College Hockey Update:  Well it’s here; one of the best, best events in sports kicks off tomorrow, Thursday, April 6th, at 2:00pm Pacific Time, in Tampa, FL., when #1 Minnesota faces #5 Boston University in the first Frozen Four semifinal game, followed at 5:30pm Pacific Time by #2 Michigan facing #3 Quinnipac 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 8th, at 5:00pm Pacific Time, scheduled for ESPN2.

Three of these teams have been in the tournament a lot lately, and one really hasn’t. As regards the NCAA Championship, three have won it in the past, and it has been a while for all three of them since they last won it. One would be brand new fresh blood winner for the sport. Since going DI in the 1998-99 season, Quinnipiac has made nine NCAA Tournament appearances, including this season, and this is their third Frozen Four appearance; they made it to the final game in each of their previous trips to the Frozen Four. Coach Rand Pecknold and team have been in the last four NCAA Tournaments in a row, and this is their first Frozen Four in that stretch. This is the 40th NCAA Tournament appearance for Michigan, and their 27th Frozen Four. Add to that nine NCAA Championships, tied with North Dakota for the most of all teams. Things have jelled for the Michigan team as this is their third year in a row in the Tournament and their second Frozen Four in a row. Their last championship was in 1998, and they had just won in 1996 as well. This is also the 40th NCAA appearance for Minnesota, and it’s their 23rd Frozen Four. Minnesota has won the championship five times, most recently in 2003, when they won back-to-back after winning in 2002. Things have also jelled for Coach Bob Motzko and this team as this is also the third year in a row in the Tournament and their second Frozen Four in a row. This is only the 38th NCAA appearance for Boston University, and their 23rd Frozen Four. Boston University has won the championship five times, and it has been fourteen long years since their last win in 2009. Their last NCAA appearance was in 2021. Things have gone nicely for Boston University first year coach Jay Pandolfo, although they have amassed a great number of wins over generally weak teams this season. They have not been in a Frozen Four since 2015. All four teams ended the regular season ranked in the top half of the top ten, at #1, #2, #3, and #5.

This is the first NCAA Tournament appearance for Boston University since 2021, and their sixth in the last nine tournaments, but that is due to a string of appearances from 2015 to 2018. This season they are 29-10-0 and they are 9-1 in their last ten games. They are led by five guys in double digits in goals scored — Matt Brown and Wilmer Skoog with sixteen each; Lane and Quinn Hutson with fifteen each, and Devin Kaplan with ten. Their primary goalie, Drew Commesso, has a GAA of 2.41, and a saves percentage of .914. They have only the thirtieth highest power play goal rate of success at 20.14%, and have only the thirty-second highest penalty kill success rate, at 80.71%. Can they survive tomorrow?

This is the eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last twelve seasons, and the third in a row, for Minnesota. This season they are 28-9-1 and they are 8-2 in their last ten games. They are led by six guys in double digits in goals scored — Matthew Knies and Jimmy Snuggerud with twenty-one each; Logan Cooley with twenty; Bryce Brodzinski with nineteen; and Rhett Pitlick and Mason Nevers with ten apiece. Their primary goalie, Justen Close, has a GAA of 1.99, and a saves percentage of .928. They have the fourth highest power play goal rate of success at 26.36%, and have the thirteenth highest penalty kill success rate, at 83.50%. Will their train just keep a-rolling tomorrow?

This is the fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last seven seasons, and the third in a row, for Michigan. This season they are 26-11-3 and they are 6-2-2 in their last ten games. They are led by seven guys in double digits in goals scored — Adam Fantilli with twenty-nine; Mackie Samoskevich with twenty; Rutger McGroarty and Dylan Duke with eighteen apiece; T.J. Hughes with thirteen; Gavin Brindley with twelve; and Luke Hughes with ten. Their primary goalie, Erik Portillo, has a GAA of 2.97 and a saves percentage of .909. This is the eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last twelve seasons, and the third in a row, for Michigan. This season they are 28-9-1 and they are 6-2-2 in their last ten games. They are led by six guys in double digits in goals scored — Matthew Knies and Jimmy Snuggerud with twenty-one each; Logan Cooley with twenty; Bryce Brodzinski with nineteen; and Rhett Pitlick and Mason Nevers with ten apiece. Their primary goalie, Justen Close, has a GAA of 1.99, and a saves percentage of .928. They have the ninth highest power play goal rate of success at 24.69%, and have the fifty-second highest penalty kill success rate, at 76.88%. Will their march continue on tomorrow?

This is the eighth NCAA Tournament appearance in the last ten seasons, and the fourth in a row for Quinnipiac. This season they are 32-4-3 and they are 9-1 in their last ten games. They are led by seven guys in double digits in goals scored — Collin Graf with twenty; Ethan de Jong with eighteen; Jacob Quillan with sixteen; Skyler Brind’Amour with fourteen; Sam Lipkin with thirteen; T.J. Friedman with eleven, and Michael Lombardi with ten. Their primary goalie, Yaniv Perets, has an astounding GAA of 1.46, and a saves percentage of .932. They have the sixteenth highest power play goal rate of success at 23.27%, and have the fourth highest penalty kill success rate, at 86.11%. Will they stand up to Michigan?

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 (they love that sort of talk in Minnesota, which is just filled with cake eaters) will be the NCAA Championship game on Saturday, April 8th, at 5:00PM Pacific Time, scheduled for ESPN2.

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 proportion of people picking the favored teams, and the lack of upsets, have caused a massive traffic jam in the bracket, with lots of probabilities of ties that would have to be broken.  So don’t fret, we will all find out who the winner is, soon enough.

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

— Tom