NCAA Mens hockey bracket

[ice365 0]

I am a Notre Dame nut so always bet with my heart. I lose a lot that way but I have ND vs ND in the final and ND wins.

I just have not figured which ND but will probably go with North Dakota.

[sitzlejd 0]

Miami finally wins it with Miele as a senior.

[goblue9280 33]

Frozen Four:

Yale, Miami, Denver, Michigan

Championship:

Michigan over Miami

[sickwilly 37]

Frozen Four

Yale, Miami, BC, North Dakota

Final

North Dakota over Miami

[gerbe3:16 19]

FF:

BC over Denver

Miami over UMD

BC over Miami (again)

My God is that Bridgeport bracket a fricken joke.

[bostonjuniorblackhawks 1]

FF:

BC over Denver

Miami over UMD

BC over Miami (again)

My God is that Bridgeport bracket a fricken joke.

Gotta go with my boy Kreider

[jjmills22 0]

NoDak wins the nat'l championship, over Merrimack with Yale and BC rounding out the rest of the Frozen 4

[greech 4]

NoDak wins the nat'l championship, over Merrimack with Yale and BC rounding out the rest of the Frozen 4

I like your FF, but I think BC wins it again. I haven't seen the Sioux since early in the year, but that UMaine series really hurt my perception of them this year.

[ndlancer95 0]

Gonna be at the Bridgeport bracket games.

Yale over Miami

BC over NOrth Dakota

Boston College over Yale

[bandits_5 18]

I would love to pick RPI as a sleeper team , but it will be tough to do that since there playing ND in the 1st rd.

ND over Miami 6-3 in the championship

[gerbe3:16 19]

I like your FF, but I think BC wins it again. I haven't seen the Sioux since early in the year, but that UMaine series really hurt my perception of them this year.

North Dakota is no joke. I've seen them a few times recently. They are the only team that has the depth up front to match BC. Dell is good but so were Lamoureux and Parise before BC lit both of them up in the 2006-2008 Frozen Four semis. The problem with the Maine series is that I think they shipped off to Alaska the week before, flew back to North Dakota, and then flew to Maine. Obviously a tired team there and it was obvious they never even got off the plane in Bangor.

I think you'd have to be nuts to bet against York, Muse, and the rest of the players at BC. Doesn't mean they're going to win it all but they have the best coach in the game (maybe ever?) and a group that just knows how to win. It's fantastic that ND is the "favorite" right now as the top ranked team in the polls (Yale being the overall #1 seed via PWR is a joke) because BC seemingly needs that underdog role at some point to "surprise" people, they play well in that role... not finishing at the top of the PWR and/or polls seemingly works well for them.

Kreider is back at practice this week. BC will get a huge boost up front with him, as not only is he added to the 2nd line but it pushes a better player back on the 3rd/4th line and drops Dyroff out of the lineup. Big difference. My concern is if the defense will hold up behind the top 3. Dumoulin is out of this world. Cross is great. Wey is very good. After that, Samuelsson can be an abortion on any given night (and has been lately), Shea is soft as heck and has seen the bench in a lot of 3rd periods lately. And Alber can struggle at times as well. Top 3 will have to log a lot of minutes and Samuelsson will have to be on his game. Of course, BC has to smarten up and stay out of the box as well.

Sleepers you need to watch out for: Notre Dame, Merrimack, UNO, Union.

[fogelberg 9]

I think Union wins the Bridgeport bracket and takes on Miami. I think North Dakota will advance. I desperately want Michigan to win over BC, but I'm not sure it will happen. That said, I'm picking Michigan to advance and beat North Dakota, avenging the loss from a few years ago. I'm picking Michigan vs. Miami in the final with Michigan winning it all! GO BLUE!

[epstud74 24]

North Dakota was a younger team vs Maine earlier in the year. I would not put much stock in that series, especially given that UND has probably lost more talent to the NHL/AHL over the last 2-3 years than 99% of NCAA teams

The Sioux have a good corps of young talent that is starting to mature.

How is BC able to keep their players for 4-5 years?

[gerbe3:16 19]

How is BC able to keep their players for 4-5 years?

It's pretty amazing how they manage to keep these guys around. Even more so this week as we heard that Dumoulin is coming back for a 3rd year - he's absurdly good already and was as a freshman last year.

For the most part, York is able to get 3 yrs out of just about anyone. He convinces them to put in 3 years so you can either do summer classes and finish up your degree by that 3rd summer or get 3 years of classes in so it's easier to come back and finish at a later time. It helps to have a lot of local kids too, they can stick around and be with their families... it comes back to the types of kids he recruits.

I do have an extra ticket in the lower bowl for the FF games if anyone is interested.

[epstud74 24]

Thanks to the collective bargaining agreement and Don Lucia's questionable hires in regards to assistant coaches..We cannot keep anyone more than 2-3 years.

Aaron Ness? He's gone..He chose to forgo his senior season to sign with the Islanders...No big loss..He was an undersized defenseman..Has no business playing "D" at that level anyways.. 5-8 165lbs is too small, he'll play in the ECHL or Europe.

Nick Leddy? Left after one year...He's now a regular on the Blackhawks blue line

Jordan Schroeder? He left after 2 years. Signed with Vancouver

Phil Kessel? Had him for one year, left for NHL's Bruins

Erik Johnson? Had him for one year, he then signed with the Blues..Is now with the Avalanche

Kyle Okposo? We were able to keep him for 1.5 seasons until he bolted for the Islanders

Thomas Vanek? Able to keep him a couple years before he left for the Sabres

Peter Mueller? Signed a letter of intent, but never made it to campus and ended up playing for the Everett Silvertips before heading to the NHL.

They were able to keep Keith Ballard and Paul Martin for 3 years and Jordan Leopold for 4 years and during that time frame, they won 2 NCAA titles.

I dont think the Gophers have done a good job in adjusting to the NHL's new CBA issue and retaining players.

Wisconsin and North Dakota have had some player retention issues, but not quite as bad.

North Dakota:

TJ Oshie-3 years

Jon Toews-2 years

Travis Zajac-2 years

Zach Parise-2 years

Taylor Chorney-3 years

Matt Smaby-3 years

[Chadd 916]

How is BC able to keep their players for 4-5 years?

Guys that aren't projected to do as well in the NHL, tend not to leave after a year or two.

[greech 4]

Guys that aren't projected to do as well in the NHL, tend not to leave after a year or two.

This. Jerry York does not go out and get the best players available. Jerry gets smart kids who have the ability to learn and work hard, and are built to play in his system. Does BC send kids to the NHL? Of course. But they are not an NHL factory, rather they are the kind of program just about any parent would send their kid off to for four years.

[hampshirepuck 2]

This. Jerry York does not go out and get the best players available. Jerry gets smart kids who have the ability to learn and work hard, and are built to play in his system. Does BC send kids to the NHL? Of course. But they are not an NHL factory, rather they are the kind of program just about any parent would send their kid off to for four years.

Yes but Jerry York does have more NHL draftees than any other team in Hockey East or even college hockey this season. Personally I think Merrimack is going to fall through the ranks in the next couple of the years... if you remember in recent history Merrimack has been the Black Sheep of the League.

Being born and raised in New Hampshire, I love the UNH Wildcats but I see why they suck year after year... the University has put less money in the hockey team which resulted in a arena that is technologically dated... I feel I am watching a game in 96' ... when the place was built. If your a premier player your going to have the best educational and playing experience possible, thats why it seems teams like Maine, BC and BU tend to draw the better players.

My Frozen Four Projections are:

Minn-Duluth V. New Hampshire/Merrimack (Depending if New Hampshire shows up to play)

BC V. North Dakota

[epstud74 24]

The Gophers have 18 players on the 2010-2011 roster that have been drafted into the NHL. They have about 2-3 players that will be draft eligible this spring.

North Dakota has 17 draft picks by my count with at least 2-3 more being eligible this spring

Boston College has 11 players drafted into the NHL on their 2010-2011 roster. They've done well with late bloomers and guys who develop in York's system.

Yes but Jerry York does have more NHL draftees than any other team in Hockey East or even college hockey this season. Personally I think Merrimack is going to fall through the ranks in the next couple of the years... if you remember in recent history Merrimack has been the Black Sheep of the League.

Being born and raised in New Hampshire, I love the UNH Wildcats but I see why they suck year after year... the University has put less money in the hockey team which resulted in a arena that is technologically dated... I feel I am watching a game in 96' ... when the place was built. If your a premier player your going to have the best educational and playing experience possible, thats why it seems teams like Maine, BC and BU tend to draw the better players.

My Frozen Four Projections are:

Minn-Duluth V. New Hampshire/Merrimack (Depending if New Hampshire shows up to play)

BC V. North Dakota

Are Maine and BU's facilities that much better than at New Hampshire?

[bostonjuniorblackhawks 1]

Yes but Jerry York does have more NHL draftees than any other team in Hockey East or even college hockey this season. Personally I think Merrimack is going to fall through the ranks in the next couple of the years... if you remember in recent history Merrimack has been the Black Sheep of the League.

Being born and raised in New Hampshire, I love the UNH Wildcats but I see why they suck year after year... the University has put less money in the hockey team which resulted in a arena that is technologically dated... I feel I am watching a game in 96' ... when the place was built. If your a premier player your going to have the best educational and playing experience possible, thats why it seems teams like Maine, BC and BU tend to draw the better players.

My Frozen Four Projections are:

Minn-Duluth V. New Hampshire/Merrimack (Depending if New Hampshire shows up to play)

BC V. North Dakota

UNH's rink is still much better than Merrimack's

The Gophers have 18 players on the 2010-2011 roster that have been drafted into the NHL. They have about 2-3 players that will be draft eligible this spring.

North Dakota has 17 draft picks by my count with at least 2-3 more being eligible this spring

Boston College has 11 players drafted into the NHL on their 2010-2011 roster. They've done well with late bloomers and guys who develop in York's system.

Are Maine and BU's facilities that much better than at New Hampshire?

Maine's rink is older than UNH's. BU's is much newer but I wouldn't say it's much better than UNH

[gerbe3:16 19]

Guys that aren't projected to do as well in the NHL, tend not to leave after a year or two.

While that is a true statement, it isn't all that true for BC. It comes back to BC being able to hold on to these types of kids more than most programs.

Let's take a look at the 1st and 2nd round picks during the York era and how long they stayed:

Marty Reasoner - 1st round - 3 yrs

Bobby Allen - 2nd round - 4 yrs

Brooks Orpik - 1st round - 3 yrs

Krys Kolanos - 1st round - 2 yrs

Chuck Kobasew - 1st round - 1 yr (a rare exception here but he was homesick and missed his gf)

Brian Boyle - 1st round - 4 yrs (a true project)

Pat Eaves - 1st round - 3 yrs

Cory Schneider - 1st round - 3 yrs

Dan Bertram - 2nd round - 4 yrs (smart kid wanted his degree, quit hockey to take a good job not long after graduating)

Carl Sneep - 2nd round - 4 yrs

Nick Petrecki - 1st round - 2 yrs (huge exception here, he really couldn't stay at BC since he was getting ejected all the time)

Jimmy Hayes - 2nd round - 3 yrs already, could stay 4

Chris Kreider - 1st round - 2 yrs already, probably 3 yrs at most

Kenny Ryan - 2nd round - left after a month on campus... didn't like going to class... DUH!!!!!!

Brian Dumoulin - 2nd round - 2 yrs and has said he's sticking for 3 yrs

Philip Samuelsson - 2nd round - ok, he will be here 4 yrs because he is in no way shape or form a 2nd rd prospect.

Either way, it's pretty incredible. Out of all of those guys, the only real legit guy that left for the pros after 2 yrs or less was Kolanos.

Of course, there is some truth to the fact that York does not try to litter his lineup with these types like other schools do and they have reaped the benefits. York got smoked after winning it all in 2001 when Kolanos, Orpik, and Kobasew all left late in the summer on him, leaving him with almost no bench all season long and obviously not a great team. He makes up for it now by staggering the high NHL picks to a few per class and adds in the local kids from preps that always go under the radar (Gibbons, Whitney, Ferriero, Voce, etc) and are a guaranteed 4 yr guy. So you keep the NHL types around for 3-4 years each and you have less turnover.

It's a combination of a lot of things that puts BC in position to win a national title almost every year. York has seemed to figure it out but it's tough to copy without the education, coach, tradition/history, facilities, and location that BC has going for it. For example, UNH could never pull it off the way BC does.

Lastly, it probably should be noted that BC's 1st rounders are usually not the top 10 type picks but more like the mid to late first rounders, so that also helps keep them on campus.

[hampshirepuck 2]

One of the Major myths about UNH is that they don't do well in the Playoffs because they have an Olympic size rink... I kinda find that hard to believe

Yes UNH's Rink is "nicer" It really needs to be updated it has a terrible sound system, no video screen just a crappy message board , Unlike Maine which has been completely updated with jumbo trons, luxury suites and everything. BU's Rink is basically like going to a AHL venue and has some of the most expensive tickets in the League.

[gerbe3:16 19]

One of the Major myths about UNH is that they don't do well in the Playoffs because they have an Olympic size rink... I kinda find that hard to believe

The main reason UNH doesn't do well in they playoffs because they have Dick Umile behind the bench. Good game day coaches win titles. Umile is not a good game day coach and you need to be when the games get big. He does a good job getting a lot out of his players in the regular season, they play over their heads, raise expectations and they of course fall short. He does a good job recognizing talent and developing talent. But when things go south he just sits there and fumes while Niagara, RIT, Minnesota, and Maine run the score up on them in the NCAAs. No words of encouragement. No advice on what to fix. Just sitting there pouting like a baby. It's pretty amazing to see it happen every year.

But, I wouldn't say that is a "myth". Impossible to tell if there really is any truth to it but it is a reasonable hypothesis for a reason why the players actually struggle on the ice. The just reconfigured the corners at the Whit to help them out so maybe we'll see some better results this weekend. Anyone but Merrimack in that regional.

Minnesota guys... what is the word on Lucia since we're talking coaches?

[greech 4]

The main reason UNH doesn't do well in they playoffs because they have Dick Umile behind the bench. Good game day coaches win titles. Umile is not a good game day coach and you need to be when the games get big. He does a good job getting a lot out of his players in the regular season, they play over their heads, raise expectations and they of course fall short. He does a good job recognizing talent and developing talent. But when things go south he just sits there and fumes while Niagara, RIT, Minnesota, and Maine run the score up on them in the NCAAs. No words of encouragement. No advice on what to fix. Just sitting there pouting like a baby. It's pretty amazing to see it happen every year.

But, I wouldn't say that is a "myth". Impossible to tell if there really is any truth to it but it is a reasonable hypothesis for a reason why the players actually struggle on the ice. The just reconfigured the corners at the Whit to help them out so maybe we'll see some better results this weekend. Anyone but Merrimack in that regional.

Minnesota guys... what is the word on Lucia since we're talking coaches?

We would be best friends I'd say. Spot on about BC through the whole thread...anyways, Dick Umile seems to be the problem at UNH. It's almost laughable how every year the UNH fans get all amped for the NCAAs to only get wiped off the map by overrated western teams and/or mid-majors. They have incredible talent, and must be the polar opposite of BC; as the Wildcats are blistering hot all year only to fold like a paper bag in the spring.

[psh 25]

Minnesota guys... what is the word on Lucia since we're talking coaches?

I believe Lucia's contract was just extended last week. There were all sorts of rumors that Blais had an out in his contract at UNO, but I think that was just wishful thinking. I don't think Don is necessarily a bad coach, but he absolutely has to rethink his approach to recruiting. It's not necessarily the guys who project high in the NHL draft that win NCAA titles.