The #2 North Dakota Fighting Sioux, #5 Michigan Wolverines, #9 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs and #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish have all advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four in St Paul, MN which starts Thursday, April 7, 2011 at the Xcel Energy Center.
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my twitter feed for my random thoughts on this past weekends festivities as I catch up on some of the games I didn't see because I was on the road at either the East or Northeast Regional.
Here are my thoughts so far:
Midwest Regional - Green Bay, WI
- RPI was no match for North Dakota as the Engineers hadn't played a game in three weeks after losing in the first round of the ECAC playoffs to Colgate. It wasn't even close as the Sioux won 6-0
- The Broncos of Western Michigan have a lot to be proud of for their post season performance this season. First year head coach Jeff Blashill has already done so much to change the culture of success in Kalamazoo. They earned home ice in the CCHA playoffs, played for the conference championship defeating one of the best teams in the country (Michigan) in the process and took another top team in the country (Denver) to double overtime in the NCAA tournament. It was disappointing to see them lose their two goal lead in the final four minutes of regulation, but this experience will better prepare them for the next time their faced with that situation. This was a team that hadn't even gotten a whiff of success in the postseason in years, so hopefully they'll be able to build on it next year and start a new tradition of success for the Broncos.
- Kudos to Denver for battling back in the final minutes of regulation to send their regional semifinal to overtime, but taking an extra 30+ minutes to get the winner really cost them in the regional final, especially since it was an early game (4:30pm). They were simply too tired to keep up with North Dakota, which was highly unfortunate for them and for us because, as we saw last week when these two teams needed more than 90 minutes to settle on a winner in the WCHA Championship game, they can put on a show.
- The Fighting Sioux showed why they have long been considered one of the best teams in the country and after winning by a combined score of 12-1 they will have the opportunity to prove that they are indeed the best as they've earned a trip to the Frozen Four in convincing fashion. They scored in every way possible and got contributions from all four lines and their defensive corps with stellar goaltending. In short, they're a good hockey team.
West Regional - St Louis, MO
- To put it bluntly, Nebraska-Omaha got robbed. In overtime, Michigan seemed to have scored, but the call on the ice was no goal. After a lengthy video review, it was determined that the puck had crossed the line and it would count giving the Wolverines the win. Problem is, while common sense says the puck was likely over the goal line, there was no conclusive video evidence showing the puck had completely crossed the goal line. While it's nice to see officials using common sense, there's nothing in the rule books about using discretion when it comes to overturning a call on the ice. Had they called it a goal in the first place, it might be a different story. An unfortunate ending for the Mavericks, but a great stepping stone for their program.
- The defending National Champion Boston College Eagles got a dose of their own poison as Colorado College beat BC at their own game. They attacked with their speed, were aggressive on the forecheck and made you pay for your mistakes and BC wasn't mentally prepared to handle it as they lost 8-4. It was an unbelievable turn of events for a team that many predicted would repeat as National Champions.
- Speaking of Colorado College, after their destruction of the vaunted BC defense lead by freshman Jaden Schwartz and goaltender Joe Howe's masterful performance on Friday night, the Tigers did it again on Saturday against Michigan in the regional final, but it wasn't enough as they lost 2-1.
- One could argue that the Wolverines got lucky, but one could also argue that luck is just preparation meeting opportunity and they earned their good fortune by doing all the little things right as is typical of Red Berensen's squad. They worked hard and manufactured goals and it paid off as they were able to get just enough goals to advance to the Frozen Four.
East Regional - Bridgeport, CT
- Union had to be disappointed with their performance on Friday afternoon as they were not only shutout, but were 0 for 9 on the power play. For a team that's the #1 team in the country with the man advantage operating at 31% efficiency, that's unacceptable, but they couldn't get anything through Duluth's defense and instead of putting as many shots on net and seeing what happens, they started looking for the perfect play and it was just never there to be had and they couldn't adjust and lost 2-0.
- Air Force was thisclose to knocking of a #1 seed yet again, but fell 2-1 in overtime. In the postgame presser, head coach Frank Serratore went on a tangent about how Atlantic Hockey might not have the depth of other conferences, but that their best teams can go toe to toe with the best in the country. Because they have to earn their way into the tournament by winning the conference championship, they almost always have to face the #1 overall seed and every year they push them to the limit. They might not win, but they always make it very difficult for the other team to do so and he has a very valid point. They were a very well prepared and well disciplined team who lost the game on a diving play.
- Yale didn't have their best game against Yale, but they managed to get the W once they finally decided to go to the net and bang home a rebound instead of sticking to the perimeter like that had been doing all game. They fell behind to Duluth, but just as they started to battle their way back their best player, Brian O'Neill, got a five minute major and a game misconduct for an open ice hit that was entirely legal. From there, the game went south for the ECAC Champions very quickly as Duluth was able to cash in twice on the ensuing power play putting the game out of reach.
- Even though the Bulldogs of Minnesota-Duluth were a 3 seed in this bracket, most people predicted them to come out of this bracket so while it may be an upset, it's not a surprise. They play a very defensively sound game with the ability to explode offensively. They forced other teams to make mistakes and they cashed in to earn a trip to the Frozen Four.
Northeast Regional - Manchester, NH
- The Miami RedHawks had zero jump - possibly suffering from a Mason Cup hangover after winning their first CCHA Championship ever - and it cost them. It wasn't so much that they played bad, they just didn't play up to their capabilities and couldn't generate much offensively. UNH was able to capitalize on their mistakes and defeat them 3-1 including an empty-net goal.
- Merrimack was thisclose to advancing to the regional final, but lack of experience might have been what allowed the Irish to force overtime and eventually win it off a lucky bounce. The Warriors had the best season in the program's history and laid a solid foundation for future success.
- The Wildcats advanced to their third straight regional final and for the third straight season they reminded everyone why they have been dubbed the University of No Hardware as they have yet to win a National Championship despite some very good teams. This weekend, it wasn't for a lack of effort as they got plenty of shots on net (38), but Notre Dame's defense was so good at clogging the lanes and denying second opportunities that they couldn't get much past goaltender Mike Johnson. As the fans say, oh well...maybe next year will be the year.
- The Irish worked their tails off to advance to the Frozen Four. They showed they could play with a lead and that they had enough gumption to battle back. I think they proved a lot this weekend, mostly to themselves, after a rather lack luster finish to the regular season and a bumpy road in the CCHA playoffs that saw them lose both games at Joe Louis Arena.
In summary, we have four teams that haven't been to the Frozen Four in at least three years (Notre Dame lost in the Championship game to Boston College in 2008). Tomorrow, I'll write about the Hobey Baker finalists and breakdown whose stock might have risen and whose might have fallen this past weekend as the 20-person selection committee had their conference call this afternoon and must cast their vote by tomorrow with the official announcement of the Hobey Hat Trick coming on Thursday...I'm also staying in Boston for the Bruins-Blackhawks games tomorrow night.
Julie
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