While March Madness is in full swing there is another college sports tournament underway that is bringing its share of entertaining thrills. The NCAA Division-1 hockey finals have been staged, and the games have delivered solid spectating. Besides close contests and fun on the ice, we have seen plenty already: upsets, NHL prospects, some lightly regarded schools, and all-over engaging times.

Compared to the famed basketball tourney, the Men’s Hockey final bracket is a truncated affair with 16 teams due to fewer schools sporting hockey programs. This leads to unique alignments, apart from the more widespread football and basketball conferences. It also means this tournament sees regular appearances from universities regarded as “hockey schools.” The University of Denver, Boston U, and Quinnipiac are not known as football bowl schools but make regular appearances in the hockey postseason.

This year, a number of stories emerged en route to the Frozen Four being set up for the coming week, with storylines surrounding the blue blood hockey programs as well as some upstarts making a mark. The clear Cinderella in all of this was Bentley University, a small private school in Massachusetts. After 26 seasons, the Falcons made their first-ever postseason appearance on the strength of winning the Atlantic Conference.

Also seeing its first-ever invite was U Conn, after a record season for wins and making it to the Hockey East finals. Penn State instituted its conference hockey program just 13 years ago, and this year marks its fifth run in the tournament. Western Michigan has been building up into a force and, despite a 1-10 tournament record, lands as the fourth seed overall. This set up the very compelling regional games.

Boston College has to be looking at the most disappointing of seasons. Despite being the number one ranked school for most of the season, it has failed throughout in the games that mattered. The Eagles were defeated in the opening round of the Beanpot tournament in February, were eliminated in the Hockey East quarterfinals, and, after struggling against a smothering Bentley defense in the regional final, could manage only one goal against Denver. 

Second-ranked Michigan State lost the opener 4-3 to Cornell, while the resurgent Maine Black Bears came in as the #3 seed and were handled by Penn State in a 5-1 loss. Two of the regional finals went to overtime, with Boston University prevailing over Cornell and Penn State needing an extra period to get by U Conn. Western Michigan edged U Mass 2-1, while Denver shut down BC for its slot in the semis.

This sets the stage for the Frozen Four to be held in St. Louis, with two veteran schools meeting a pair of first-timers. At 5:00 pm April 10, the defending champs, the Denver Pioneers, face off with the Western Michigan Broncos, who make their first Frozen Four appearance. Then at 8:30 that night, the Nittany Lions also make their Frozen Four debut against the Boston Terriers, skating in their 25th semi-final and third visit in a row. Boston U has offensive firepower — seen in their 8-5 victory over Ohio State — and may need it, as they are the third youngest team in the NCAA and lead all teams in amassing penalty minutes.

The two winning squads will meet on April 12 at 7:30 pm on ESPN 2.

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