College Hockey Update:  Well it’s here; one of the best, best events in sports kicks off tomorrow, Thursday, April 5th, at 3:00pm Pacific Time, in St. Paul, MN., when #11 Minnesota-Duluth faces #5 Ohio State in the first Frozen Four semifinal game, followed at 6:30pm Pacific Time by #10 Michigan facing #2 Notre Dame 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.  The two winners will face off in the Championship Game this Saturday, April 7th, at 4:30pm Pacific Time, scheduled for ESPN.

Two of these teams have done well in the tournament a lot lately, and two really haven’t.  As regards the NCAA Championship, two of them would be brand new fresh blood for the sport, one still sort of new, and one very old hat.  In the last 21 seasons, from 1998 through this season, Ohio State has made eight trips to the NCAA Tournament, but prior to last year, they had a seven year drought.  This is only their second Frozen Four, and their first since . . . . 1998, which was their first NCAA Tournament appearance ever.  Notre Dame has indeed been in the tournament a bunch — ten times just since 2004; but they’ve never won an NCAA Championship, and this is their fourth time in the Frozen Four (they made it to the championship game in 2008).  So while these two teams are not really fresh blood in the tournament, they would be brand new blood for the Championship.

Not long ago, Minnesota-Duluth won their first and only NCAA Championship — in 2011.  They have been to the NCAA Tournament twelve times, seven since 2009; this is their sixth Frozen Four, and they made the final game in 1984 and last year, and they won it all in 2011 — they’d bring sort of new blood to the Championship.  Then there is Michigan, with nine NCAA Championships already, this is their 25th Frozen Four appearance, and their 37th NCAA Tournament appearance, including 22 in a row from 1991 to 2012.  Ok, how many of you out there are snoring right now?  All four teams are excellent, ending the season ranked at #2, #5, #10, and #11.  While Michigan and Minnesota-Duluth may not be ranked as highly as the other two, they both had strong endings to their seasons.  UMD went through a bit of a mid season slump, but they were 9-3-0 in their last twelve games, and Michigan went 9-2-1 in their last twelve games.

This is the second NCAA Tournament appearance in a row for Ohio State, but only their second in the last nine seasons.  This season they are 26-9-5 and have only one loss in their last nine games.  Six players are in double digits in goals scored:  Mason Jobst with 21; Tanner Laczynski with 16; Dakota Joshua with 15; Freddy Gerard with 12; Matthew Weis with 12; and Christian Lampasso with 10.  Goalie Sean “Tobacco Road” Romeo, of Cary, N.C., has a 2.06 GAA and a saves percentage of .927.  The team has a nation-leading penalty kill of 89.29%.  Will they stay hot in the Frozen Four?

UMD is becoming a regular in the NCAA Tournament with this their seventh appearance in the last ten tournaments.  This season the team is 23-16-3, has won five of their last seven games, and has only three losses since February 3rd.  Five players are in double digits in goals scored:  Riley Tufte with 16; Karson Kuhlman with 12; and Joey Anderson, Peter Krieger, and Scott Perunovich with 11 each.  Sophomore goalie Hunter Shepard (they have a thing for goalies named Hunter) has a 1.95 GAA and a saves percentage of .924.  Can Minnesota-Duluth close it out this year and avoid a repeat of the collapse they had when they lost to Denver and North Dakota in the NCHC Tournament (the only two losses in their last seven games)?

Notre Dame has become sort of a regular in the NCAA Tournament with this their tenth appearance since 2004.  This season the team is 27-9-2.  They’ve won their last four games and five of their last six, having bounced back from a late season slump, which included a weekend getting swept by Michigan.  Their top scorers are Andrew “The California Kid” Ogelvie and Cal “Bay-Stater” Burke, with 13 goals apiece; Jake Evans with 11; and Jordan Gross with ten.  Goalie Cale Morris has a 1.91 GAA and a saves percentage of .945.  Will they get over the hump this time, as they did when they won the Big Ten Tournament in March?

Michigan.  Wake up!!  Michigan has the longest, most continuous history in the NCAA Tournament and in NCAA Titles, and the last time they won an NCAA Title, they won twice in three seasons, in 1996 and 1998.  These guys are 22-14-3, and while they may have the least wins of the Frozen Four teams, their 9-2-1 record in their last 12 games includes a seven game winning streak and an eight game unbeaten streak.  They have four players in double digits in goals scored:  Tony Calderone with 24; Cooper Marody with 16; Jake Slaker with 15; and Dexter Dancs with 11.  Sophomore goalie Hayden Lavigne has a GAA of 2.77 and a saves percentage of .909.  Can they avoid the fall they took in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament?

Before anyone wants it to be, this thing will be over.  For those who can get near a TV, it promises to be great viewing.  The icing on the cake will be the NCAA Championship game on Saturday, April 7th, at 4:30PM Pacific Time, scheduled for ESPN.

So get your viewing all set up, along with your pizza, polish sausage, or if you are at one of those snobby parties in Minnesota, basted brooke trout in a beurre blanc sauce, with many, many cakes to choose from for desert, particularly if you are one of those chi-chi suburbs south of Minneapolis and St. Paul.  But make sure your beer is cold (or Irish Coffee hot).

And yes, I know everyone wants to win the pool from the barrage of phone calls and emails.  The huge upsets in two of the regions made this a heck of a year.  We will all know who the winner is, soon enough.

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

— Tom