MASSACHUSETTS BLOWS NOTRE DAME OUT TO ADVANCE TO FROZEN FOUR

College Hockey Update:  In the first Regional Final, played Saturday in Manchester, N.H., in the Northeastern Regional Final, Massachusetts controlled the offensive tempo in the first period, out-shooting Notre Dame 12-6, and seeming to baffle Notre Dame a bit with their speed, but came out as they went in, tied 0-0 at the first break.  In the second it was more of the same, but actually more of more of the same.  UMass-Amherst got on the board at the eight minute mark on a power play goal by Jake Gaudet, to give the Minutemen a 1-0 lead.  Three minutes later sophomore forward John Leonard, of Amherst, MA., scored again; even though it was only 2-0, and only midway through the game, there seemed to be a feeling that this goal could have sealed the deal, as Notre Dame was being drastically out-skated in a period in which UMass would accumulate a 16-2 shots advantage.  Three minutes later it felt like the earlier suspicion was confirmed when Cale Makar scored to give UMass the 3-0 lead, which stood going into the break.  Notre Dame needed to make something happen in the third, but with UMass playing a visibly more defensively-minded game, they would still post a 6-5 shots advantage over Notre Dame in the period.  With a few minutes left in the game, Notre Dame added an extra attacked, but Oliver Chau found the empty net for UMass, giving UMass the 4-0 win.  Massachusetts advanced to the Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y., and will face Denver on Thursday, April 11th, in the late game at 5:30pm Pacific Time on ESPN2.

This outcome of this game is not an upset in our pool, as thirty-three out of fifty-eight entries picked UMass to win this game (there was one extra picking UMass that was disqualified as a pick), while 11 picked Notre Dame (there were eleven for Clarkson and two for Harvard).

DENVER HANDLES AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL TO ADVANCE TO FROZEN FOUR

In the second Regional Final, played Saturday, in Fargo, N.D., in the Western Region, Denver controlled the offensive momentum early on, out-shooting American International 10-4 in the first quarter, but ran into the same measured defensive play that had confounded St. Cloud State a day earlier, and the teams went into the first break tied at 0-0.  In the second the pace of play picked up from American International as the teams shot evenly at twelve apiece, but it was Colin Staub who scored for an opportunistic Denver offense after both teams had been scoreless for thirty-six minutes, to make it 1-0, Denver.  American International, with their backs against the wall, came out blazing in the third and out-shot Denver 10-2, but Liam Finlay scored for an again opportunistic Denver offense seventeen minutes into the period, to make it 2-0, Denver.  American International added an extra attacker, but Jarid Lukosevicius found the empty net for Denver with a minute remaining, to give Denver the 3-0 win.  Denver advanced to the Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y., to face Massachusetts on Thursday, April 11th, in the late game at 5:30pm Pacific Time on ESPN2.

Was this outcome an upset in our pool?  Depends how you look at it.  In one respect it was an upset, since fifty-one out of fifty-eight entries had picked St. Cloud state to win this game, vs. only five for Denver.  So I suppose it is a supreme upset for Denver to go to the Frozen Four vs. St. Cloud State.  On the other hand, no one picked American International to win this game vs. five for Denver, so in the comparison of Denver’s five picks vs. American International’s 0, one might say it wasn’t an upset given the pairing (there were two picks for Ohio State).

PROVIDENCE CRUSHES CORNELL TO ADVANCE TO FROZEN FOUR

In the third Regional Final, played Sunday, in Providence, R.I., in the Eastern Region, the game had what has to be viewed as a surprising outcome, considering the way Cornell crushed Northeastern the day before.  It didn’t seem likely, but on Sunday Cornell was then crushed by Providence College.  The teams played pretty evenly in the first, with Providence out-shooting Cornell eight to six, but sophomore forward Greg Printz scored at the midpoint of the first period to give Providence a 1-0 lead they took into the break.  Probably no one imagined at that time that the Printz goal would be the game winner.  Providence opened it up in the second period, out-shooting Cornell fourteen to four, and really jumping ahead on a Josh Wilkins goal two minutes into the period, and on power play goal by Scott Conway right as time expired at the end of the period, to give Providence the 3-0 lead going into the second break.  Cornell picked up the pace in the third but only managed a nine to seven shots advantage, and was unable to convert any offense into scoring.  Late in the period Cornell added an extra attacker, but Brandon Duhaime found the empty net for Providence with two minutes left in the game to give Providence the 4-0 win.  Providence advanced to the Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y., to face Minnesota-Duluth in the early game on Thursday, April 11th, at 2:00pm Pacific Time on ESPN2.

This outcome would be viewed in two ways in the pool.  First it’s a huge upset because thirty out of fifty-eight had picked Mankato to win this game.  Among those picking Providence or Cornell, not much of an upset, as four picked Providence, and five picked Cornell (nineteen had picked Northeastern).

MINNESOTA-DULUTH KNOCKS QUINNIPIAC OUT TO ADVANCE TO FROZEN FOUR

In the fourth and last Regional Final, played Sunday, in Allentown, PA., in the Midwest Region, Minnesota Duluth managed to hold Quinnipiac off for nearly the entire game.  While Duluth had the momentum and out-shot Quinnipiac twelve to four, Quinnipiac held them off for a scoreless first period.  Play evened out a bit in the second, but Duluth maintained a nine to six shot advantage, and importantly Peter Krieger netted one with five minutes left in the period, putting an end to the thirty-five minute stalemate, and giving UMD the 1-0 lead.  Quinnipiac turned the momentum around in the third, registering a twelve to six shot advantage, but sophomore Kobe Roth sored for UMD at the fifteen minute mark of the third in this tight game, for the 2-0 lead.  Quinnipiac converted on a power play opportunity three minutes later to tighten it to a 2-1 margin, and added an extra attacker as well.   But Duluth found the empty net with only a minute left to take the 3-1 win.  Minnesota-Duluth advances to the Frozen Four in Buffalo, N.Y., to face Providence College in the early game on Thursday, April 11th, at 2:00pm Pacific Time on ESPN2.

This outcome was in no way an upset in our pool as fifty-six entries picked Minnesota-Duluth to win this game vs. two that picked Quinnipiac.

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

— Tom