NCAA Regionals in Review; Looking to the Frozen Four

Freshman Daniel Ciampini scored Union's first goal against UMass-Lowell (Times Union)

This past weekend was a very good weekend for ECAC Hockey, one of the best in a while. Even though Cornell did not advance to the Frozen Four, they still beat top seeded Michigan in Green Bay, before dropping a 2-1 decision to Ferris State. Very few people gave the Big Red a chance to win against the Wolverines, but behind Andy Iles' stellar play and Rodger Craig's game-winning goal, they were able to pull off the upset. The following night they played the Bulldogs very closely, but did not have an answer for their second goal of the third period. I would like to congratulate Coach Schafer and his team on a tremendous season. This wasn't the most talented squad Ithaca's seen in the past years, but they might have been the most complete team. Their victory over Michigan might be the most impressive win by an ECAC team this season.

Cornell celebrates Rodger Craig's OT winner vs. Michigan

The ECAC Hockey banner will be carried into the Frozen Four by the Dutchmen of Union College. They were able to beat Torey Krug and the Michigan State Spartans on Friday by the score of 3-1 for the program's first ever win at the D1 level, and then topped the UMass-Lowell 4-2 the following night to advance to their first ever Frozen Four. Union is the first ECAC team to reach the final weekend in college hockey since Cornell did in 2003. Being a Union grad, watching my team win an NCAA game and then advance to the Frozen Four was a surreal moment for me. I won't go into it, but my buddy Zach Pearce at the Union Hockey Blog sums up my feelings perfectly.

I watched all the East Regional games live and I thought Union's Jeremy Welsh and Troy Grosenick  stole the show. Welsh was an absolute beast in both games, making big hits and scoring a goal in each matchup. Barry Melrose and John Buccigross were salivating over him during the TV broadcast, and I'm sure the scouts were as well. Besides his fluky turnover that led to UML's second goal, he played great and was deserving of the regionals Most Outstanding Player.

At the same time, Grosenick let the country know that he was the real deal. Even though he was a Hobey Baker finalist and named the top goalie in the league, I feel that a lot of people around the country were overlooking him because he played in the ECAC. I'm sure many people felt UML's Doug Carr and Miami's Connor Knapp were better than Grosenick, but I think he proved otherwise. He was very good against the Spartans, and then came up with some ridiculous game-saving stops against the River Hawks (which earned him SportsCenter's #2 play of the night). He might have also played himself into a Hobey Baker Hat Trick spot.

I thought Union's fans put up a good showing in Bridgeport. For a smaller fan base, a lot of supporters came to see their team win, especially on Saturday night. The Dutchmen crowd wasn't especially loud, which is probably due to their inexperience (and nervousness as well). I thought the UMass-Lowell crowd was the best. They had the best pep band and the most raucous fans, who had some great signs. They were chanting "Easy-AC" during the Union game, but when the Dutchmen had everything all wrapped up after Kyle Bodie's empty-netter, the Union faithful started chanting "ECAC!," which I thought was really cool.

Union celebrates victory of UML (Times Union) 

Union will face another first-time Frozen Four participant in Ferris State in the first Frozen Four semifinal next Thursday. If Union were to win, they'd be the first ECAC team to reach the final since Colgate in 1990. I don't know too much about the Bulldogs at the moment, but from what I can tell it will be a very low-scoring, defensive game. Ferris is very good defensively and on the penalty kill, but Union is also has a shutdown defense. I think Union's power-play will have to come up big. While Ferris has the sixth ranked penalty kill in the nation, they still take a lot of penalties. If they give the Dutchmen too many chances, they will capitalize. The winner of the first semifinal will play either Boston College or Minnesota for the national championship.

Now, looking forward to the Frozen Four, it could be the greatest weekend in ECAC Hockey in over 20 years. In a matter of 24+ hours we could see the league's first Hobey Baker winner since Harvard's Lane MacDonald in 1989, and first national champion since Harvard in 1989.

While Union will be the league's only shot to break the national championship drought, it's a little unsure now who could break the Hobey Baker streak. This time last week, it was pretty much decided that Colgate's Austin Smith would be the one to give the league its best shot, but with the emergence of Grosenick, he has a legitimate shot as well. My guess is that only one of these guys will crack the Top 3. Will they win? Who knows. Grosenick and Smith are both very deserving, as well as Maine's Spencer Abbott, Wisconsin's Justin Schultz, and Minnesota-Duluth's Jack Connolly.  While I truly think Smith give the league its best shot, Grosenick will also be considered for leading his team to the final weekend.

Troy Grosenick (Times Union)

There's also another thing to think about. Did Grosenick's performance help or hurt Smith's chances of winning the Hobey. Grosenick's dominance over a CCHA and Hockey East team might have some people thinking that his stats were not padded. This could help Smith since some think his goal total is blown out of proportion. Grosenick might have legitimized Smith's stats. On the other hand, some people might think Grosenick is the best player in the ECAC. This could take some votes away from Smith, and the two could cancel each other out. Who knows what Grosenick's performance has done. We'll find out later this week.

This is a very exciting time for our league, and I hope fans of any league team are supporting the Dutchmen in Tampa and the Hobey Baker finalists. Our league gets no respect, and this could be a weekend that changes everything. Let's hope.