Wow! What a game last night. IMHO, this was one of the better Frozen Four championship games that I have seen. Some might say that the improbable happened last night. Union College with one NHL draft choice, and no scholarships, beat the mighty Golden Gophers 7-4. Just for the record, the Gophers have 14 NHL draft choices on their roster.
Junior defenseman Shane Gostisbehere is the only player
on the Dutchmen’s roster that is drafted by an NHL team (Philadelphia 2012). After
his play this past weekend, there’s also a good chance that the Flyers will
want Gostisbehere to sign a professional contract, soon.
If you’re a regular college hockey fan, you will know that
this wasn’t a fluke. Union came into last night’s game on a 16-0-1 run, and the
Dutchmen hadn’t lost since January 31, 2014. Union has a knack for beating the big-time,
high-profile teams. Over the last two seasons, the Dutchmen have ended the
Boston College Eagles season. This year only reinforces that the ECAC is
becoming the premiere, power-house conference in college hockey. That's two titles, in
two seasons, not too shabby.
Union has a very veteran lineup with five seniors on
their roster. The average age of their senior class is 23 years old. I have
seen some making an issue of the Dutchmen’s age, but I don’t see a problem with
it.
Just for the record, the average age of the Union is 21years
and 11 months old. The average of the Minnesota Gophers is 21 years and two
months old. There’s not too much difference in age.
Union will lose five seniors, Daniel Carr (22g-28a—50pts),
Mat Bodie (8g-31a—39pts), Kevin Sullivan (9g-29a—38pts), Matt Hatch (13g-9a—22pts),
Cole Ikkala (2g-2a—4pts).
Congrats to the Gophers and the Dutchmen on a great season.
