We’re now just about a full week into the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which has been full of big-time upsets. For all those with busted brackets, frustrated again by the so aptly titled “madness,” the NCAA Hockey Tournament bracket was revealed this past weekend.
While there are only 16 teams instead of 68, these college hockey stars compete just as much as their hardwood counterparts. For every tomahawk dunk and buzzer-beating 3-pointer, there seems to be a bone-crushing hit or flashy glove save.
This year’s hockey tournament, much like the basketball tourney, is as up in the air as ever before. And if March Madness is any indication of what lies ahead for the Frozen Four, we are in for a treat. Now, let’s break down the regions.
East Regional
The tournament’s No. 1 seed, Quinnipiac University, gets a tough draw in its first game against the Rochester Institute of Technology. Recall that in last year’s tournament, RIT knocked off the top overall seed Minnesota State University, Mankato. While it’s always hard to bet against the tournament’s highest seeded team, RIT will put up a fight. However, the Bobcats have only lost three games all year, and they won’t lose their fourth against RIT.
The University of Massachusetts Lowell then takes on Yale University in what, on paper, favors the River Hawks. The big story here will be Yale goaltender Alex Lyon’s NCAA-best .938 save percentage and 1.59 goals against average. If UMass can beat Lyon early, they may win handily, but that seems very unlikely. Lyon is having a historic year and can steal this game by himself. If he can get some offensive help from John Hayden — who leads the Bulldogs in goals — Yale may pull of the upset.
That winner will go on to face a dominant Quinnipiac team. Frankly, neither team is good enough to beat the Bobcats, and they’ll punch their ticket to the Frozen Four.
Northeast Regional
Providence College will begin its title defense against the University of Minnesota Duluth. Junior netminder Nick Ellis has been nothing short of spectacular for Providence all year. Minnesota-Duluth, while a worthy opponent, doesn’t have the offensive firepower necessary to crack Providence’s outstanding defense.
Sparks will then fly in a battle of bitter Massachusetts rivals. Harvard University forward Jimmy Vesey will lead the Crimson against Boston College and its goaltender, Thatcher Demko. Harvard scores on 27.9 percent of its power plays, while BC kills 88 percent of penalties it endures. It’ll be a fierce battle, but Harvard doesn’t have the defensive depth to knock off the Eagles.
On paper, Boston College has the most talent in the tournament. Though it has experienced its fair share of collapses this season, they’re a tournament team through and through and will take the Northeast Region over the Friars.
West Regional
St. Cloud State University is rolling right now. It just won its conference tournament and is 8-2-0 in its last 10 games. Meanwhile, Ferris State University stumbles into this game just 5-5 in its last 10 contests. With that disparity in mind, St. Cloud will come out on top.
A red-hot Denver University side will then take on a hungry Boston University team. Denver has depth in net and on the blue line as well as a big-game player in Danton Heinen. Still, the Terriers could claw their way back in the Frozen Four, depending on which team comes to the tournament. It could be the team that knocked off Quinnipiac 4-1 at Quinnipiac, or it could be the one that lost 4-2 at home against a lowly side from the University of Vermont. That type of inconsistency does not usually bode well in the postseason, and as such, Denver will emerge victorious.
In their matchup with Denver, St. Cloud State’s history will come back to haunt them. Denver has heated up at the right time, and will be fresh off a victory over a better opponent. The Pioneers will defeat the Huskies and head to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2005 — a year the team captured its second consecutive national championship.
Midwest Regional
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Right now, Northeastern University is the unstoppable force, as the Huskies finished the regular season on 13-game winning streak en route to winning their first Hockey East Championship since 1988. The University of North Dakota is the immovable object, as they’re consistently in the tournament hunt. North Dakota possesses one of the best lines in college hockey, featuring Drake Caggiula, Brock Boeser and Nick Schmaltz. This will be a great game, but North Dakota has too much speed, strength, star power and depth to bet against.
While North Dakota has “one of the best lines” in college hockey, the University of Michigan has the single best line. The Wolverines “CCM” line — featuring Kyle Connor, JT Compher and Tyler Motte — has dominated the NCAA all year long. Connor, a freshman, should win the Hobey Baker Award, joining the likes of Paul Kariya and Jack Eichel. Both of his linemates are also Hobey Baker finalists. Michigan will defeat Notre Dame University, but not without a fight, especially from sophomore goalie Cal Petersen.
The matchup of North Dakota and Michigan, simply put, is a coin flip. Michigan has an absurd 31.8 percent success rate on the power play and scores 4.9 goals per game. I’m a firm believer that defense wins championships, though, and North Dakota only allows 1.9 goals per game. Therefore, North Dakota will advance from an extremely entertaining game.
To conclude, the Frozen Four will be comprised of Quinnipiac, Boston College, Denver and North Dakota. Each of these teams can win it all, which makes this tournament that much more exciting.
