It turns out I didn't do too badly after all.
I batted .500 on the Frozen Four lineup. I hit with UMD and UND and missed with Michigan and Notre Dame. For the record, I had UMD, UND, BC, and Miami.
UND vs. DU:
I was very nervous for this game because I believe that very few coaches know how to unravel UND's game plan. Gwozdecky and Blais do. York of BC have had luck in this as well. So, as you probably can guess, UNO, DU, and BC aren't teams I wanted UND to face off in the playoffs. And, from what I've read, I think UND still shouldn't have had to.
I agree with Michigan's blogger (link missing) who stated that DU and Michigan should have swapped regionals. Of course, then it would be UND vs. DU in the Frozen Four but oh well.
I was very impressed in this game with UND.
As for the Resch Center: They're only slightly better than Ford Field and that arena in Indiana. I think I've noticed ponds in rural Minnesota that had better quality ice. Actually, if I went to North Central Nebraska, I might find a few ponds in December that would rival the Resch Center.
My three stars:
First Star: Aaron Dell
Second Star: Brad Malone
Third Star: Chay Genoway
My All Regional Team:
Matt Frattin - UND
Jason Zucker - DU
Brad Malone - UND
Chay Genoway - UND
Matt Donovan - DU
Aaron Dell - UND
Tourney MVP: Aaron Dell - UND
Update: I can't find the actual All Tourney Team, but I now know that Genoway, Malone, Dell, and Trupp represented UND with Dell winning MVP.
Commentators for the Midwest Regional:
I don't know what to take of Paradise and whatshisface. During the RPI game they spent almost the entire first period apologizing for RPI and acted as if almost consoling RPI fans to prepare for the worst like UND is a big bad bully about to steal their milk money and give them a wedgie. Then UND starts scoring and suddenly their alter ego takes over and they're all chipper and happy about the goals.
DU/UND they spent almost the entire game blathering about whatever. They actually tuned out the Brock Nelson goal entirely. At least the cameraman paid attention. Look, I know what a 6-1 game looks like but every goal in this matchup mattered. It would have been nice if the commentators understood that.
CC vs. Michigan:
Michigan and CC both looked slow, but Michigan looked better and that's all that was needed to beat CC. CC was on borrowed time and made it much further than I originally thought they would. That being said, only UNH can match CC in terms of lethality among #4 seeds.
UNH vs. Notre Dame:
This game was boring... if you like offense. UNH tried to bring a fast game to the ice and Notre Dame kept slowing it down. Mike Johnson (goaltender, Notre Dame) played an awesome game and was named Player of the Game for it. I wouldn't be surprised if he was also the tourney MVP for that regional.
The Frozen Four matchup:
UND vs. Michigan:
Michigan is no slouch. They aren't great, but they're no slouch. Shawn Hunwick (UM goaltender) has played great... a lot better than I thought he would. Michigan does have some scoring but I think their offense is much like DU in that they really don't have any dynamic scoring. They're pretty balanced overall, but pretty easy to outmuscle. If UND plays a fast but physical game, much like they did today against DU, keeps the front of the net clear, and takes care of rebounds both on offense and defense, I think UND wins.
On paper, UND wins. In reality? Still a toss up.
My prediction: UND wins. No percentage on this one. I'm a Sioux fan. No one should expect any different in this category.
End Thought:
Don't know if I should be happy that Notre Dame won or sad that UNH lost. With Notre Dame in the tourney, you have ZERO Eastern teams. That's a good thing. With Notre Dame in there, you have two big schools (Michigan and Notre Dame) and two little schools comparatively (UND and UMD). I wonder how the coverage will work. Will they pull the Eastern Team Red Carpet act on Notre Dame and Michigan and poo-poo UND and UMD or will they play it equal or what?
