The stage is set
That Boston College-Michigan final was a terrific game with Al Montoya playing great. And the Wisconsin-Maine final, I could have watched seven overtimes of that. It was exciting up-and-down action. The North Dakota-Denver game was terrific too. The Pioneers won it late in a game filled with tremendous action. I think a great story is the resurgence of the Minnesota-Duluth program. There's no better hockey country around than in Duluth, and to have UMD, under Scott Sandelin, back near the top is a terrific story.
I don't think North Dakota played very well. With Holy Cross only losing 3-0 -- a tremendous effort by the Crusaders -- was a big surprise because I thought they could get blown out. I think UND having trouble with Holy Cross and then going on to lose a game to Denver were the two biggest surprises. The fact that North Dakota is not going to the Frozen Four is a big surprise.
I think Denver's biggest strength is goaltender Adam Berkhoel. He's one of the two or three top goaltenders in the country. The Pioneers have to get enough offense so that he's not under pressure the whole tournament. DU had a reputation of being a good team but not a great team. However, when you beat a great team like North Dakota you get people's attention. The Pioneers are going to want to slow the pace of the game down. They don't want to be playing at the same pace that the UMD-Minnesota game was played.
Minnesota-Duluth needs to keep doing what it has been doing. The Bulldogs need to continue to get good goaltending from Isaac Reichmuth, and they need Evan Schwabe, Junior Lessard and the rest of the forwards to come up big. Lessard was pretty quiet in the regional final, so he needs to get on track and have a big game for UMB to get by Denver. Expect Duluth to play the way it did against Minnesota. They're a team with great speed that threatens to the outside, goes hard to the net and plays with a little edge. I expect UMD to win because it has too much offense and good goaltending as well.
The Eagles have tremendous skill players. Ben Eaves, when he's healthy, is as good as any forward in the country. His brother Patrick Eaves isn't far behind him. Andrew Alberts is a tremendous defenseman who I think is underrated. He may not make All-America but he's one of the best in the country. Matti Kaltiainen has struggled in net. His save percentage isn't impressive, he struggled at times in the regional final against Michigan and he gives up some terrible goals that tend to have a deflating effect on the team.
The Black Bears are the best all-around team in the tournament. They're mentally tough, they're tough in the corners, they can play up-and-down, they can play it against the wall, they have great goaltending, they're good on defense, they're tenacious on offense and they play with great character. Players to watch include goaltender Jimmy Howard, center Michel Leveille, forward Mike Hamilton and defenseman Prestin Ryan.
One of the things BC is going to have to do is keep the puck down in Maine's end -- exactly what the Eagles did against Michigan. If it ends up being an up-and-down game with equal opportunities for both teams, the advantage goes to Maine because it will get quality chances, and despite having a wretched power play of late, I think they have enough to beat BC.
With the Frozen Four in Boston, Maine and BC have an overall advantage because they'll both have a huge home contingent. It will feel like a home game for BC and it will almost be like a home game for Maine. And each team won a title on the FleetCenter ice this season with BC winning the Beanpot and Maine winning the Hockey East Tournament.
Bob Norton is an analyst for ESPN and a former assistant coach at New Hampshire.
