern schools, two from the midwest. Two powerhouses in BC and Minnesota (9 titles between them, and over 50 Frozen Four appearances) and two underdogs in Union and Ferris State (first Frozen Four appearance for both programs).

Boston College advanced to the Frozen Four after back-to-back shutouts of Air Force and Minnesota-Duluth. The Eagles have won 17 straight. They've only allowed 1 goal in 3 games, 7 goals in their last 10 games, and only 16 goals in their last 16 games. Parker Milner has turned into a wall of a goaltender. BC has made the Frozen Four 15 of the last 17 years. This is just another great year for a great program under a great coach, Jerry York. They'll face Minnesota in the semifinals.

Minnesota got to the Frozen Four with convincing wins over BU and North Dakota. The Golden Gophers won the WCHA regular season title, and have strikingly similar numbers as BC. Both teams score about 3.5 goals per game, and allow under 2.3 goals per game.

Minnesota/BC is a meeting of Goliaths. Ferris State and Union is a meeting of Davids. Ferris State (which is in Grand Rapids, Michigan, by the way) won a pair of tight 2-1 games to earn their spot in the Frozen Four. They beat Denver, then outlasted Cornell, who had upset Michigan in the 1st round.

Union (located in Schenectady, NY, just outside of Albany) won the ECAC. The ECAC wasn't rated too highly, but here's Union in the Frozen Four, and fellow ECAC member Cornell knocked Michigan out. Union's strength is their goaltending in defense.

With the Frozen Four in Tampa, all of these teams will have to face the same travel strains. All four teams are from different conferences and no matter who wins the semifinals the Championship game will be between an historic powerhouse and a first time finalist.

The Frozen Four will start a week from Thursday. The Championship will be on Saturday April 7th.

NCAA Hockey Preview: Northeast Region

These games will be played in Worcester, and feature a pair of Hockey East teams. The last two NCAA Champions are in this region (Minnesota-Duluth and BC). So even though the matchups aren't very tantalizing, there are some interesting storylines.

Saturday 4:00pm - ESPNU
#1 Boston College Eagles vs. #4 Air Force Falcons

This really is a 1 seed against a 16 seed. Air Force secured an automatic bid by winning the AHA tournament. The Falcons are accustomed to traveling (most of the AHA is in the northeast), and accustomed to losing on the road. They were 8-7-4 on the road, including 2 losses to Holy Cross in Worcester. BC hasn't lost a game since January 21st. I'll take the Eagles in a laugher 6-1.

Saturday 7:30pm - ESPNU
#2 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs vs. #3 Maine Black Bears
It's always good to see the Black Bears in the NCAA tournament. Maine made a deep run in the Hockey East tournament to get here. In fact, Maine has been good at winning big games. They won at Fenway Park, beat BC twice, and BU three times. Unfortunately for them, UMD is exceptionally good. They finished 2nd in the WCHA, and they're used to playing in big games far from home. Minnesota-Duluth wins 4-3.

That would give us a regional final of BC and Minnesota-Duluth. It's impossible for me to pick against BC at this point. 15 straight wins, a hot goalie, and a solid power play. BC has all the ingredients for another title run.

And they are my pick to win it all. BC will be your 2012 National Champions.

NCAA Hockey Preview: West Region

The West Region begins play in St. Paul, Minnesota on Saturday. This looks to be the toughest region in the 16 team tournament. North Dakota, Minnesota, and BU have combined for 17 NCAA titles. And Western Michigan are no slouches. They were 2nd in the CCHA regular season, and gave the Michigan Wolverines a good fight in the CCHA title game.

Saturday 1:30pm
#1 North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. #4 Western Michigan Broncos

North Dakota didn't have an impressive regular season. They struggled to beat good teams, even at home, where they have one of the best home ice advantages in the country. Then they exploded in the WCHA tournament. Western Michigan did well in the CCHA tournament, so these teams can both play elimination hockey. I have a gut feeling WMU pulls off the upset, but my brain is reminding me that St. Paul is North Dakota's second home, they play very well there, so I think North Dakota wins a close one, 4-3.

Saturday 5:00pm
#2 Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. #3 Boston University Terriers

Minnesota won 20 games in the WCHA. No small achievement. BU's season was a roller coaster on the ice and off it. They've shown some character in their victories, and an ability to unravel in their losses. You really don't know which BU team will show up. It's very tough to pick against Minnesota in Minnesota. Golden Gophers win 3-1.

That would give an all WCHA Regional Final of North Dakota vs. Minnesota. These rivals have already met 5 times. Minnesota won 3 of those games. For that reason, I think they'll win their fourth and advance to Tampa Bay.

The West region final is Sunday at 5:30pm on ESPNU.

NCAA Hockey Preview: Midwest Region

These games will be played in Green Bay.

Friday 5:30pm
#2 Ferris State Bulldogs vs. #3 Denver Pioneers

The Bulldogs won the CCHA regular season title then were quickly knocked out of the CCHA tournament. Denver made a dramatic run in the WCHA tournament, winning the first round in overtime, the quarterfinals in OT, and the semifinals in double OT before losing the finals to North Dakota. Both these teams can score, so this should be a shootout. Ferris State is good but they were 4-5-1 against the other CCHA teams that made the NCAA tournament. And they lost in the CCHA quarterfinals. I'll take the team that grinded their way through multiple elimination games. Denver wins 5-3.

Friday 9:00pm - ESPNU
#1 Michigan Wolverines vs. #4 Cornell Big Red

As someone who went to school in Ithaca, and as a passionate hater of the University and state of Michigan, I would love to see Big Red triumph over blue and maize. However, I don't see this as possible. Michigan scored 3.25 goals per game this season. Cornell didn't allow many goals, but the ECAC was an offense-poor league. Cornell can score a bit, but Michigan has goalie Shawn Hunwick (Matt's little brother. Very little brother. He's 5' 7"), a Hobey Baker (college hockey's Heisman) finalist. Michigan wins 5-2.

That would give us a Denver/Michigan regional final. And I think Denver would struggle to score on Hunwick, and wouldn't be able to keep up with Michigan's scoring. Michigan wins 4-2.

The Midwest finals will be Saturday at 9:00pm on ESPNU.