The NCAA college hockey tournament is more frantic than the NCAA Basketball tournament. With just a 16-team field, things get dwindled down very quickly after only a few days of games. The end of the college hockey season is coming to an end as the college hockey world will descend on Florida for the Frozen Four. The Frozen Four will feature two new teams and two familiar faces. The Frozen Four will be held in the St. Pete Times Forum Located in Tampa, Florida on April 5th and 7th. The 2012 NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship matchups are set.
In the first game, first timers will face off in the first games as Union College takes on Ferris State. Number one seeded Union will be making their first trip to the Frozen Four in school history. During the tournament they defeated Michigan State by a score of 3-1 and UMass-Lowell 4-2 to reach the Frozen Four. Union is representing the ECAC conference. It will be first time since 2003 that a school from that conference has gone to the Frozen Four.
Ferris State is also making their first trip to the Frozen Four. Ferris State emerged as surprise team from the Midwest Region. Ferris State knocked Denver and Cornell by identical scores of 2-1. Ferris State made their first appearance in the tournament back in 2003, but lost in the regional final. The Bulldogs now have gotten closer to their dream of winning college hockey’s ultimate prize.
The second game features two more traditional powerhouses in the game of college hockey. Boston College will play Minnesota. Boston College knocked off the Atlantic Hockey champion Air force in their regional semifinal. Then they convincingly beat the defending national champions Minnesota-Duluth by a score of 4-0. Boston College will be making their 18th appearance in the Frozen Four. The Eagles are looking for their third national championship in five years.
Standing in their way will be the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota played Boston University in the West Regional Semifinal. They routed the Terriers by a score of 7-3 to play the top seeded North Dakota Fighting Sioux. North Dakota did not put up much a fight as the Gophers took down the Fighting Sioux by a score of 5-2. It will be a battle between two powerhouses as Boston College goes against Minnesota. Expect this game to get more hype than Union and Ferris State, but both games will be entertaining.
With Union, Ferris State, Minnesota, and Boston College in this year’s Frozen Four, the ECAC, CCHA, WCHA, and Hockey East regular season champions have all advance to play in Tampa. Who will be crowned the 2012 NCAA Division I Ice Hockey Champions this year? Tune in find out starting next Thursday at 4:30pm.
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