Now that the brackets are set and we can no longer discuss the probability of bubblelicious teams making the cut or where the teams that did make it in will go...what are we going to do with ourselves?!
We're going to break down the brackets and the matchups and try and predict the Frozen Four - or at least I am! :)
Let's start with the East Regional which starts this Friday in Bridgeport, CT...
No.1 Michigan will play No.4 Air Force on ESPNU (HD) at 3pm ET.
Some would argue that Michigan struggled to score at the start of the season, but they'd be wrong as the Wolverines put up 30 goals in their first 8 games (in case you can't do that in your head that's 3.75 goals a game) and went 6-2 in the process. Their real problem was scoring consistently, getting production from more than one line and, more notably, overcoming key injuries on defense as they had a lot of trouble keeping the puck out of their own net allowing 24 goals in the same time span. Those weaknesses were exposed in November when they went 3-5 and struggled mightily with consistency putting up five goals one night and none the next. Since then, they've managed to maintain thier offensive production scoring an average of 4.1 goals a game while allowing only 1.7 over the last 24 games of the season going 20-4-0 as their top defensemen have returned to the lineup, including senior captain Mark Mitera (ANA) who missed 33 games with a knee injury. They are led in scoring by sophomore Hobey Baker Finalist Louie Caporusso (OTT) with 24g, 25a - 49pts and fellow sophomore Aaron Palushaj (STL) with 13g, 37a - 50pts, both are ranked in the Top Ten nationally. Their power play is rather anemic converting on only 16% of their opportunities, but has been fairly hot as of late and their penalty kill has been almost unbeatable working at a 95% efficiency rating over the past eight games. After dropping out of the Top Ten in the polls earlier this season, they are back to being the big bad Wolverines who can beat you with speed, size or skill (just pick your poison) and have earned a No.1 seed as one of the top teams in the country.
Fun Fact - The Wolverines are 26-0 when scoring 3+ goals
The Falcons started the season blazing hot winning their first 13 games including one against then #3 Colorado College before suffering their first loss of the season against then #9 Denver. They struggled through the month of December going 3-4-1 and dropping out of the National Polls before getting their act together again going 10-3 through the remainder of the season and capturing the Atlantic Hockey Association conference title for the third straight year. Subsequently, this will be their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Falcons are lead by the nations leading goal scorer Jacques Lamoureux with 32 goals including 15 on the power play and 9 game winners and goaltender Andrew Volkening who is one of only two netminders in the college ranks to play every minute of every game this season. His numbers aren't all that flashy but they get the job done. Because the AHA gets an autobid, many fans and, if their last two NCAA Tournament games are any indication, even some teams tend to underestimate the Falcons. While they might be 0-2, they've certainly given their No.1 seeded opponents a run for their money. In the West Regional in 2007 they nearly upset Minnesota, the top seed in the entire tournament. Air Force led 3-1 with just over eight minutes left, but the Gophers came back for a 4-3 win. Last season in the Northeast Regional, Miami tied the game midway through the third and needed more than 15 minutes of bonus hockey before earning the 3-2 victory. This is a team that can NOT be overlooked...the price could be costly.
Fun Fact - Air Force is one of just six teams in the nation to go to three straight NCAA Tournaments, joining North Dakota, New Hampshire, Notre Dame, Michigan and Miami. The Falcons are the only team in the field to win three straight conference tournament titles.
Host school and No.2 seed Yale will play No.3 Vermont on ESPNU (HD) at 6:30pm ET.
In the ECAC, all of the attention at the start of the season was on Princeton and Cornell and even Harvard for a bit, but the Bulldogs put together a solid season with only seven losses to come out as the ECAC Champions both in the regular season and in the conference tournament for the first time. Yale is led by junior Marc Acrobello and sophomore Broc Little, who both have 35 points. Acrobello has 17g and 18a thus far and has a point in 14 of the last 16 games and was named first-team All-ECAC. Little leads the nation with five shorthanded goals and after being held off the score sheet for four games he has notched seven points in four post season game bringing his totals to 15g and 20a on the season. Junior Sean Backman leads the Bulldogs in goals (20) and recorded a hat trick in the conference championship game helping him earn tournament MVP honors. They've got the third best penalty kill in the country (89%) and average just over three goals a game. They've come into this game on a hot streak and while this may be the first time they will play at Harbor Yard even though they are the host team, they're not looking to cool off any time soon and just because I like to point out the impressive resumes of Ivy Leage athletes since they usually blow me away - Yale senior captain Matt Nelson, with a 3.25 GPA in economics, has a job lined up with Royal Bank of Scotland next year.
Fun Fact - Yale sports three nicknames (I think it's their attempt to make us feel stupid) - Bulldogs, Blue, Elis - Two things...what is it with Ivy Leage schools using colors for nicknames?? What in the world is an elis??
The Catamounts from Vermont haven't had the most consistent season and didn't really make their mark until mid-November when they swept a weekend set with Boston University in Boston. They still had a rocky finish to the regular season, but did earn wins against BC, Northeastern and New Hampshire before being swept in the Hockey East quarterfinals by UMass-Lowell. To say they're looking to prove themselves, would not be an understatement. They are led by junior Hobey Baker Finalist Viktor Stalberg (TOR) and his 23g and 20 a for 43 pts. Senior captain Dean Strong has played in all 152 games in his career - the most for any UVM player ever. What's even more interesting is the Catamounts are 51-15-14 when Strong records at least one point and 22-41-9 when he's held off the scoresheet. Their power play isn't all that fabulous opperating at a 17% rate of efficency, but it is much improved over last year when they were ranked 51st out of 56. Vermont is a big team that knows how to throw their weight around and usually out work their opponents along the boards and in the crease. They are well conditioned and simply wear you down when they're running on all four cylinders.
Fun Fact - This is Vermont's first NCAA appearance since 1997 (a team that featured Martin St. Louis, Tim Thomas and Eric Perrin) and only 4th ever.
My Predictions: Michigan - but I think Air Force will make them work for it - and Vermont in the
Regional Final Saturday on ESPNU (HD) 6:30pm ET.
Up next the West Regional: Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, Princeton and Miami
Till then!
Julie
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