NCAA Hockey Tournament 2015: Frozen Four Preview, Predictions
The exclusive field of 16 is set for the 2015 NCAA hockey tournament. Minnesota State-Mankato lays claim to the No. 1 overall seed as the regular-season and conference tourney champion of the WCHA.
Although they may be the favorites at least on paper, the Mavericks are relatively green when it comes to the Frozen Four frenzy. This will only be Minnesota State's fourth NCAA appearance, and it is still searching for its first victory amid stiff competition.
Read on for more information on this year's 68th annual tournament, including predictions as to who will qualify for the Frozen Four and take home the national championship.
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| Friday, March 27 | No. 3 Boston University vs. Yale | 2 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Friday, March 27 | Michigan Tech vs. St. Cloud State | 4:30 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Friday, March 27 | Minnesota-Duluth vs. Minnesota | 5:30 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Friday, March 27 | No. 2 North Dakota vs. Quinnipiac | 8 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Saturday, March 28 | Denver vs. Boston College | 3 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Saturday, March 28 | No. 1 Minnesota State-Mankato vs. Rochester Institute of Technology | 4 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Saturday, March 28 | No. 4 Miami (Ohio) vs. Providence | 6:30 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Saturday, March 28 | Omaha vs. Harvard | 7:30 p.m. | WatchESPN |
| Saturday, March 28 | Northeast Region Final (Manchester, New Hampshire) | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN2 |
| Saturday, March 28 | West Region Final (Fargo, North Dakota) | 9 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Sunday, March 29 | East Region Final (Providence, Rhode Island) | 5 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Sunday, March 29 | Midwest Region Final (South Bend, Indiana) | 7:30 p.m. | ESPNU |
| Thursday, April 9 | TBD | TBD | ESPN2 |
| Thursday, April 9 | TBD | TBD | ESPN2 |
| Saturday, April 11 | TBD | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN |
NCAA Hockey Tournament Preview, Frozen Four Predictions
Perennial powerhouse programs in North Dakota and Boston University are seeded second and third, respectively. Making matters more difficult is the fact that the Terriers play host to the Frozen Four itself, which gives them plenty of incentive to make it that far.
Rich tradition can do a lot for teams that have a lot of NCAA tournament staying power, so Minnesota State has its work cut out with history and high expectations looming large.
The good news for the Mavericks is that they take on a similarly inexperienced club in Rochester Institute of Technology in the opening round and would face the winner of Harvard and Omaha in the quarterfinals. This gives Minnesota State an easier path to TD Garden than most.
Plus, freshman forward Brad McClure showed he could step up when the Mavericks' top line wasn't up to snuff in the conference tournament, as WCHA Hockey highlighted:
Minnesota State coach Mike Hastings was pleased with what he saw from McClure amid such a critical stretch.
"He really made a tremendous impact for us on both nights,"said Hastings, per TwinCities.com's Dane Mizutani. "I'm just happy he's wearing our jersey."
Led by star junior goaltender Stephon Williams, things are looking up for Minnesota State to make the national final. Its opponent could well come from a loaded Northeast region that may beat up on each other enough to have less strength deeper into the tourney.
Passions will be high in the intrastate battle between Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota, while Boston opens up versus Yale and sophomore netminder Alex Lyon, who leads the country just in front of Williams with a stout 1.58 GAA.
Freshman Terriers phenom Jack Eichel is the NCAA's top scorer with 66 points. Senior teammate Evan Rodrigues is tied for second with 57, so Boston has quite a formidable attack.
ESPN's John Buccigross added context in describing how lethal the Terriers' high-octane offense has been on special teams:
Miami University does have the fourth overall seed and is fortuitously on the other side of the bracket, but the RedHawks face an immediate, daunting test against Providence, which will serve as a de facto home game for the Friars.
Even if Miami were to get past Providence on the road, it would square off against either Denver or Boston College, who have a combined 12 national titles between them to the RedHawks' zero.
Boston's strong scoring will carry it to the national championship game against Minnesota State, where the Terriers' own home-ice advantage will allow them to win college hockey's ultimate prize for a sixth time.
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