MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – The brackets for the NCAA Frozen Four have been set and teams sent to their respective regionals. in Minnesota, the University of Minnesota will serve as the host school, despite the Golden Gophers being eliminated by .001 points in the Pairwise ranking system used by the selection committee to choose the field of 16. There was some talk about the Gophers being put into the tournament after last year’s tumult when the University of Wisconsin was selected for the tournament despite finishing below comparable schools in the Pairwise. Wisconsin was the host school in the regional last season, which brought great criticism and calls to go with the Pairwise system rather than allow teams to be placed in the tournament for other reasons.
Here is a preview of the West Regional and how we see it playing out. #1 Denver University Pioneers vs #4 Miami University RedHawks ( Ohio) The Pioneers were given the #1 seed in the regional due to their overall finish in the Pairwise, despite being shutout in the WCHA championship game by fellow West Regional participant Minnesota-Duluth. Denver had a strong season, finishing second in the WCHA regular season standings behind the University of North Dakota who was named a #2 seed in the Northeast Regional. Denver scoring leaders are forwards Anthony Miani (39 points, 11G, 28A), Rhett Rakhshani (32 points, 14G, 18A), and defensemen Patrick Wiercioch (30 points, 11G, 19A). Goalie Marc Cheverie comes in with a 2.30 GAA and a 23-11-5 record. Miami is making its seventh tournament appearance and fourth in a row. They made their way to the tournament through an at-large bid after finishing thirteenth in the Pairwise rankings. Miami finished third in the CCHA regular season behind Michigan and Notre Dame and lost out to Northern Michigan in the first round of the CCHA playoffs. The RedHawks leading scorers are forwards Carter Camper with 39 points (20G, 19A), Pat Cannone with 35 points (11G, 24 A), and Andy Miele with 27 points (14G, 13A). They also have two solid goaltenders in Connor Knapp and Cody Reichard. Knapp has a 2.09 GAA and a 13-5-3 record, while Reichard has a 2.16 GAA and a 7-7-2 record. #2 University of Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs vs #3 Princeton University Tigers The University of Minnesota at Duluth will be the hometown team this weekend, having defeated three higher ranked teams in the WCHA Final Five playoffs by shutting out both the number one seeded University of North Dakota in the semi-final, and Denver University in the championship game. It was the Bulldogs third WCHA playoff championship, a first since 1985, which secured an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. Duluth brings forwards Justin Fontaine (44 points, 14G, 30A), MacGregor Sharp (38 points, 19G, 19A), and Mike Connolly (32 points, 11G, 21A). Goalie Alex Stalock, is as hot as anyone goaltender is playing right now, and is largely responsible for the surge of the Bulldogs. Stalock gave up just one goal in three games in the WCHA playoffs, and brings a 2.10 GAA and a 20-12-8 record. The Bulldogs face off against the Princeton Tigers in the first round. The Tigers make their way into the Frozen Four playoff through an at-large bid by finishing 12th in the Pairwise rankings. This is Princeton’s third visit to the tournament, and second in a row. The Tigers finished third in the ECAC, their highest finish in school history. Princeton is led by Dan Bartlett with 27 points ( 16G, 11A), Brett Wilson with 25 points (10G, 15 A), and Lee Jubinville with 21 points (10G, 11A). Goalie Zane Kalemba brings a miniscule 1.74 GAA and a 22-9-1 record with him into the tournament. How it All Plays Out This is an interesting bracket, with the selection committee sending UND to the Northeast and giving the top seed to a Denver team that finished below them in the regular season, but outplayed them in the WCHA playoffs. It all comes down to the Pairwise rankings, but Denver has got to feel they stole the top spot from UND. Last season, the WCHA teams seemed to underestimate their opponents from out east, and this season has shown that teams east of the Mississippi have played better hockey than those out west. That said, it is difficult to predict an upset in the first round. Denver, despite losing to UMD in the final game of the playoffs, has been strong all season long. UMD is hot enough to melt the ice they are playing on, and their goaltending should be enough to carry them a bit further. If there is an upset, look for it to be Miami over Denver, The Bulldogs are just too hot to be beat right now. Look for Denver and UMD to move on to the regional final. The streak UMD is on should carry them past Denver and into a Frozen Four berth in Washington, D.C. The author can be reached at bryan.reynolds@prohockeynews.com
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