NCAA Men's Frozen Four 2012: Why NHL Fans Should Watch the Tournament

Want a guarantee for this weekend’s NCAA men’s ice hockey championship? Regardless of the final upshot of Thursday’s semifinals, Saturday’s title tilt is guaranteed to pit one hardware-laden program against a first-time championship participant.

The latter will either be Ferris State, the fifth CCHA program to reach the Frozen Four in the last six years and the ninth in league history, or Union College, which is vying to be the ECAC’s first title game entrant since 1990.

The former will be either Boston College, winners of two of the previous four championships, or Minnesota, which has just redressed its competitive persona after a three-year absence from the NCAA bracket.

In short, the final clash is bound to be the collegiate equivalent of such relatively recent Stanley Cup final matchups as Stars-Sabres (1999), Red Wings-Hurricanes (2002), Devils-Mighty Ducks (2003), Lightning-Flames (2004) and Hurricanes-Oilers (2006).

The only difference is that this is a best-of-one affair. Accordingly, there will be less time for the underdog to run out of gas and for nature to take its expected course as it always has in the pros.

Nope. It is safe to say either the Eagles or Gophers will be the favorite come Saturday. But they will have to earn their token of national supremacy even more so than a decisive top-dog does in a multi-game clash for the Cup.

There will be no NHL draftees on either bench for Thursday’s first game, but a few fruitful products may burgeon into full view at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, the first major venue many of these players will have competed in.

Union’s greatest challenge this weekend will be giving a multitude of statistics a certificate of authenticity. They enter with the nation’s second-best winning percentage, top defense and scoring margin and the fourth-best offense and power play.

Yet because they come from the historically unsuccessful ECAC and have never played in an NHL arena, they will need to prove themselves more battle-tested than their transcript might suggest.

On the other hand, for Ferris State and Union alike, a victorious or even an outstandingly valiant endeavor in the Frozen Four could be the door-buster for a couple of professional free agents.

Going in, though, the Skating Dutchmen already have a pair of justifiably noted surnames on their roster. Kelly Zajac, the team’s second-leading point-getter and one of only three seniors, is the younger brother of New Jersey Devils’ forward Travis Zajac, while defenseman Greg Coburn emulates older brother Braydon Coburn of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Zajac’s fellow assistant captain and the Dutchmen’s top scorer, Jeremy Welsh, has drawn the attention of multiple NHL scouts and tallied a 2-1-3 scoring log in two regional games. And sophomore goaltender Troy Grosenick, second in the nation in both goals-against average and save percentage, will be heavily leaned on.

Senior stopper Taylor Nelson of the Ferris State is himself one of the stingier student-goalies on the map, ranking No. 9 on the Division I save percentage leaderboard. In front of him are three upperclassmen―senior Jordie Johnston and juniors Matthew Kirzinger and Kyle Bonis―who have each already scored more points this year than they did in each of their first two or three collegiate seasons combined.

The Bulldogs will be tasked with delivering the CCHA’s first national crown since Michigan State in 2007 and on the heels of conference rivals Notre Dame (2008), Miami (2009) and Michigan (2011) all falling short in the final game.

After everyone gets to know the new names a little better, the Forum will clear for all those who crave arm-wrestling bouts between proud, star-studded programs.

Nine of Jerry York’s pupils have their rights in the hands of an NHL organization while Don Lucia’s Gophers have a whopping 17 NHL draft choices. Together, the contesting clubs have at least one prospect representing the future of 17 different organizations.

The Colorado Avalanche lead the way in that category with Minnesota senior goaltender Kent Patterson, Gophers’ sophomore forward Nate Condon and BC senior Paul Carey. The Eagles have a pair of up-and-coming Calgary Flames in Johnny Gaudreau and Bill Arnold while two of Minnesota’s top point-getters, Kyle Rau and Nick Bjugstad, are Florida Panthers’ draftees.

This matchup will also pit a pair of budding Blackhawks (Kevin Hayes and Justin Holl), Capitals (Patrick Wey and Travis Boyd) and Hurricanes (Brian Dumoulin and Matt Alt) against one another.

The other NHL franchises with a prospect bound for Tampa are Boston, Buffalo, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Minnesota, New Jersey, the New York Rangers, San Jose and Vancouver.

Of those who are not currently on a team’s prospect scroll, BC senior goaltender Parker Milner and Minnesota sophomore blueliner Nate Schmidt are both worth watching.

Milner is right up there with Grosenick in every backstopping statistic and is doubtlessly hungry to backstop a title run after watching predecessor John Muse do it in 2010. Schmidt has erupted in his second season for 38 assists, easily the most among NCAA defensemen.

But their most vivid and viewed impression has yet to be made. Thursday and, for some, Saturday will be their time to invite new followers from NHL front offices and fanbases.