NCAA Hockey Tournament Preview

When will college football forsake their coveted bowls and realize that college playoffs are some of the most exciting, riveting drama in sports? Anyway, 16 teams will vie for the 2011 NCAA Hockey Championship. Divided into four regions, all these games will take place this weekend, with the Frozen Four played two weeks later in St. Paul, Minnesota. Here's the tournament field:

EAST REGION - BRIDGEPORT, CT
#1 Yale Bulldogs vs. #4 Air Force Falcons
Yale only lost 6 times all season. But one of those came against Air Force back in November. But it was also in Colorado. This will be in Yale's backyard, and the Bulldogs only lost once at home all season. Yale are the #1 overall seeds in the tournament, and even though I think they won't win it all, they'll be able to cruise past Air Force 5-1.

#2 Union Dutchmen vs. #3 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs
It's been an historic year for Union hockey, and now they make their first ever tournament appearance. They'll face UMD, one of 5 teams representing the mighty WCHA. Union were solid all year, and won the ECAC regular season title. They even beat Yale. They might have some jitters, though. Both these teams were knocked out by inferior opponents in their conference tournaments. But looking at UMD, they took care of business in the WCHA when facing teams that weren't ridiculously good. I think they beat Union 4-3.

That would set up a Yale vs. UMD meeting. I'd pick Yale in that one, because UMD frequently lost to the super talented WCHA teams they faced.

NORTHEAST REGION - MANCHESTER, NH
#1 Miami (OH) RedHawks vs. #4 New Hampshire Wildcats
One thing I don't like about this tournament is that "hosts" like Yale and UNH were going to wind up in Bridgeport and Manchester, respectively, no matter what. It's an effort to ensure a packed house. But it unfairly punishes a good team like Miami. It also sends a team like BC to Missouri.

However, Miami is good enough to overcome the disadvantage. The RedHawks have won more NCAA tournament games (5) in the past two seasons than either BU or BC, the winners of those tourneys. They're experienced, hungry, and very good. UNH and Miami actually split a 2 game series in October. However, it's now March, and UNH sucks in March. They're 4-5-2 in their last 11. Miami will make that 4-6-2. RedHawks win 4-1.

#2 Merrimack Warriors vs. #3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Merrimack get to play this game only an hour's drive from Andover. So count on lots of yellow and blue in the stands. The Warriors were nearly unbeatable at home. And their valiant effort in the Hockey East finals against BC was quite impressive. Notre Dame held their own in the difficult CCHA, but never won the big games. Merrimack has done well against good teams, so long as they're close to home. Merrimack wins 3-2.

That would pit Miami against Merrimack. I think Miami is simply too good to not emerge from this region. RedHawks advance.

WEST REGION - ST. LOUIS, MO
#1 Boston College Eagles vs. #4 Colorado College Tigers
East vs. West in St. Louis. How appropriate. Since Thanksgiving, BC has lost a total of 2 games. Colorado College lost that many games in the WCHA tournament. BC hasn't lost an NCAA game since the 2007 Finals. And even though that game was played in the same building as this, that winning streak will continue. BC 3, CC 1.

#2 Michigan Wolverines vs. #3 Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks
Michigan just announced that they'll be joining the new Big Ten hockey conference in the 2013-14 season. These teams split a series in Ann Arbor back in October. Both struggled against the elite teams in their conferences, but both occasionally beat them. I'm going to go with Michigan because they have a tradition of excelling in the NCAA tournament (9 titles). Wolverines win 4-2.

BC against Michigan would be a fun game to watch. And I think the Eagles would win 6-4.

MIDWEST REGION - GREEN BAY, WI
#1 North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. #4 RPI Red Hawks
North Dakota might be the best team in the country, and after grinding out a double OT 3-2 win over Denver to win the WCHA title, it'd be hard to disagree. RPI limped down the stretch. They have some solid wins on their resume, but 20 wins with a soft ECAC schedule doesn't impress me much. North Dakota will destroy RPI 5-0.

#2 Denver Pioneers vs. #3 Western Michigan Broncos
WMU's 19 wins is the lowest total in the NCAA field. Denver beat NCAA tournament teams 6 times this year. They also lost their fair share of games against such teams, but being able to beat the likes of North Dakota in Grand Forks is pretty impressive. They've got a good goalie that keeps them in every game, and they should dispense of WMU with ease. Denver wins 3-0.

I think Denver will upset North Dakota 4-3 in OT, and move on to the Frozen Four.

FROZEN FOUR
Yale vs. Miami - Yale hasn't played teams like this in the ECAC. Miami extends their 7 game NCAA win streak against teams that aren't from Boston.

BC vs. Denver - Great offense vs. great goaltending. But BC's offense is too great to be fully stopped. Eagles win and advance to the finals.

Miami vs. BC - I think Miami will exorcise a lot of demons and win this one.

-The Commodore

Hockey East Tournament

The other March Madness continues in Boston as four teams remain in the Hockey East tourney. Two have NCAA at-large bids locked up, a third probably does, and the fourth needs to play their way in by winning twice this weekend. The semifinals start today at 5, and the finals are tomorrow at 7 (and I believe will be broadcast on NESN tape delayed).

#1 BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES vs. #6 NORTHEASTERN HUSKIES

A rematch of the Beanpot final. NU has played BC well this year. BC needed overtime in that 7-6 Beanpot game. Then they met a few days later and tied 7-7. Then Northeastern beat them 2-1. But it's hard to pick against BC in what I call "Trophy Games" (Beanpot, Hockey East tournament and NCAA tournament games). The Eagles have won 14 straight of those, dating back to March of 2009.

BC wins 6-4 in a close fought, high paced game.

#2 UNH WILDCATDS vs. #4 MERRIMACK WARRIORS
Merrimack beat UNH twice, and are the upstart surprise of Hockey East. They've struggled on the road, but it will be interesting to see how they perform on neutral ice. UNH had a brilliant regular season, but they're sort of like the snow on the ground. Overwhelming in January and February. Melting away in March.

I think Merrimack wins 3-2.

And BC wins the final.

-The Commodore

NCAA Hockey Tournament TV Schedule

The NCAA Hockey Tournament commences tonight, and there's actually a number of games available on TV. Here they are. All times are Eastern, and this is likely for the Boston area only:

Time-Channel-Game

Friday:
3:00pm - ESPNU - #1 Denver vs. #4 RIT
6:30pm - ESPNU - #2 Cornell vs. #3 UNH
9:00pm - ESPNU - #1 Wisconsin vs. #4 Vermont
11:30pm - ESPNU - #2 St. Cloud St. vs. Northern Michigan

The 9 and 11:30 games are actually tape delayed, like that matters.

Saturday:
1:30pm - CSN - #1 BC vs. #4 Alaska
4:00pm - ESPNU - #1 Miami vs. #4 Alabama-Huntsville
6:30pm - ESPNU - East Regional Final (Denver/RIT vs. Cornell/UNH)
9:00pm - ESPNU - West Regional Final (Wisconsin/UVM vs. SCSU/NMU)
11:30pm - ESPNU - #2 Bemidji St. vs. #3 Michigan

The BSU/Michigan is tape-delayed.

Sunday:
5:30pm - ESPNU - Northeast Regional Final (BC/Alaska vs.North Dakota/Yale)
8:00pm - ESPNU - Midwest Regional Final (Miami/UAH vs. BSU/Michigan)

The BC/Alaska game will be aired on ESPNU Sunday at 9:30am. The North Dakota/Yale game will be tape-delayed broadcast at 12 noon on ESPNU.

So if you have ESPNU and like hockey, this is an enjoyable weekend. The best 1st round games would be the Cornell/UNH and SCSU/Northern Michigan.

-The Commodore

The Other March Madness

To give you a break from basketball, here's my NCAA Hockey Tournament preview...

Four New England teams made the tournament, three from Hockey East (BC, UNH, Vermont) and one from ECAC (Yale). BC won the Hockey East tourney, earning a #1 seed and the privilege of playing in Worcester. UNH is a #3 seed and will be playing their games in Albany. Yale is also a #3 seed and will also be in Worcester. Vermont barely squeezed in as a #4 seed and will play all the way out in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Northeast Region (Worcester, MA):
#1 Boston College Eagles vs. #4 Alaska Nanooks
This is BC's 29th NCAA appearance, it's Alaska's 1st. The Nanooks are just happy to be there, while BC will be doing work, trying to get to their 22nd Frozen Four. Both teams are fast, BC is faster and stronger, and will prevail.

#2 North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. #3 Yale Bulldogs
UND won the very tough WCHA tournament title, while Yale finished the season losing 3 of 4 and being eliminated from the ECAC tourney by lowly Brown. But before those 4 subpar games, they ripped off 7 straight wins and won the ECAC regular season title. But I have to go with the experienced Fighting Sioux to win this one.

So it'll be BC/North Dakota in the Northeast Regional Finals. This is a nice non-geographic NCAA rivalry here. I think BC gets a few calls, scores a few PP goals and squeezes by the Sioux to advance to the Frozen Four.



East Region (Albany, NY):
#1 Denver Pioneers vs. #4 RIT Tigers
Denver has been dominant all season before losing in the WCHA semis. RIT is much closer to Albany, but Denver should be used to travelling long distances (the WCHA spreads teams from Alaska to Michigan). RIT won the weak AHA tournament and will be obliterated by Denver.

#2 Cornell Big Red vs. #3 New Hampshire Wildcats
A very good matchup here. Cornell won the ECAC tournament and fell short of the regular season title by only 1 point. UNH won the Hockey East regular season, but were knocked out in the first round of the tourney by Vermont. This will essentially be a home game for Cornell, and the Big Red are a very patient, confident, big team. I think they prevail over the Wildcats.

So it'll be Cornell vs. Denver. I'm going to be biased and say Cornell advances to Detroit.



Midwest Region (Fort Wayne, IN):
#1 Miami (Ohio) RedHawks vs. #4 Alabama-Huntsville Chargers
Miami's been on a mission since their heartbreaking last minute defeat to BU in the NCAA Finals a year ago. They absolutely dominated the CCHA, losing only 2 conference games and winning the regular season title by 20 points. Bama-Huntsville won the CHA tournament, which is as unimpressive as it gets. The CHA is folding after this season and UAH will be an independent next season. This will likely be their last NCAA bid for awhile, and it won't last long. Miami advances, PDQ.

#2 Bemidji State Beavers vs. #3 Michigan Wolverines
A contrast here as BSU dominated the regular season in the CHA, while Michigan finished 7th in their conference. BSU somehow lost in the CHA tourney, while Michigan needed to win the entire CCHA tourney to get here. Big Blue is red hot, winning 8 of their last 9, and it's only a 150 mile drive from Ann Arbor to Fort Wayne. Michigan wins.

So the final will be Miami vs. Michigan. The Wolverines beat Miami in the CCHA semifinals, but I don't see that happening again. Miami moves on to the Frozen Four.



West Region (St. Paul, MN)
#1 Wisconsin Badgers vs. #4 Vermont Catamounts
Wisconsin finished 2nd in the mighty WCHA, but watch out for Vermont here. The Catamounts were 8th in Hockey East, so how did they make the NCAA tournament? By beating quality teams. They split a pair of close games with Denver (in Denver) in October, beat BC 2 of 3, beat Yale in November, beat Bama-Huntsville, and shutout UNH twice in the Hockey East quarterfinals. Against NCAA tournament teams, they're 7-5-1, so Wisconsin better be ready. But I think they will be, and the Badgers move on.

#2 St. Cloud State Huskies vs. #3 Northern Michigan Wildcats
In a tournament with Badgers, Catamounts, Nanooks, Fighting Sioux, Beavers, and Big Reds, these two teams have the most unoriginal nicknames. St. Cloud State was very close to garnering a #1 seed, and Northern Michigan is a bit of a late-comer to the national scene. The game's in Minnesota, so I'm picking St. Cloud State.

And Wisconsin will beat SCSU.



So my Frozen Four:
Boston College
Cornell
Miami
Wisconsin

But don't be shocked if Michigan sneaks in.

The games start Friday. UNH/Cornell will be at 6:30pm. Vermont/Wisconsin will be at 7:00pm. On Saturday, BC/Alaska will be at 1:30pm.

-The Commodore

The Other March Madness

The top teams in Hockey East struggled this weekend as 3 of the 4 quarterfinal series went the full three games, and the regular season champs were eliminated.

BC beat UMass in the only sweep of the weekend. The Eagles tallied 11 goals in two games, but they also allowed 7. The Eagles are vying for a potential #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and they'll likely need to get at least to the finals for that to happen.



UNH won the regular season title, but their struggles against Vermont ended their efforts to win the tournament title. UNH won a 7-4 battle Friday night, but those were the last goals they'd score as UVM goalie Rob Madore put together 6+ periods of shutout hockey.



UVM will meet BC in the semis Friday night at TD Garden.

BU needed three games to thwart Merrimack, but their series clinching win was quite convincing. The Terriers are a dangerous team. Right now, they're on the outside of the NCAA tournament, so they're going to be highly motivated to win two more this weekend.

Maine barely scraped by UMass-Lowell. It's nice to see the Black Bears relevant again. They only won 13 games last year, and 13 the year before that. Those two awful seasons came after back-to-back Frozen Four appearances.



Maine vs. BU Friday at the Garden. Both teams likely need to win the tournament to make the NCAAs.

-The Commodore

Hockey East Tournament Preview

The 26th Hockey East Championship will be decided in the next two weeks. UNH won the regular season title (their 8th), and BC came a very close 2nd, only 1 point behind. Both UNH and BC will likely be in the NCAA Tournament. But there are several bubble teams that need strong showings in order to make that 16 team field.

The bracket:



The opening round is played at the campus of the better seed. It's also a best of 3 series. The semifinals and finals will be held at the TD Garden next weekend, and those rounds are 1 and done.

Vermont Catamounts @ New Hampshire Wildcats
UNH won the regular season title, but ended the season with a tight loss at BC. In fact, they never beat BC, tying them twice in their remaining meetings. They also didn't dominate Vermont, going 1-0-2 against the Catamounts. UVM is 17th in the PairWise Ranings, which is an unassailable indicator of a team's chances of making the NCAA tournament. In other words, they need to beat UNH in this round. And I think they will put up a good fight, but lose in 3 games.

Massachusetts Minutemen @ Boston College Eagles
BC needed overtime to beat UMass a few weeks ago. The Minutemen's size posed some problems to BC's small but speedy forwards. But in a 2 to 3 game series, BC's depth will wear down a team like UMass. BC wins this series in 2 games.

Merrimack College Warriors @ Boston University Terriers
BU has surged in the 2nd half of the season. After starting off 2-9-3, the Terriers have gone 12-5-0, earned 3rd place in Hockey East, and now have an outside shot at an NCAA bid. Albeit a VERY outside shot. They need to make the HE Tourney finals, at least. Merrimack's been a nice surprise, but when BU is motivated, they're always a hard team to beat. BU sweeps in 2 games.

Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks @ Maine Black Bears
These teams were tied in points, Maine won the tie-breaker, and so gets home ice advantage. Maine's been a bipolar team, sometimes beating UNH twice in a weekend, sometimes losing to Vermont twice in a weekend. They took 2 of 3 from UMass-Lowell. Big things were expected from the River Hawks this year, so while normally 5th place is a good year for them, they've got to be a little disappointed. UMass-Lowell has struggled on the road, as has Maine. Since the games will be in Orono, I'm giving the edge to the Black Bears in 3.

Semifinals prediction:
Maine upsets New Hampshire
BC beats BU

Finals:
BC beats Maine

-The Commodore

NCAA Hockey Tournament: The OTHER March Madness

Technically, there are 5 New England teams. But Albany, NY is more New England than New Haven, CT; so screw Yale.

Boston University is the #1 overall seed.

Here are the regions and the pairings:

Northeast - Manchester, NH
#1 Boston University vs. Ohio State
North Dakota vs. New Hampshire

Prediction:
BU should roll over Ohio State. New Hampshire is essentially playing on home ice against a North Dakota team that's a long way from home. UNH actually beat BU back in October, but the Terriers have improved exponentially since then. BU goes to the Frozen Four from the Northeast.

Midwest - Grand Rapids, MI
#1 Notre Dame vs. Bemidji State
Northeastern vs. Cornell

Prediction:
Jordan Pearce - Notre Dame's goalie - is sick. I saw him back when they visited/dominated Boston College in November. He'll carry them very deep into this tournament.

Northeastern vs. Cornell is a tough matchup for both teams. Northeastern is cold, losing to UMass-Lowell, BC, and UMass-Amherst in the past few weeks. Cornell's Big Red are far from red hot, but Northeastern's struggled in big games this year. Then again, Cornell has been horrible away from Ithaca, so I give the edge to Northeastern.





Whoever wins Northeastern/Cornell, Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll Part 2" will get played to death, and Notre Dame will beat the winner.

East - Bridgeport, CT
#1 Michigan vs. Air Force
Yale vs. Vermont



Michigan gets the #1 seed, but they have to play in Yale's backyard. Big Blue will crush the boys in Air Force blue, and Yale will roll over a sputtering Vermont side. Yale's only lost three times at home and they won the very tough ECAC (regular season and tournament). Yale comes out of the East Region.

West - Minneapolis, MN
#1 Denver vs. Miami (OH)
Minnesota-Duluth vs. Princeton

Teams I know next to nothing about. Except this: Denver is good. Denver is really good. The Pioneers (that's Denver) move on to the Frozen Four.



Who wins it all?

Notre Dame, unfortunately.

Games start Friday afternoon.

-The Commodore