In case you missed it here's a preview of the
East Regional featuring Michigan, Yale, Vermont and Air Force that starts Friday in Bridgeport, CT.
Next, let's look at the West Regional that also starts Friday in Minneapolis, MN...
No.1 Denver will play No.4 Miami on ESPN2 (HD) at 5:30pm ET.
The top ranked Pioneers are coming off a rather bitter loss in the WCHA Championship game to Minnesota-Duluth. Thus far Denver has has a season that has bee close but no cigar. They lost their holiday tournament - the Denver Cup - to Boston University in the final game, barely missed out on the WCHA regualr season title and then lost in the WCHA championship game. They lost their leading scorer (at the time) and a highly coveted free-agent, sophomore, Tyler Bozak when he tore his minuscus and required surgery on his knee in early December. Fortunately, he is expected to be back in the lineup this weekend, but the Pioneers will be without their leading goal scorer (15) Tyler Ruegsegger for the rest of the year and their captain J.P. Testwuide who is doubtful with a lower body injury. The good news is they're getting contributions from everyone as they have 10 guys with 20 points or more on the season and three with 15 goals. They are led by forwards Anthony Mainani 11g, 30a - 41pts and Rhett Rakhshani (NYI) 15g, 21a - 36pts and freshmen defensemen Patrick Wiercioch (OTT) 12g, 21a - 33pts and Joe Colborne (BOS) 9g, 21a - 30pts. Freshamn walk-on Luke Salazar has also contributed in a big way with 15 goals and They've worked hard to earn this number one seed and won't be happy with their season without a trip to the Frozen Four. They will need a complete team effort in order to get there. The good news is their goaltender Marc Cheverie getting hot when it matters most. After putting up regular season numbers that weren't much to write home about, he is 5-2-1 with a 1.49 GAA and .953 save percentage in his last eight games with two shutouts.
Fun Fact - The Pioneers set a record when 18 players were named to the All-WCHA Academic Team with a 3.0 GPA or better this season. DU also set a school-record with seven WCHA Scholar-Athletes, who achieved a 3.5 GPA or better. My favorite part of the WCHA Banquet was the speech captain J.P. Testwuide and winner of the WCHA Scholar Athlete award gave upon receiving the award. Part of it went like this - "Hockey players aren't known for being the smartest people in the world, so it's nice to see our hard work in the classroom recognized. Of course, there are always going to be a few meatheads, but we're not all like that!"
The RedHawks have had a rollercoaster of a season which saw them sweep Notre Dame and Michigan early on before they derailed around the holidays losing both games in the Ohio Hockey Classic and have struggled to compete against ranked opponents through the rest of the season even losing in the quarterfinals of the CCHA playofs to Northern Michigan. They are led in scoring by three sophomores - Carter Camper 20g, 19a - 39pts (including 12 PPGs), Pat Cannone 11g, 24a - 35pts and Andy Miele 14g, 14a - 28pts. In goal, Miami has split the duties between two freshmen Cody Reichard and Connor Knapp, who seems to have emerged as the number one averaging 2.09 GA. The RedHawks are a quick team with lots of skill as their forwards and crafty and creative when given the opportunity and average more than 30 shots a game. They're not the most physical team, but they have no problem getting dirty when necessary.
Fun Fact - Miami head coach Enrico Blasi will be facing off against his former head coach, George Gwozdecky, who led the RedHawks from 1989-1994. Additionally, before returning to Miami in 1999, Blasi served as an assistant coach under Gwozdecky at Denver for four years. Current Miami assistant coach Brian Vines also has connections to the Pioneer program, as he was a defenseman at Denver from 1997-2002.
No.2 Minnesota-Duluth will play No.3 Princeton on ESPNU (HD) at 9pm ET.
Oh the Bulldogs...the mighty, mighty Bulldogs! After a season that left much to be desired, UMD really turned things on in the post-season as the No.7 seed beating No.4 Colorado College, No.5 Minnesota, No.1 North Dakota and No.2 Denver on their way to the WCHA title. They couldn't have done it without the stellar performance of junior goaltender Alex Stalock (SJS) who allowed only three goals over five games in the postseason and recorded two shutouts to earn tournament MVP honors. In the post season, he boasts a 0.60 GAA and a .981 save percentage. I am not even joking when I say the dude is on fire!! Not to be outdone, senior forward MacGregor Sharp was right behind him with six goals and three assists in the past five games, including a hat trick in the championship game, giving him 25g, 22a - 47pts for the season...all career highs. The Bulldogs can be deadly on the power play ranking third nationally in overall power play efficiency with a 21.7 percent mark. No one's enjoyed it more than senior tri-captain Josh Meyers, UMD’s top scoring defenseman this season, who has collected all but five of his career-high 28 points -- including each of his 10 goals -- on the man advantage this season.
Fun Fact - The 2008-09 Bulldogs are 16-0-2 when they’ve been ahead going into the final period of play this season and 25-0-3 over the past two years.
Fun Fact #2 - The Bulldogs went an entire regular season without being shutout.
The Tigers are disciplined team with a killer goaltender and leads the country with an average of 38 shots on goal per game. They've had a rough go as of late losing in the ECAC semifinals in double OT to Cornell and tying St. Lawrence in the consolation game, but it's that tie that gave them the edge to get into the tournament...a loss and I'd be writing about St. Lawrence right now! Despite Princeton's ability to pepper the net with shots, they're not known for their scoring averaging only ? goals per game, but they are known for their defense and Hobey Baker Finalist goaltender Zane Kalemba with his 1.74 GGA and .935 save percentage. They play great positional hockey and while their penalty kill is only 85.8% effective, it's allowed fewer goals (20) than the country’s best penalty-killing unit, Miami (90.2 percent kill rate, 21 goals against). Their skill is limited and therefore compensate with sheer effort. That's why they take so many shots - shoot the puck, drive to the net, work for the rebound, score dirty. The Tigers know full well that all goals count, no matter how they go in.
Fun Fact - The Tigers are the least penalized team in the nation, averaging just over five minors per game at 10.6 minutes - good news for them given UMD's power play prowess!
My Predictions: Denver beats a scrappy Miami team. UMD remains hot and beats Princeton in a defensive battle. The
Regional Final will be on ESPNU (HD) 9pm ET on Saturday.
Next up, the Midwest Regional: Notre Dame, Cornell, Northeastern & Bemidji State.
Follow me on Twitter
Friend me on Facebook
Below are links to various interview clips from podcasts and soon I'll be adding some actual videos - be sure to check the Shows link for more...
Join the Discussion:
»