College Hockey Update:  Ok, first things first, and this is important — I have emailed you your own 2017 NCAA Tournament bracket (my email list just is not as complete as the email list on the system — if you did not get an email from me with a bracket please contact me right away with your email address and I’ll send one to you; my email address appears below right above the rankings table); please open it immediately, make your picks, and email your picks back to me in a single typed line as my picks are below, including the score of your final game. My picks are provided here as an example of how your picks should look when they are sent to me (note that the number before each pick is the number under the space where you would write the score for each game on the bracket; it’s a “game number.”): 

1.University of Minnesota at Duluth 2. Boston University 3.Western Michigan University 4.Harvard University 5.University of Denver 6.Union College 7.Univeristy of Massachusetts at Lowell 8.University of Minnesota 9.Boston U. 10.Harvard U. 11.U. of Denver 12. U. of Massachusetts at Lowell 13.Boston U. 14.U. of Denver 15.Boston U. 3-2

You don’t have to feel like you really know who is going to win, and remember — It costs nothing to play, and the winner gets a prize.  So do it now!

There were three upset winners in the conference tournaments last weekend, so let’s run quickly through this, conference by conference.

Atlantic Hockey:  The news here is that Robert Morris University beat Canisius in the first round, advancing to the championship game.  Meanwhile Air Force held off Army in a skin tight 1-0 battle, and then held off Robert Morris 2-1 off of goals by Erik Baskin in the first (Jordan Himley on the assist), and Jordan Himley in the second.  Air Force is on a fourteen game unbeaten streak (12-0-2), is 26-9-5, and is ranked #15 in the poll today’s poll.  Robert Morris ended the season at #22 in the poll.  Air Force will be playing in the NCAA Tournament, and plays next against #8 Western Michigan in the late game Friday at 4:30pm Pacific Time, in Providence, RI, on ESPN3.

Big Ten/Six:  In the play-in round, Ohio State beat Michigan State, and Penn State dispatched Michigan, to advance to the semifinals.  In the semis, it was Penn State over Minnesota, and Wisconsin over Ohio State in two close games (Penn State in doubt OT).  Penn State beat Wisconsin in another double OT game for the championship.  Minnesota ends the season ranked #5 in the poll; Penn State #11; Ohio State #14; and Wisconsin #17.  Minnesota, Penn State, and Ohio State will all be playing in the NCAA Tournament.

ECAC:  Harvard dispatched Quinnipiac 4-1, and Cornell also easily handled beat Union 4-1, in the semis.  You like that 4-1?  Ok, Harvard then beat Cornell 4-1 for the Championship. Harvard ends the season at #2 in the poll; Union #7, Cornell #9, and Quinnipiac #20 ; Harvard, Union, and Cornell will all be playing in the NCAA Tournament.

Hockey East:  Friday night UMass-Lowell pounded Notre Dame 5-1.  And Boston College was pounding Boston University 3-0 until BU added an extra attacker with about three and half to go, and let’s see how BC liked that.  In a matter of about a minute, BU scored, and about a minute later BU scored again, and it was a 3-2 game with a minute and a half remaining.  But BU was not able to make it 4-0 vs BC this year as they held on to beat BU this time.  With nine seconds left there was a face-off in the BC zone, and BC’s Fitzgerald sat on the puck to run the clock out and deny BU the chance to score, since BU had put tons of pressure on the net in the possession immediately preceding the face-off; the refs for some reason did not whistle it dead. The BU players, seemingly a bit full of piss and vinegar at that point, tried to move Fitzgerald off of the puck, and a skirmish erupted with BU players really going after the BC players.  Pretty disgraceful.  Two BU players were given game misconduct penalties retoractively in the game, and perhaps were fortunate to have avoided the NCAA fighting penalty.  Too bad BU hasn’t learned that they need to start to play hockey before they’re down 3-0 with only four minutes remaining.  In the final game it was back and forth and down 4-2 in the third with three minutes left, BC added the extra attacker, and like BU the night before, they came within one, but lost. UMass-Lowell took the 4-3 win and the Hockey East Championship.  They also finish the season ranked #4 in the poll; Boston University #6;  Notre Dame #12, Providence #13, and Boston College #16.  UMass-Lowell, Boston University, Notre Dame, and Providence College will all play in the NCAA Tournament.

NCHC:  North Dakota upset Denver 1-0, and Minnesota-Duluth easily handled Western Michigan 5-2 in the semis.  Minnesota-Duluth won the final and the NCHC Championship in a game that featured five power play goals; three of them five-on-threes!  The two third period goals were both five-on-three power play goals in the last three minutes, and Minnesota-Duluth scored theirs with the game tied 3-3, and only a minute remaining!  What a great, great game by two great teams!  All four of these teams will play in the NCAA Tournament.  Denver ended the season ranked #1; Minnesota-Duluth #3; Western Michigan #8, and North Dakota #10.

WCHA:  Michigan Tech prevailed in yet another Saturday night double-OT thriller, 4-3, over Bowling Green, in front of 4,666 screaming Tech fans at their very own MacInnes Arena on their campus in Hougton, MI, on the UP. Bowling Green came on very strong at the end of the season, including the WCHA Tournament.  Michigan Tech ended the season ranked #19 in the poll, and Bowling Green ended ranked #23.  Michigan Tech will be playing in the NCAA Tournament.

This year the top fifteen ranked teams, plus #19, are the field of sixteen teams in the NCAA Tournament.  The outcomes of the conference tournaments seems to have only put one team into the NCAA tournament:  Michigan Tech.  And I suppose we could say the tournament outcomes did impact Boston College, which looked for most of the season as though they’d be in it, but aren’t.  So, this year the NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Tournament Contestants, and Regional Assignments are:

• Friday, March 24th, in Fargo, North Dakota, #10 ranked University of North Dakota faces #6 ranked Boston University (BU, you only have yourselves and your play in February to blame for ending up playing a red-hot, under-ranked team only an hour away from their campus . . . . did I mention defending national champions?  ouch!)  at 12:00 noon Pacific Time on ESPN2, and #3 ranked University of Minnesota at Duluth faces #14 ranked Ohio State University at 3:30pm Pacific Time on ESPNU.  Winners play Saturday, March 25th, at 3:00pm Pacific Time, on ESPNU.
• Also Friday, March 24th, in Providence, Rhode Island , #13 Providence College faces #2 Harvard University at 1:00pm Pacific Time on ESPNU, and #8 ranked Western Michigan University faces the #15 ranked United States Air Force Academy at 4:30pm Pacific Time on ESPN3.  Winners play Saturday, March 25th, at 5:30pm Pacific Time on ESPNU.
• Saturday, March 25th, in Manchester, New Hampshire, #9 Cornell University faces #4 University of Massachusetts at Lowell at 9:00am Pacific Time on ESPN3, and #5 University of Minnesota faces #12 Notre Dame at 12:30pm Pacific Time on ESPNU. Winners play Sunday, March 26th at 12:30pm Pacific Time on ESPNU.
• Also Saturday, March 25th, in Cincinnati, Ohio, #1 University of Denver faces #19 Michigan Technological University at 10:00am Pacific Time on ESPNews, and #7 Union College faces #11 Pennsylvania State University at 1:30pm Pacific Time on ESPN3. Winners play Sunday, March 26th at 3:00pm Pacific Time on ESPNU.

So here we go!  Your bracket has been emailed to you.  IMPORTANT:  Each game has a number under the line where you would write the game winner.  Once you have made your picks, send them to me in a typed line, in game number order, listing the winner.  Your entry, emailed to me, would look like my picks that I listed at the very beginning of this post at top.  Remember, it costs nothing to play, and the winner gets a prize.

ALL PICKS MUST BE SENT TO ME BY THURSDAY NIGHT, MARCH 23rd, AT 8:00PM PACIFIC TIME — THAT IS ABOUT 72 HOURS FROM THE TIME OF THIS POSTING.  If you did not receive a bracket:  [email protected]

This provides the top twenty teams, rankings, records, and last weekend’s results:

[table id=152 /]

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

— Tom