Eagles make Frozen Four, but it's RIT I'll be watching

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

The stage is set for the Frozen Four and once again Boston College will be there.

The Eagles earned their seventh trip in the last 11 seasons (2000-2010) with a 9-7 win over Yale Sunday evening. That's right. There were 16 goals between the two sides, which was an NCAA record for a regional game, eclipsing the previous mark of 13.

BC will face Miami (OH), who survived a double-overtime battle with Michigan, 3-2.

But with all the exciting action going on in the tournament, there is no better story than RIT, which has become this year's Bemidji State. RIT made heavily favored Denver (the No. 2 overall team in the tournament) look just plain bad in the opening round, then made New Hampshire look even worse with a 6-2 win to propell itself to Detriot.

Maybe it was the home-ice feel in Albany. Maybe the stars aligned just right. Maybe they caught Denver in the midst of a badly-timed slump (remember, they lost two games in the conference tournament, too). Maybe they dodged a bullet in having UNH upset Cornell. Or maybe the Tigers are really just that good.

I knew RIT was a balanced team, but the Tigers surprised me in how well they skated, making Denver look slow and how good their transition game is, as was displayed in the UNH game.

Do they have enough to get past Wisconsin and get to the title game? I'm still not sure and I don't know if anyone else can be, either. After all, most of the nation has only seen this team play for 120 minutes so far this year.

But in a tournament that now has three No. 1 seeds and a No. 4 remaining, I'm becoming a Tigers fan.

Here's how my bracket is shaping up (Click on the bracket for a larger view). Check back for analysis on how each Hockey East team has performed in the tournament thus far.

March Madness, Frozen Style

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

So here it is, my bracket for the 2010 NCAA Division I hockey tournament.
(Click on the bracket for a bigger view)

As you can see, there are not many surprises in the regionals, with one notable exception. I think in the East, Denver is vulnerable. Not only did they falter down the stretch, but they also go up against an RIT team that has all the momentum in the world and a fanbase that almost instantly sold out of its allotment of tickets, giving the Tigers a distinct home-ice feel with over 1,000 orange-clad maniacs in the stands.
Michigan over Bemidji State is somewhat of an upset, but given how well Michigan has played over the last month, I'm not going to call it one.
I think it will be Miami, Boston College, Wisonsin and Cornell in the Frozen Four with Wisconsin and Miami moving on for a CCHA-WCHA title game.
Sure, I think Wisconsin is the softest of the No. 1 seeds, but I think they also have the softest regional bracket overall and I can see Cornell suffering a letdown after what is sure to be an emotion-filled slugfest between the Big Red and the Tigers in Albany.
Boston College and Miami should be a clinic on goaltending, but I just think BC lacks the star power this year to go back to the title game.