–by Andrew J. Ries
A year after a Frozen Four which featured a quartet of teams making their debut appearances in college hockey’s most marquee event, this year’s edition is, in a way, a return to years past. Traditional college hockey powers will collide in what promises to be a fantastic slate of games today and Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Though history and statistics may favor Minnesota and Boston College, it’s the team making just their second Frozen Four, Union College, who just may walk away with the hardware Saturday night. And North Dakota, a program that marks success by national titles (they own seven) rather than mere Frozen Four appearances, was perhaps the least surprising No. 4 seed to make the Frozen Four in the history of the tournament. These rich storylines, and others, will color this year’s culminating tournament. Let’s preview the matchups and make some predictions.
Boston College vs. Union College (NY), 5 PM ET 
Whereas Minnesota and North Dakota will meet for, at the very least, the 282nd time (depending on which school’s archives you believe), BC and Union will meet for just the second time, one year after their inaugural matchup. In that game, Rick Bennett’s Dutchmen bounced Jerry York’s Eagles from the NCAAs in the first round, 5-1. The rematch this year involves many of the same players from that game, including Boston College star forward Johnny Gaudreau, all but a lock to collect the Hobey Baker Award (which will be awarded on Friday night). Gaudreau’s numbers are truly gaudy (35-42—77), stats more reminiscent of an earlier age in college hockey. Kevin Hayes and Bill Arnold, along with Gaudreau, comprise the most dangerous line in the game, and the biggest task for Union will be to limit the offensive production from the Eagles’ top line. But as much as the high-powered offense tends to grab the attention around Chestnut Hill, it’s the back end that’s equally as impressive for York’s squad. First-team Hockey East defenseman Michael Matheson, a sophomore, is a rock, and freshmen Ian McCoshen and Steve Santini have been outstanding additions at the point as well. If there is a question mark for BC, it’s goaltender Thatcher Demko. Normally a 2.16 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage wouldn’t be cause for concern, and to be sure Demko has been stellar this season. But he only turned 18 last December, and his lack of experience, especially in postseason-type settings, may play a factor against Union. Demko faltered against Notre Dame in the Hockey East quarterfinals, allowing 13 goals in three games as the Irish upset the top-seeded Eagles in the best-of-three series, 2-1. Demko bounced back in the Northeast Regional, though he wasn’t tested much against first-round opponent Denver, and allowed three goals to Hockey East rival UMass-Lowell in the regional final game that BC won 4-3.
Union is a program on the rise, and the Dutchmen just may have hit the peak this season. After Nate Leaman left to take the Providence job three years ago, coach Rick Bennett has made a seamless transition in Schenectady, making the Frozen Four his first year in 2012, and returning again this season. Whereas its semifinal opponent features top-line star power in Gaudreau and company, Union is a lunch pail team that gets contributions from a passel of players. Neutral-zone transition is their forte, and their physical style of play is precisely the formula to beat a more finesse team such as Boston College. The Dutchmen do have one bona fide star, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere (pronounced GOSS-tiss-bear), who is so smooth of a player that it’s easy to miss him on the ice – perhaps the best compliment you can give a defenseman. Gostisbehere just doesn’t make many mistakes, and adds an offensive punch when needed as well. Senior captain Mat Bodie is another defenseman that can throw the body around and factor offensively as well. Up front, Daniel Carr leads the offensive charge (22-26—48), with Daniel Ciampini (19-17—36) and Max Novak (14-15—29) putting up respectable numbers to boot. In a sense, a player like Eli Lichtenwald embodies Union the best. At 6-6, Lichtenwald certainly has size but it comes with a price, as he’s never going to be the best skater on any team. He started last season with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL without a college commitment, and finished the year playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League after being ineffective in Omaha. But he’s become an effective player for the Dutchmen, a tenacious two-way force that combines grit and a nose for the net. Colin Stevens emerged from an early-season goaltending platoon and has carried the Dutchmen for the last half of the season, putting up fantastic numbers (26-4-2 record, 1.93 GAA, .932 save %). Most importantly, Union has been nearly untouchable for the better part of two months. The Dutchmen haven’t lost in 15 games since dropping a 2-1 tilt against St. Lawrence on Jan. 31 that they played shorthanded due to suspensions handed down following a post-game brawl with rival RPI the week before. Since then, they’ve gone 14-0-1, including blowing through the ECAC playoffs and the East Regional.
Prediction: Union probably suffers more from the two-week layoff, as they’d like to use the momentum they’ve built up since the beginning of February to their advantage. Both teams can score goals at ease and clearly have the defensive chops as well. I think Union’s a better four-line team, however, and Demko has shown inconsistency down the stretch. This should be a hell of a game, and I think it will take overtime to settle it. Union 4-3, OT.
Minnesota vs. North Dakota, 8:30 PM ET 
During the final season of the traditional WCHA (Western Collegiate Hockey Association) last year, one of the most frequently-told narratives was the lamenting of the ending of the great rivalry that is Minnesota-North Dakota. It appeared that the two teams were on a collision course to meet, for one last sublime time as conference foes, in the postseason. But then Colorado College shocked North Dakota in the quarterfinals of the WCHA Final Five, thwarting a meeting with the Gophers in the semis. Perhaps more surprising, Minnesota bowed out to eventual national champion Yale in the NCAA West Regional first round, thus negating a potential matchup with North Dakota in the regional final. Now, twelve months later, the fans finally have their matchup, and in the Frozen Four, no less. And although the seedings may make this seem like a mismatch, that’s hardly the case here. In rivalry games in any sport, you can essentially throw the stats and records out the window. Interestingly, both teams had to dispatch a rival during the Regionals in order to make the Frozen Four, and both squads are arguably playing their best hockey at the right time of the year.
Minnesota fans may have been doubting Don Lucia’s team when it stumbled unexpectedly against Ohio State in the semifinals of the inaugural Big Ten tournament, but in reality the Gophers had very little to play for in that tournament, and thus it’s a bad gauge to evaluate the team. A more accurate picture of their play was evinced during the West Regional in St. Paul. Though at times they struggled against super-underdog Robert Morris in the opening matchup, they notched a relatively effortless 7-3 victory against the upstart Colonials. More impressively, they simply outclassed in-state rival St. Cloud State in the regional final, dominating the Huskies in all aspects of the game in a 4-0 victory. Their offensive possession and transition game completely bottled up St. Cloud, and Minnesota goaltender Adam Wilcox really wasn’t tested all game. The Gophers only took one penalty all game and converted when they needed to on offense. The Gophers feature a well-balanced offensive attack. Juniors Kyle Rau (14-23—37) and Sam Warning (12-20—32) provide veteran leadership and head the score sheet, but it’s freshman Hudson Fasching (13-16—29) and Justin Kloos (15-15—30) that are the biggest scoring threats for Minnesota. Fasching in particular is a men among boys, combining size and skills that, while raw, will develop into a force that will translate quite well to the pro level in a year or so. Sophomores Brady Skjei and Mike Reilly star on the blue line, and Wilcox handles the chances that he needs to. If there is a weakness for the Gophers, it’s the back end beyond Skjei and Reilly. Ben Marshall has shown occasional leaking in his three years in Minneapolis, and Justin Holl has similarly been uninspiring at times as well. Freshman Michael Brodzinski emerged from a spell on the bench to have a great regional, and it will be interesting to see the contribution that Brodzinski has against North Dakota.
Whereas the Gophers resided at the top of the national rankings for the majority of the season, North Dakota had a season of ups and downs. Typical of teams during Dave Hakstol’s tenure, North Dakota struggled out of the gate, and following a 5-2 home loss at the hands of St. Lawrence on Nov. 29, they stood at 4-7-2. Following that, they went on a 15-2-1 tear, but then had to sweat it out against a seven-win Colorado College team in a do-or-die third game of the NCHC best-of-three quarterfinals just to stay alive for NCAA contention. After losing to Miami University (OH) in the NCHC semifinals, they needed outside help just to qualify for the big dance, and had Ohio State held on to a two-goal lead with just under seven minutes to play against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament final to earn the conference’s automatic bid, North Dakota wouldn’t have made the NCAAs for the first time since 2002. But Wisconsin came back on the Buckeyes and won in overtime, which ironically set up a date with North Dakota in the first round of the Midwest Regional in Cincinnati. The long-time WCHA foes played a tight contest before North Dakota scored with less than two minutes to play to break a 2-2 tie to ice that win (they scored two empty-net goals for a 5-2 win), and then won a double-overtime thriller against Ferris State to make the Frozen Four. It’s in the Frozen Four that Hakstol has struggled the most, with only one victory (and five straight losses) since taking over for Dean Blais at the start of the 2004-2005 season. This North Dakota team is quite different from typical UND teams of the past. UND has typically been a top-heavy team, carried by star combos such as Jonathan Toews/T.J. Oshie, Oshie/Ryan Duncan and, most recently, Corban Knight/Danny Kristo. This team doesn’t have a clear star, though Rocco Grimaldi certainly has the speed and hands to qualify as one. Instead, they are a balanced squad, both offensively and defensively, and have a strong goaltender in Zane Gothberg. On the front end, aside from Grimaldi (17-22—39), Michael Parks (12-18—30) and Drake Caggiula (11-13—24) are skilled weapons. The forte of UND, however, is probably defensively, namely Dillon Simpson and Jordan Schmaltz. Not only are Simpson and Schmaltz stout defensive players, they factor offensively as well, both gaining over 20 points on the season. Freshman Paul LaDue has also impressed this season. Although they aren’t the most skilled team Hakstol has had, nor are they the physical teams reminiscent of Blais-coached North Dakota teams, they are solid top to bottom, and will give the Gophers everything they can handle.
Prediction: As mentioned, rivalry games are tough to predict. It might be best just to flip a coin on this matchup. Both teams have depth that most programs only dream of. But I think the Gophers are a less volatile team, and based on their play in the West Regional, I think their defense has shored up enough. I expect a close, physical game, with Minnesota’s Wilcox becoming the deciding factor in this one. Minnesota, 3-1.
Saturday: By predicting Union and Minnesota, I’m probably enabling a BC-UND matchup for all the marbles. Hypothetical matchups aren’t too fruitful, but just for fun, I’m going with Union taking the crown on Saturday. Union, 4-2.
