NCAA Frozen Four: Open line Thursday

Semifinal 1

UMass Lowell 28-10-2 vs. Yale 20-12-3

Semifinal 3:30 p.m. (CT) ESPN2 (209 DirecTV/144 Dish).

Semifinal 2

Quinnipiac 29-7-5 vs. St. Cloud State 25-15-1

Semifinal 7:00 p.m. (CT) ESPN2 (209 DirecTV/144 Dish).

The NCAA’s Frozen Four takes center stage at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Looking at the weather outside, you would think that it’s the middle of February and we should be gearing up for another weekend of college hockey and not the final two games of the season.

Like I have said numerous times, I don’t really know what to make of this season; it’s been hard to put a finger on it. There has really been no one team that was really dominate this year, except maybe for UMass Lowell after December 8^th and there has been a lot of parity among the leagues.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say, that the other smaller schools in college hockey are catching up with the big name schools; it’s also getting harder to win a NCAA title.  

Looking at the Frozen Four field this season, there will be no traditional power house teams in Pittsburgh this year. In other words, there will be no teams named Boston College, Boston University, Denver, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, North Dakota or Wisconsin.

None of the current teams in the Frozen Four this year are what I would consider really big schools. In this year’s Frozen Four, you have a mix of two state schools and two private schools, Quinnipiac (private) 6,262 students, Saint Cloud State (state) 15,536 students, UMass Lowell (state) 11,729 Students, Yale (private) students 5,349.  

Yale and Quinnipiac’s campuses are separated by a distance of 10.7 miles.

There will be a new NCAA champion in 2013.

Who’s your pick for 2013? I am going with the UMass Lowell River Hawks. Back in the late 1980’s, when I lived in Massachusetts, I used to attend University of Lowell Chiefs games in the old Joe Tully Forum. Yes, UMass Lowell, then the University of Lowell, used to be called the Chiefs before they changed their name to the River Hawks in the early 1990’s.  

Good luck to all of the teams in this year’s Frozen Four.

Bracketbuster #1 (Redwing77)

Ok, the NCAAs just begun and well.... some upsets are already happening.

Ferris State vs. Denver:

I chose: Denver
Result? 2-1 Ferris State

I thought Denver would come out firing but apparently Ferris State knew how to handle it. Ferris State wins only their second NCAA tourney game EVER. However, in the end, I think this game was at least a good one. The others? Not so much.

Union vs. Michigan State

I chose: MSU
Result? 3-1 Union

Union has played few challenging opponents. Michigan State has played barely well enough to get in. I guess it stands to reason then, since neither team is clear cut as a favorite, that you'd go with seeding, but I just do not believe that the ECACHL deserves as much respect as the East Coast media gives it. If Union had to play a team like Western Michigan in the opening round, I'm not so sure they win. That being said, in the last 5 years, the ECACHL is 5-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Tourney. And they are 0-5 in the second round. I'd say that's going to continue but...

UMass Lowell vs. Miami

I chose: Miami
Result? 4-3 UMass in OT

Miami gave up a Powerplay, shorthanded, and 2 5 on 5 goals. They looked absolutely PATHETIC for the first 45 minutes of the game. They keep trying to make pretty plays to score goals while UMass keeps trying to score goals merely by jumping on Miami mistakes and just throwing the puck on net. Knapp has looked pathetic. I cannot believe that Blasi is kept him in. Goal #1 was the only goal Knapp wasn't at least partially at fault for. Goal #2 was on a short handed breakaway that beat him 5 hole. 5 hole goals coming head on is just a sign of poor anticipation. It should be the hardest goal in hockey to get unless the goaltender is moving laterally. Goal #3 was plain and simple out of position crap goal bad goaltending. Yeah, it was 2 on 1 but it beat him short side when Knapp had plenty of time to get into position. He correctly anticipated the pass but he just did not cover the post.

Luckily for Miami, they ended up tying the game. They went to OT and then.... Knapp rears his ugly head again! Wetmore scores a goal that NEVER EVER EVER would have gone in had Knapp held the post. He ends up making the initial save off his right side and bounces back to Wetmore who taps it through Knapp and into the net. It was a squibbler and barely got in but it got in. That means, ladies and gentlemen, that 2 of UMass' 4 goals were WEAK, 1 was a fluke, and the other was perhaps somewhat unavoidable.

Tough for Miami to lose in the first round but.... any half-assed decent playoff team worth its salt would have beaten Miami anyways. Can't expect to suck for 45 minutes, be given a 5 minute major at the end of regulation and 1:26 of it in OT, fail to score on it, and still expect to win the game. Ok, ok, to be fair, Miami did a good job in the regulation side of the major powerplay and Doug Carr saved UMass' bacon but every other Miami Powerplay up til then was a Clinic in awful special teams.

Goon may disagree but I believe this marks the downturn of Miami. They've peaked. Sure, they'll get their share of talent, but I think this current squad has ended its stretch run of post season dominance. They'll have to regroup (or reload as it may) and see if they can catch another great run. They're not going to get anywhere with this current squad without some serious infusion of talent.

UMass and Union in the Final? SNOOOOOOOOORE!!!!!! I wonder where this Regional ranks in the list of "worst regionals in NCAA Tourney history?"

If UND being a #2 seed would have gotten them into this regional, they should have thrown the WCHA title game.

Michigan vs. Cornell
I predicted: Michigan
Result? 3-2 Cornell in OT

This game was pretty good... if you enjoyed special teams. We had one ejection (contact to the head major on Cornell) and a barrel full of minors. I'm not sure what Shafer had to say postgame but it probably won't be much because Cornell won. Had they lost though....

I'm not sure what to think about this game overall. Cornell plays a GOD AWFUL style of hockey (one of the major reasons why I despised the Wild under Risebrough/Lemaire). Sure, the trap works, but it makes for a pisspoor hockey game to watch... which I think everyone knew because either everyone sat on the Camera side of the arena or the arena was MAYBE 40% capacity. It just wasn't fun. Michigan, if you consider scoring chances, had the more dominant game but Cornell put the game away in OT.

Rarely do I root for Cinderella stories such as UMass or Ferris State but... I'll be rooting for them tomorrow because I don't believe the trap has any place in bigtime hockey and I wouldn't want boring hockey in Tampa.

So... let's hope no more surprises!

Future Stars - Amlong and McGrath

The USHL has been a breeding ground for the up and coming stars of the NCAA and the NHL. Next year, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders are losing two good ones, Greg Amlong and Ryan McGrath, to the UMass-Lowell River Hawks. The River Hawks are having a respectable season at 14-0-6, standing 5th in Hockey East.  It will only get better with these two in their stable.

After playing together in the 2009-2010 season for the St. Louis Jr. Blues of the CSHL, McGrath and Amlong both came to the RoughRiders for the last 2 years and they have been very powerful for the team.

Ryan McGrath is a 20 year old forward from O'Fallon, MO. After suffering an early season wrist injury, he has played only 24 games this year, but has come back with a vengeance holding 7 goals and 11 assists in that time. This has been pretty consistent with his 18 goals and 24 assists in 58 games last year. Ryan is a leader on the ice with an infectious energy that permeates the team.

Greg Amlong is a 20 year old defenseman also from O'Fallon, MO. Greg has played 44 games this season with 9 goals and 15 assists. Perhaps more impressive is his 94-mph slapshot that seems to fly through the goalie on its way into the net. Greg is focused on the ice with his eye always on the puck as he protects the crease and his goalie.