By Ryan Stieg
The biggest weekend of the college hockey season has finally arrived and it should be a blast in St. Louis. I know I’ll be enjoying it even though my predictions weren’t as successful as they were during the CCHA Tournament.
I only picked one of this year’s Frozen Four participants correctly, but at the same time, I’m pretty sure that was the case for a lot of people. There were more upsets than expected as top seeds Michigan State and Maine both got bounced in the first round, while Minnesota and Boston College were also eliminated earlier than expected. In fact, none of the teams that made the Frozen Four the last time it was in St. Louis back in 2007 made a return trip this year. You’re welcome for that fun fact.
The Big Ten had an especially poor showing as only one of its programs managed to make it to the Lou and that’s the team that barely got into the tournament. For all that hype and all that available money to give to players, the big, bad Big Ten continues to be the one that flops on the big stage. Meanwhile, the traditionally strong NCHC got two teams to Missouri and one team earned a spot out of seemingly overhyped Hockey East.
Anyway, that’s enough talk about the first two rounds. Here are my picks for this year’s slate in St. Louis.
Frozen Four semifinal No. 1
Denver vs. Western Michigan
This has the potential to be a classic. The Pioneers are the defending champions and are maybe even better than last year’s squad. Zeev Buium and Jack Devine are entertaining to watch and Matt Davis appears to be playing at the same level in net that he was during last season’s title run. DU also looked impressive when it blew out Providence and then beat BC in the Manchester Regional final in a rematch of last year’s national championship. Then there’s the Broncos, who are just simply getting the job done. They beat Minnesota State in double overtime and then rallied to take down UMass in the West Regional final. Alex Bump and Grant Slukynsky provide a good 1-2 punch and then Hampton Slukynsky might be one of the few goalies that can duel with Davis. It’s risky to pick against DU after all their previous success, but I just feel Western has that vibe this year. It came back from a 3-0 deficit in the third period to beat the Pioneers in the NCHC title game and I think it finds a way to outlast them again. The Broncos win 3-2.
Frozen Four semifinal No. 2
Penn State vs. Boston University
A common theory is that whoever wins the first semifinal will win it all and that idea makes sense. However, don’t sleep on these two teams. The Nittany Lions don’t exactly strike fear into opposing teams, but they made it to St. Louis whereas more talented teams failed. PSU has a strong offense led by Hobey Baker Top 10 finalist Aiden Fink, so its strategy of scoring goals and just hoping for the best on defense might work out. The Terriers, on the other hand, are back in the FF for the third straight season and are hoping to finally get out of the semifinals after losing to Minnesota and Denver the previous two times. BU has three stars in Cole Hutson, Quinn Hutson and Cole Eiserman. It also exploded in the third period to beat Ohio State in the first round and then eliminated Cornell in overtime in the final. I’m torn about this game as it could go either way. However, I’m going with the deeper team and that’s BU. The Terriers win 4-2.
National Championship: Boston University vs. Western Michigan
One team is looking for its elusive sixth national title in its 25th Frozen Four appearance, while the other is trying to get its first ever championship in its first Frozen Four. It’s a tough call as the Terriers are good as usual, but at the same time, Western seems to have put everything together this year. There’s some great storylines with this game. Hockey East vs. NCHC. Traditional powerhouse vs. potential powerhouse. As good as BU is, its best chance of winning it all was last year, and I think Western finishes the job on Saturday. The Broncos win the national title, 4-3.