The NCAA hockey tournament is once again upon us. Sixteen teams, four regionals, four coveted places in the Frozen Four in Boston. Last year I went 13-2 in my NCAA tourney picks and chased my competition (Will who?) from town. This year I'm hooking up with a new challenger, Bill Tuomala from Exiled on Blog Street, and the field is so wide open that any team could conceivably take the whole thing. Here we go:
East Regional
#1 Maine vs. #4 Harvard
Maine has a great goaltender. Harvard finished strong. Maine prevails in a tight one 3-1
#2 Ohio State vs. #3 Wisconsin
Wisconsin has been up and down all season and lost their WCHA playoff series to Alaska-Anchorage. Ohio State won the CCHA tourney last week. Momentum favor the Buckeyes 3-2
#1 Maine vs. #2 Ohio State
Another very close contest but Maine moves on 2-1
Northeast Regional
#1 Boston College vs. #4 Niagara
BC lost five of it's last six. Niagara has been here before. BC has too much talent to lose 5-2
#2 Michigan vs. #3 New Hampshire
Two teams that were in last year's Frozen Four. I'll take the Wolverines 4-2
#1 BC vs. #2 Michigan
Michigan returns to the Frozen Four for the third straight year with a 3-2 win
Midwest Regional
#1 Minnesota vs. #4 Notre Dame
The Gophers are rolling, but best not look past the Irish who have a number of quality wins this year. Goaltending is probably Minnesota's weak spot, and if Briggs is off his game Notre Dame will win. I think Briggs will be just good enough, with some help from Thomas Vanek, to earn a 5-4 victory
#2 Minnesota-Duluth vs. #3 Michigan State
The Bulldogs are hurting after last week's WCHA Final Five. Junior Lessard will play, but he won't be anywhere near 100%. Still they should have just enough to get past the Spartans 4-3
#1 Minnesota vs. #2 UMD
This game is tough. I'm uneasy about picking the Gophers to beat the Dogs again just over a week after their 7-4 win in the WCHA semis. But when you get to the post season it's all about momentum and who's hot. The Gophers are, the Dogs aren't. Let's say a gut wrenching 6-5 OT thriller for the Maroon and Gold
West Regional
#1 North Dakota vs. #4 Holy Cross
That thing I said about anybody winning the tournament? It should have been anybody BUT Holy Cross. The Sioux will have a little extra fire in their bellies after losing the WCHA Final Five Championship last weekend, and they will cruise past the Cross 6-2
#2 Denver vs. #3 Miami of Ohio
Denver is a tough team to figure. They finished the regular season very strong before being swept by CC in the WCHA playoffs. I'm going with a minor upset here by taking Miami 4-3 in OT
#1 North Dakota vs. #3 Miami
With Denver out of the way, the Sioux should have an easy road to Boston ahead of them. They bounce Miami 7-3
The Frozen Four
Maine vs. Michigan
The Wolverines have been stopped in the semifinals each of the last two years. This time they get it done by beating Maine 3-1
Minnesota vs. North Dakota
While I would love nothing more than seeing a Minnesota three peat, their run ends here. The Gophers beating the talent laden Sioux for a second straight time is just not probable. North Dakota wins 4-3
Championship Game
North Dakota vs. Michigan
The Sioux have too much offense for the Wolverines and will win their eighth national championship by a final score of 5-3.
For those fans in the Twin Cities who are concerned about watching the games on television due to the Victory Sports brouhaha, fear not. The three local cable operators have agreed to accept Victory's offer to get the games for free:
The package includes games involving the Gophers, who will play Notre Dame at 11 a.m. Saturday. Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota's games also will be seen. Comcast will show the available contests on Ch. 13, Time Warner on Ch. 23 and Charter on Ch. 14 in the south and Ch. 65 in the north.
Pull up an easy chair, crack open a beer, sit back and enjoy. It just don't get no better.
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