A truly great sports event, one of the very best, kicks off tomorrow Thursday, April 10th, at 2PM Pacific Time when #3 Boston College faces #1 Union College in the first semifinal game of the Frozen Four in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  At 5:30pm Pacific Time, #13 North Dakota faces #2 Minnesota in the second semifinal game.  Both of these games will be on ESPN2, if you are near a TV at either/both of those times.

This Frozen Four lacks the excitement of last year’s, in which three of the teams appeared for their first time ever, and the fourth, Yale, had not been since 1952, and in addition, Yale had fought its way there last year from the #15 seed.  Don’t think for one second that a Frozen Four with that type of composition is not good for college hockey.  In fact it’s great.  No, this year we sort of have three “standards” in Minnesota, North Dakota, and Boston College, and a relative newcomer to the scene in Union College.  But all four teams are excellent, and three of the four have been highly ranked all season long; the fourth, North Dakota, played two great games in beating Wisconsin late (in opening round play), and outlasting Ferris State in a double-OT second round game — North Dakota is on fire and looks dangerous.

Union College made its first ever NCAA appearance in 2011, and the next year made it to the Frozen Four.  Last year they beat Boston College 5-1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.  You can bet Union wants to show that last year was no fluke, just as badly as BC wants to show that it was.  Union is led by two great defensemen, Shayne Gotisbehere, and Matt Bodie.  This team is a fast, hard-charing team, not unlike Yale was last year.  And while they do not have players as heralded as BC’s fist line, they have netted 22 goals this season from Daniel Carr, 19 from Daniel Ciampini, and another 14 from Max Novak.  Union has averaged 3.7 goals per game this season.  Will Union continue on its 15-game unbeaten streak?

Minnesota has been there over and over and over again.  Five NCAA Championships.  Coach Don Lucia’s hair-do, known as “the Looch,” and sported by envious hockey fans all over Minnesota, most of whom have by now forgiven him for his transgression in his college pick as an 18 year old kid.  They’ve got a bunch of guys who can put the puck in the net:  Justin Kloos with 15, Seth Ambroz with 14, Kyle Rau with 14, and Hudson Fasching with 13.  And a sensational sophomore goalie in Adam Wilcox who has only a 1.89 goals-against average, and .934 saves percentage.  They made quick and easy work of their first two NCAA Tournament opponents, Robert Morris, and a very, very good and capable St. Cloud State team.    Oh, and did I mention “The Looch?”  Can they close the deal to show that last year’s first-round loss to the #15 seed was a fluke, as they are so driven to do?  Can they stay on this streak of hot NCAA Tournament play and avoid slipping and losing as they did to close out their regular season and Big Ten tournament?

Boston College is another one with five NCAA championships in the sport.  But these guys have added four of them since 2001, with three of those coming since 2008.  This is their seventh Frozen Four in the last eleven years.  They have a first line — Johnny Gaudreau, Kevin Hayes, and Bill Arnold — that is just flat-out lethal, having scored 76 goals this season.  Add in a Freshman goalie, Thatcher Demko, who can hold his own, with a 2.16 goals-against average, and a .920 saves percentage.  These guys put together a 19-game unbeaten steak during the season, going 17-0-2 in that stretch.  Another team with the same question:  Can they continue their hot NCAA Tournament play, and avoid slipping and losing as they did to close out their regular season play, and the Hockey East tournament?

North Dakota has seven NCAA Championships, and is in search of a name for their athletic teams, which they can not adopt and use until 2015, as they continue to avoid the use of the school colors of green and pink.  Wow, talk about a place with a lot going on!  North Dakota has a couple of guys who can find the net, in Rocco Grimaldi, “The California Kid,” with 17 goals, and Michael “Route 66” Parks, with 12.  These guys started the season out lousy, and then turned in a twelve-game unbeaten streak, going 10-0-2 in that stretch, to pop up high in the rankings.  And they are another team who we have to ask, can they continue their hot NCAA Tournament play, and avoid slipping and losing as they did to close out their regular season play and the NCHC tournament?

It is all going to be over before we want it to be, and for those who can get near a TV, it should be great viewing.  Then it will be the championship game on Saturday, April 12th, at 4:30PM Pacific Time on ESPN.

Hope you already have your viewing lined up with the gang, be it kielbasa, pizza, chili, hamburgers, or pickled herring.  Just don’t forget the beer.

And I know readers want to know who is going to win the pool.  What a difference a year makes.  Most people choose the highly ranked teams, and it is the upset or two that narrows the field down.  For example, last year we had only one entrant with 8 correct picks after twelve games, and only two with 7.   This year we have four with 10 correct picks, ten with 9 correct picks, and as many with eight.

We have so many people in the running that it’s amazing.  But we will have one winner.  I know I can figure that out, one way or another.

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned, and go Terriers, go College Hockey!

— Tom