Hail Columbus

For the third straight year, Bill from Rocks Off and I will face in off in our NCAA college hockey challenge. Two years ago, I came close to running the table, missing only one game in the NCAA tourney. Last year, Bill bested me, evening our series at 1-1.

Bill has posted his picks already and we definitely are not on the same page this year. In fact, we only have one of the same teams in the Frozen Four. This should make things very interesting.

Anyway, here's my take.

East Regional

Friday

Mercyhurst 1
Boston College 5

Boston University 2
North Dakota 3

Saturday

Boston College 3
North Dakota 4


Midwest Regional

Friday

Colgate 2
Colorado College 4

Wisconsin 2
Michigan 3

Saturday

Colorado College 5
Michigan 3


West Regional

Saturday

Maine 3
Minnesota 4

Ohio State 3
Cornell 2

Sunday

Ohio State 4
Minnesota 2


Northeast Regional

Saturday

Harvard 3
New Hampshire 4

Bemidji State 3
Denver 6

Sunday

New Hampshire 1
Denver 3

FROZEN FOUR

Semifinals

North Dakota 5
Ohio State 4

Colorado College 2
Denver 1

National Championship

Colorado College 4
North Dakota 2


Yes, my picks do reflect a definite WCHA bias (as does the poll we're currently running). But I don't think that there is any doubt that the WCHA is head and shoulders about the other conferences. WCHA teams have won the last three national championships and North Dakota was only inches away from winning it in overtime 2001. This year they have three of the four #1 seeds, and even though you can debate whether the Gophers really deserved one or not, it's hard to argue with the notion that the WCHA has the best teams in the country.

For me, it comes down to CC and Denver. Both are strong, evenly matched teams and if they played a seven game series it would no doubt go the distance. This time I'm giving the nod to CC, but it would not shock me if Denver were to repeat.

What of the Gophers? This is not their year. The defense is young and needs more experience. The goaltending is now a question mark after Briggs' shaky performance last week. Johnson is solid, but not the goalie you want to ride in the playoffs. They also lack scoring punch and don't get consistent play from enough of their forwards. I could easily see them losing to Maine in the first game, especially if Howard (the Black Bears goalie) plays well. But I just can't pick them to lose to Maine. My heart will not allow it.

I'll be down at Mariucci for both of Saturday's contests, but will have to settle for watching Sunday's regional final on television. 2:30pm on Easter Sunday? Nice timing.