Parity Marks NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament

It's been an exciting tournament to date and watching the top seeds get bushwhacked has added to the flavor of parity. I'll never forget the look on the faces of Minnesota fans as they were unceremoniously tossed from this years Championship. Sitting thru a 0-0 tie for over 100 minutes of play last night as Wisconsin and Cornell battled for a shot in the Frozen Four and set an NCAA record for longest scoreless game in NCAA History, what a performance by Cornell ....... Hey I'm going out on a limb and say Maine will win this years Championship. I love an underdog! This years Tournament has provided plenty of underdog upsets........

posted by skydivedad at 07:08 AM - reply - flag:

Now I'm really pissed off that I didn't get to see the Wisconsin/Cornell game! But back to the parity thing, I love it. As much as it pains me that Michigan got eliminated so soon, I like seeing the smaller, lesser named schools advance. It lends more credibility to the Tournament as well as the sport.

posted by wingnut4life at 07:33 AM - reply - flag:

That Bucky/Cornel game was amazing. I didn't watch it, but did follow it on USCHO.com. Everyone knew it was going to be a low scoring game, but that was crazy. Props to both McKee and Elliot for two amazing games. Potulny for Hobey!!!

posted by emoeby at 07:58 AM - reply - flag:

That's either parity or some really lousy offence.

posted by DrJohnEvans at 08:39 AM - reply - flag:

Props to Maine. This is their 10th Final Four. This their time of year. BC is hot, too. Expect to see an all Hockey East NCAA final.

posted by moosehitmycar at 08:54 AM - reply - flag:

Expect to see an all Hockey East NCAA final That's the funniest thing I've ever read. Have you been listening to Mike Eruzione with all that Eastern bias!!! WCHA all teh way!

posted by emoeby at 09:54 AM - reply - flag:

Extremely bummed that I only caught the last two minutes of this game. I hope it shows up on Classic at some point. As a Colgate fan, watching this game reminded me of watching the '86 World Series as a Yankee fan -- hard to figure out who to root for. Perhaps the most amazing thing about this game is that McKee had looked really mediocre in the ECAC finals -- he was actually pulled mid-period (something I don't believe I had ever seen in college hockey before) during their loss to Harvard in the final. It's so frustrating as an ECAC fan to see our reps fail to show up for the NCAA tournament. Harvard looked unbeatable in the ECAC tourney, totally shutting down a Dartmouth club that had one of the best offenses in the country, but again they wilted in the NCAAs. At least the Cornell game may remind people that the conference exists. Potulny for Hobey!!! Perhaps predictably, I'm submitting my vote for T.J. Trevelyan. I'm a homer. It would be cool if Andy Greene won, though. It seems to me that Miami gets such a raw deal being so far away from every other team in the CCHA.

posted by BullpenPro at 09:57 AM - reply - flag:

It seems to me that Miami gets such a raw deal being so far away from every other team in the CCHA. What about Alaska Fairbanks? They're just a little bit further away than everybody else...

posted by wingnut4life at 10:02 AM - reply - flag:

No doubt -- but Alaska doesn't have a Hobey finalist in the running. Plus, who cares about Alaska -- their not even on the eastern seaboard (kidding... I'm kidding... put down the Koho). By the way, thanks for posting this SDD -- I was starting to wonder if posting NCAA hockey stuff was to declasse.

posted by BullpenPro at 10:03 AM - reply - flag:

Oops. "Their" should be "they're." Reading bad English is starting to effect my own.

posted by BullpenPro at 10:09 AM - reply - flag:

effect? Sorry, couldn't resist.

posted by qbert72 at 10:31 AM - reply - flag:

WCHA all teh way! Yeah, fuck the east. North Dakota, that is all you need to know. Have you been watching them? Did you not see the WCHA final five and the regional? They are on a serious role.

posted by chris2sy at 10:49 AM - reply - flag:

They are on a serious role. So are they like butter, 'cause they're on a roll? All this talk bums me out even more, because I don't have ESPNU any more. So now I'm forced to look for highlights and scan the sports ticker just to find out what the hell is going on.

posted by wingnut4life at 10:53 AM - reply - flag:

So are they like butter, 'cause they're on a roll? Can't believe I missed that one. Roll/role, it happens. I have had to hunt for the games on TV too. Hopefully this is accurate and I'll be able to watch: "the Frozen Four in Milwaukee will be played on April 6 (3 and 8 ET, ESPN2) and 8 (7 ET, ESPN)."

posted by chris2sy at 11:53 AM - reply - flag:

Thanks for the info, chris2sy. I just wish that hockey was more popular, because then they would probably show a lot more of the earlier games on local TV.

posted by wingnut4life at 12:25 PM - reply - flag:

I just wish that hockey was more popular, because then they would probably show a lot more of the earlier games on local TV. Couldn't agree more. Here on the east coast we get precious few opportunities to see college hockey games from other regions, whether it's regular season, conference playoffs, or the NCAAs -- frankly, just finding a local game on TV is a major victory. How awesome would it be if college hockey had the same coverage as basketball or football? (Same goes for college baseball, by the way.)

posted by BullpenPro at 12:52 PM - reply - flag:

Parity? Why isn't it parity in the NCAA men's basketball? Only one team made it there, and there are 64 teams.

posted by pshea2008 at 02:48 PM - reply - flag:

Hobey Baker Award Finalists Matt Carle (Denver) Chris Collins (Boston College) Brian Elliott (Wisconsin) My guess is that Carle will win it, but wouldn't be surprised if Elliot got the award.

posted by emoeby at 03:37 PM - reply - flag:

Here's a link to the Broadcast Schedule for Frozen Four Weekend. It also includes the Broadcast of the Hobey Baker Award Announcement April 7th at 7PM EST as well as the"Frozen Four Skills Challenge" immediately following at 8PM EST. Just a quick Hobey Baker Fact.......unlike the Hiesman Trophy the Hobey Baker Award for the Collegiate Mens Hockey Player of the Year includes 3 criteria; 1. Overall Play 2. Academics 3. Character.......

posted by skydivedad at 04:30 PM - reply - flag:

WCHA is overrated. I was beaming from ear to ear with delight when Minnesota got put in their place by Holy Cross. So much for western dominance.

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

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