This is it. The biggest spectacle in the college hockey world comes together this weekend in the least likely of all places: Tampa, Florida. While Alabama-Huntsville is the host school, the four participants of the Frozen Four come from the mid-west and northeast. They come from four different conferences and each team took their own unique route to the Frozen Four. One match-up puts two teams with a combined five NCAA tournament wins (four coming this year) and the other puts two teams with a combined nine NCAA championships. There’s one thing that is certain: Saturday night’s title game will have David taking on Goliath, and it will sure be entertaining to watch.
Semifinal No. 1: Ferris State vs. Union (4:30 p.m. EDT ESPNU)
When you look at this side of the bracket, you must be asking yourself “Who is Union and who is Ferris State?” Well let me answer that for ya: two teams that have been playing solid hockey and managed to survive difficult regions to find themselves two games away from winning the biggest championship each school has seen.
Union College is a small school in Schenectady, NY. Union has an enrollment of 2,200, and hockey is the only NCAA Division I sport at the school. Ferris State is located in the town of Big Rapids, Michigan and has an enrollment of 14,500. While Union offers Division III athletics in every other sport sans hockey, Ferris State is a Division II university minus hockey.
With the background out of the way, here are keys to the game for each team.
Union:
- The buzz has been about sophomore goalie Troy Grosenick has been solid for the Dutchmen all season. He allowed just three goals during the regional. He’s still a youngster compared to the rest of the team but he’s played like a four-year goalie this season for his team.
- Senior defenseman Nolan Julseth-White is a prime example of being a leader without lighting the red lamp. In 99 career games, he is still looking for his first career collegiate goal. Union bench boss Rick Bennett pointed him out as an example of the team getting contributions from everyone up and down the lineup.
- They are in the NCAA tournament for the second-straight year. Last year was the first appearance in school history when they fell to eventual national champion Minnesota-Duluth 2-0.
- For Union to win, they have to find a way to get through the Ferris State defense. Denver and Cornell had many chances to score but couldn’t. Their 2-6 power play success rate during the regional will be something to look for Thursday afternoon.
Ferris State:
- Just like Union, this is their first Frozen Four appearance and second NCAA tournament appearance. In 2003, they defeated North Dakota before falling to Minnesota in the regional final.
- Also like the Dutchmen, the Bulldogs doesn’t have any NHL draft picks on their roster. Jordie Johnston leads the team with 20 goals. The 2003 team featured three 20+ goal scorers including Chris Kunitz with 35.
- The Bulldogs have a solid goalie in their own with Taylor Nelson. He kept his team in the regional with a pair of 2-1 victories while keeping opponents to 0-10 on the power play.
- For the Bulldogs to win, they have to stay out of the penalty box. They cannot afford to rely on their successful penalty kill to keep them in the game.
Semifinal No. 2: Minnesota vs. Boston College (8:00 p.m. EDT ESPN2)
The prime time semifinal features two of the historical great franchises in college hockey. The Golden Gophers and Eagles combine for nine national titles, including five in the last 11 years. This doesn’t include two additional title game appearances by Boston College in recent years. Both teams are great at putting the puck in the net as Minnesota leads the nation with 3.67 goals per game. Boston College is sixth at 3.5. As you can tell, both teams are essentially a mirror of one another.
Boston College:
- The Eagles have won 17 straight games, including five shutouts. They have yet to allow a goal in the NCAA tournament.
- 16 straight games they have allowed two or less goals, key for a team that wants to have success in the Frozen Four.
- Has the advantage in Frozen Four experience as they have players on the 2010 national championship team.
Minnesota:
- Making first NCAA tournament appearance since 2008. In the process they scored 12 goals in regional as they scored seven on Boston University and five on North Dakota.
- Look for Kent Patterson to play an important role. The WCHA goaltending champion had a 2.23 and a .911 save percentage this season. If there’s anyone who can help halt the long winning streak of BC’s, it’s him.
- Nick Bjugstad hasn’t been the same player since suffering an injury in the middle of the season. He led the team in goals before the injury but it will be interesting to see if the extra week of rest will help him find his way comfortably in the slot where he scored a lot of goals this season.
Predictions:
Ferris State over Union 3-2
Boston College over Minnesota 4-3
The 2012 Frozen Four Championship will be contested Saturday, April 7 at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN2.
