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| UND's title defense starts Friday at 2 pm from Scheels Arena in Fargo versus the Boston University Terriers. |
It's in our state and the title is ours to defend until someone takes it.
Joining the Green and White at Scheels Arena are three other teams who want to end UND's run at the top and move on to the Frozen Four in Chicago.
Semifinal 1 pits No. 3 seeded UND, the away team just an hour-plus from home, against the No. 2 seeded Boston University Terriers. In the other semifinal, the No. 1 seeded Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs faceoff with the No. 4 seeded Ohio State Buckeyes.
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2017 NCAA West Regional -- Scheels Arena, Fargo
Friday:
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Simply put, this is anybody's region to win.
When the brackets were announced this past Sunday, DDC called a friend when finding out UND would be taking on BU and had a potential looming battle with a foe in UMD that just locked the Green and White in a rough and tumble battle at the Target Center the night before and said, "Yikes."
DDC's first reaction was that he didn't want the Terriers in the first round. The response he got was simple -- "Well, no one wants to play us in the first round, either."
Think about it... The Green and White are playing this regional weekend having just beat the No. 1 overall seed Denver and took the No. 2 seeded Bulldogs down to the wire. UND is playing its best hockey of the season. Add that to the fact that the three other teams are headed to Fargo to play this weekend and the point is easy to make -- this region, this NCAA title, is ours until someone takes it.
Let's get it on.
Here's DDC's "Who? What? How?" breakdown of what will be a terrific weekend. Who will punch their ticket to Chicago?
Who?
Players to watch
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| BU Fr. F, Clayton Keller leads all NCAA rookies in points per game (1.45). |
Boston University Terriers
Fr. F, Clayton Keller, 20 goals, 22 assists -- 42 points; Fr. F, Patrick Harper, 12g, 22a -- 34 pts; So. F, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, 13g, 19a -- 32 pts; So. F, Bobo Carpenter, 13g, 18a -- 31 pts; Fr. G, Jake Oettinger, 20-10-3, 2.09 goals against average, .927 save percentage.
UND
So. F, Shane Gersich, 21g, 16a -- 37 pts; Fr. F, Tyson Jost, 16g, 19a -- 35 pts; So. F, Brock Boeser, 16g, 17a -- 33 pts; Jr. D, Tucker Poolman, 7g, 23a -- 30 pts (questionable with injury); Jr. G, Cam Johnson, 20-12-3, 2.38 GAA, .904 SV PCT.
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| OSU So. Mason Jobst leads the nation's top power play and second- highest scoring offense. |
Ohio State University Buckeyes
So. F, Mason Jobst, 19g, 36a -- 55 pts; Sr. F, Nick Schilkey, 27g, 14a -- 41 pts; Sr. F, David Gust, 18g, 23a -- 41 pts; So. F, Dakota Joshua, 12g, 22a -- 34 pts; Sr. G, Christian Frey, 9-7-3, .910 SV PCT, 3.07 GAA; Sr. G, Matt Tomkins, 12-4-3, .909 SV PCT, 2.48 GAA.
Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs
Sr. F, Alex Iafallo, 18g, 27a -- 46 pts; So. F, Adam Johnson, 17g, 19a -- 36 pts; So. D, Neal Pionk, 7g 25a -- 32 pts; Fr. F, Joey Anderson, 10g, 20a -- 30 pts; Fr. G., Hunter Miska, 24-4-5, 2.23 GAA, .917 SV PCT.
What?
Standout Stats
Boston University
The Terriers are 18th in the NCAA in scoring, averaging 3.16 goals per game and 10th in goals allowed at 2.27.
Freshman Clayton Keller leads all NCAA rookies with a 1.45 points per game mark.
BU has four NHL first-round draft picks in Keller, Kieffer Bellows, Dante Fabbro and Charlie McAvoy and four second-round picks in Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Jordan Greenway, Chad Krys and John MacLeod. Netminder Jake Oettinger is expected to be drafted high in June's draft.
UND
The Green and White are t-16 in NCAA in scoring (3.18) and 19th in goals against (2.56).
UND allows the second least amount of shots per game in the nation with 24.8.
North Dakota is 12-5-2 when scoring first this year and just 9-10-1 when not.
Freshman Tyson Jost is 6th in the nation in rookie points per game with 1.09.
Minnesota Duluth
The Bulldogs are 8th in the NCAA in scoring offense (3.42) and 11th in defense (2.29).
Minnesota Duluth netminder Hunter Miska is t-4 in the NCAA with five shutouts and 2nd in winning percentage .803.
Neal Pionk and Dom Toninato are tied for 10th nationally in plus/minus with a +22 rating.
UMD is 16-0-2 when leading after two periods, this season and 4-4-5 when trailing at that same point.
Ohio State
OSU is 2nd in the NCAA in scoring with 3.97 goals per game but are allowing a 31st-best 2.89. The Buckeyes are first in power play with a ridiculous 32.5%, nearly five percentage points better than No. 2 Northeastern.
Sophomore forward Mason Jobst is 8th in the NCAA in points per game with 1.45 and t-5th in assists per game with .95.
Senior forward Nick Schilkey leads the nation in power play goals with 16 and is 2nd in goals per game with .79.
How?
How'd they get here?
No. 6 BU (23-11-3, At-Large Bid, 2nd in Hockey East) lost to Boston College in the Hockey East Tournament semifinals. The Terriers have won four out of their last six games. BU was rolled by Denver, 7-2, in the first round of the NCAA tournament last season.
No. 3 UMD (25-6-7, NCHC tournament champion, 2nd in NCHC) topped UND 4-3 in the finals of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff last weekend. The Bulldogs have won five straight games. UMD lost to Boston College 3-2 in the Regional Final.
No. 14 Ohio State (21-11-6, At-Large Bid, 3rd in BTHC) lost to Wisconsin 2-1 in the Big Ten tournament semifinals. Before the loss, the Buckeyes had won four straight. OSU returns to the national tournament for the first time since 2009.
The Pick(s)
So now that you're all caught up on the ins and outs of these four teams, let's get to it.
West Regional Semifinal No. 1 -- UND vs. BU
What a juicy match up. These are two of college hockey's blue bloods taking the ice in an arena that will be packed to the rafters.
Boston University entered this season will all the accolades.
Picked by many fans and media as the favorites to raise the national championship trophy at the end of the year, the Terriers have wholly lived up to expectations. While their season hasn't been perfect, BU is a tremendously talented team that is stocked with players who know what it feels like to play in big-time situations. Seven players from this year's squad played in the World Junior Championship tournament with six winning gold for Team USA. The big stage won't scare the Terriers.
On the other side of the ice, the defending national champions know exactly how to play in this spot, having won the 2015 West Regional in Scheels Arena in front of a green-clad, tremendously partisan and raucous crowd.
While both teams won't be afraid of the bright lights, the crowd in Fargo will be jacked up for this one and an early edge will do one of two things depending on who nets the first tally on Friday. It will either blow the roof off the arena if it's the Green and White leading, while the silence will be deafening if it's the Terriers.
Boston University, with all its youth, hasn't exactly been world beaters away from home this season, going just 10-8-1 away from their home rink, Agganis Arena. Also, since the national tournament went to its current 16-team format in 2003, BU hasn't done well when having to fly to a regional, losing in the first round in three previous attempts.
The Terriers have also had a recent trend of falling behind early. In their last nine games, BU has allowed the first goal of the game and have gone 4-4-1 in those games.
So, being unfazed by the big stage is one thing in the WJC, falling behind UND in Fargo doesn't seem like a recipe for success for the Terriers.
Both teams have top end talent. Both teams can score. Both teams are serviceable defensively. Both teams have solid goaltending. What will be the decider?
Again, this one is in North Dakota and this rink is ours to defend.
UND TOPS BU IN A WILD ONE, 5-4.
West Regional Seminfinal No. 2 -- UMD vs. OSU
Ohio State reminds DDC a lot of UND's 2016 Midwest Regional final foe, Michigan. This is a team that can score quick, fast and in a hurry. However, that's not where the comparison ends. Much like the Wolverines last season, the Buckeyes are a bit leaky defensively, sporting the 31st-ranked team defense, allowing 2.89 goals per game.
Their opponent, the UMD Bulldogs are, top-to-bottom, one of the most well-rounded and skilled teams in the NCAA featuring the 8th-best scoring offense and 11th-ranked team defense. Goaltender Hunter Miska will be tested against a team the tries to fire the puck from everywhere, but UMD has been near the top of the NCAA polls all year for a reason.
In DDC's opinion, it's all about composure for the Bulldogs. In the Frozen Faceoff championship last weekend against UND, Minnesota Duluth was incredibly undisciplined, committing 15 penalties and allowing three power play goals. Against the best power play in the country in OSU, UMD has to stay out of the box.
While DDC thinks OSU will get their chances with the extra man, the Buckeyes don't look to be deep enough to hold the Bulldogs down for 60 minutes.
THE BULLDOGS MOVE ON TO SATURDAY, 5-2.
West Region Final -- UND vs. UMD
The Bulldogs have beaten the Green and White five teams this season and have won the last six between the two teams, overall.
However, after UMD beat UND last weekend in Minneapolis, in a game that was as intense, chippy and wild as it comes, DDC realized one thing -- the Green and White can beat the Bulldogs.
Much like against BU, both of these teams can score, play defense and have good netminding. This time, UND finishes the job.
Forget Neal Pionk running over Cam Johnson. Forget all the questionable calls. Forget the late, heart-breaking goal in Minneapolis. Forget six losses in a row.
With sights set on Chicago and revenge in the cross hairs, North Dakota will take on one of its biggest rivals, but this time, it's to keep its title defense alive and it's in their backyard.
It's ours to defend.
UND TAKES DOWN THE BULLDOGS AND ADVANCES TO THEIR FOURTH-STRAIGHT FROZEN FOUR, 3-2.
Strap in, boys and girls. Thanks for reading.
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