The tournament kicks off at 3:30 p.m. CT on Friday from U.S.
Bank Arena when the two teams who started the NCAA campaign way back on October
5, Ferris State and Colgate, take the ice to see who can keep their season
alive.
At 7 p.m. in the other half of the regional, former WCHA
conference rivals the Wisconsin Badgers and North Dakota renew past
pleasantries.
The winners of the two semifinal matchups will play each
other the next night for the right to head to the Frozen Four in Philadelphia.
No. 2 FERRIS STATE
VS. No. 3 COLGATE
These two teams have gotten to know each other a bit this
season, playing each other three times, two of which Colgate won.
The Raiders, coming off a 5-2 semifinal loss to eventual
ECAC tournament champion Union, are a young team, led by a group of five
sophomores with 26 or more points. Dynamic twins Tyson (10 goals, 23 assists –
33 points) and Tylor Spink (14g, 16a – 30 pts) spark the young forward corps.
Colgate is young between the pipes, as well, as freshman
Charlie Finn paced the 20-13-5 Raiders with a 16-7-4 record, 2.40 goals against
average and a steady .916 save percentage.
Colgate will look to slow down the nation’s 10th
ranked scoring offense in Ferris State. The Bulldogs, who fell in the WCHA
Final Five championship game to MSU-Mankato 4-1 this past Saturday, are led in
goals (16) and points (32), by senior winger Garrett Thompson.
Junior netminder C.J. Motte, a Hobey Baker finalist, has
been a stalwart in the net for Ferris State this season, notching 27-8-3
record, good for fifth best in the country, a 2.25 goals against average and a
.926 save percentage.
The Pick
DDC was impressed by the Raiders in 2-2 tie (shootout win) against then No. 2 Minnesota back in January. The Spink Twins are a heck-of-a duo.
DDC was impressed by the Raiders in 2-2 tie (shootout win) against then No. 2 Minnesota back in January. The Spink Twins are a heck-of-a duo.
Ferris was
among the best teams in the college hockey this year, winning the WCHA regular
season title and reaching the No. 2 ranking in the country on December 30.
Since then, including a 3-0 loss to Colgate, the Bulldogs are a respectable
14-8-0, but feasted on a weak WCHA schedule. DDC thinks Colgate’s youth takes over
as the RAIDERS WIN, 4-2.
No. 1 WISCONSIN VS.
No. 4 NORTH DAKOTA
Sweet fate finds these once bitter rivals on the same ice.
After a 5-0 win over Western Michigan in the NCHC
third-place game this past Saturday, UND needed two things to happen to make
their 12th-straight NCAA tournament. 1) Have UMass-Lowell beat New
Hampshire in the Hockey East final and 2) have Wisconsin beat Ohio State in the
Big Ten final.
The River Hawks downed the Wildcats, easily. Check.
But, things looked bleak for the Green and White as the
Badgers trailed the Buckeyes 4-2 with just over 6 minutes left to play in St.
Paul.
Twenty-eight seconds later, UND had a pulse.
Wisconsin tied it with back-to-back goals.
DDC, as many UND fans, watched this back-and-forth battle
head into overtime, pacing around a downtown Minneapolis apartment with three
other crazed fans, knowing that their favorite team was one bounce away from
dancing or depression.
Then, with just under eight minutes gone in the extra frame,
Senior Mark Zengerle scored the game-winner in a net-front scrum for a 5-4
Wisconsin win.
Cheers could be heard from Minneapolis to Grand Forks and
back to St. Paul.
The win gave the Badgers the inaugural Big Ten tournament
title and a No. 1 seed in the regional.
It gave North Dakota a chance.
Friday’s tilt renews a rivalry that is 163 games old. Simply
put, these teams know each other very well.
Wisconsin’s Zengerle leads a trio of highly-touted forwards
in Sophomore Nic Kerdiles and Senior Michael Mersch into the first-round
matchup. Zengerle’s 43 points leads the team.
Junior goaltender Joel Rumpel, a Hobey Baker Top 10
finalist, paces a defensive group that allows 2.50 goals a game. Rumpel’s
winning percentage this season (21-5-1, .756) is second best in the nation. His
goals against average (2.03) and save percentage (.930) are both in the top 10
nationally.
For UND, sophomore forward Rocco Grimaldi leads the team in
all scoring categories with 14 goals, 22 assists and 36 points.
North Dakota’s defensive scoring has been a major story this
season as three 'D' men, sophomore Jordan Schmaltz (6g, 17a – 23 pts), senior
captain Dillion Simpson (7g, 15a – 22 pts) and junior Nick Mattson (4g, 17a –
21 pts), have all more than 20 points on the year.
After battling senior Clarke Saunders for playing time early
in the season and a short bump with an injury, sophomore goaltender Zane
Gothberg has been stellar in the net for UND this season.
Gothberg’s 2.05 goals against average is 9th in
the nation and since Nov. 30, has gone 16-4-1. During that stretch of 21
starts, Gothberg owns a 1.76 goals against average, a 9.31 save percentage and
his first three shutouts of his collegiate career.
The Pick
This is a tough pick. Rivals on the grandest stage – the NCAA tournament.
This is a tough pick. Rivals on the grandest stage – the NCAA tournament.
Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto is attributed to the
famous quote: “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill
him with a terrible resolve.”
Although the stakes are clearly not as high as Pearl Harbor,
DDC thinks the Badgers have done just this.
UND was just 6 minutes away from watching teams play this
weekend. DDC thinks UND brings a new energy to the Queen City and gets a clutch
performance from Gothberg in the pipes and skates to a slugfest win. UND WINS, 4-3.
TITLE GAME
Although I like Colgate and how they’ve played down the
stretch and throughout this season, DDC thinks UND will be too motivated from
beating their rival the night before to drop this one. Gothberg leads the
charge again as NORTH DAKOTA SKATES
TO PHILLY, 4-1.
THE REST OF THE DDC
BRACKET
West
No. 2 Notre Dame knocks off No. 1 Minnesota in the Gophers’ backyard. DDC hasn’t seen a killer instinct from Minny yet this season, as they consistently played down to their opponents all season. Goaltender Adam Wilcox is a legitimate stud this season, but it isn’t enough. IRISH EYES ARE SMILIN’, 4-2.
No. 2 Notre Dame knocks off No. 1 Minnesota in the Gophers’ backyard. DDC hasn’t seen a killer instinct from Minny yet this season, as they consistently played down to their opponents all season. Goaltender Adam Wilcox is a legitimate stud this season, but it isn’t enough. IRISH EYES ARE SMILIN’, 4-2.
East
One name to learn for this post-season run: Connor Hellebuyck.
One name to learn for this post-season run: Connor Hellebuyck.
No. 2 UMass-Lowell stymies No. 1 Boston College in Worcester
behind a continued out-of-this-world effort from the sophomore netminder
against the best player in college hockey, Johnny Gaudreau.
Still don’t believe DDC? Hellebuyck’s goals against average:
1.73, best in the nation. Hellebuyck’s save percentage: .943, best in the
nation. Hellebuyck’s shutouts this year: 6, second in the nation.
No more questions. RIVER HAWKS SOAR, 3-1.
Northeast
DDC has seen Union play a few times this season. Up front, they are good; defensively, they are great.
DDC has seen Union play a few times this season. Up front, they are good; defensively, they are great.
Junior Shane Gostisbehere is a Hobey finalist and senior Mat
Bodie is third in the country in defenseman scoring. Goalie Collin Steven’s
goals against average of 1.96 goals a game is fifth in the nation. This
grouping is flat out good.
Providence’s Jon Gillies is no slouch in net, but DDC
doesn’t think even he can keep pace with Union’s 'D' corps. UNION DUTCHMEN TOP THE FRIARS, 5-2.
