Frozen Four 2015: NCAA Hockey Championship Bracket and Predictions
After over a week of waiting, the Frozen Four is finally here. Four programs will take the ice Thursday to resume their huge run to determine which two teams will play for the national championship on Saturday night.
The two sides of the bracket couldn't be any different from one another.
On one side, Omaha and Providence have a combined one appearance in the final with no championships. Meanwhile, Boston University and North Dakota have a combined 22 finals visits and 12 titles. Suffice to say, history could be made this weekend.
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Prior to the puck dropping, here's a look at the full championship schedule and Frozen Four predictions.
| April 9 | Omaha vs. Providence | 5 p.m. | ESPN2 | Omaha |
| April 9 | Boston University vs. North Dakota | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN2 | Boston |
Full bracket can be found at NCAA.com.
Predictions Breakdown
Omaha is looking to continue a memorable run for the program after fading down the stretch at the end of the regular season. The Mavericks missed out on a No. 1 seed after losing to St. Cloud State in the NCHC tournament.
Thanks to outstanding play between the pipes from goaltender Ryan Massa, Omaha has been untouchable in bracket play. The senior leader allowed just one goal in the Midwest Regional and finished with a shutout to lead the way into the Frozen Four.
Mavericks coach Dean Blais spoke about what makes his goalie so special, via Jashvina Shah of College Hockey News:
The Mavericks can pepper any goalie with a ton of shots and have shined late in games. In their two games thus far, Omaha has six goals in the final period behind Jake Guentzel and Austin Ortega. Look for both to emerge again on Thursday night to lead Omaha to its first final.
Goaltending might be the story in the other matchup as well.
North Dakota’s Zane McIntyre is the school's all-time leader in career goals-against average (2.08) and save percentage (.927). However, he'll be facing his toughest competition of the year against Jack Eichel. Ironically enough, both are nominated for the Hobey Baker Hat Trick Award, via College Hockey News:
Before the award is announced on Friday, Eichel can make a huge statement by getting shots past McIntyre. The freshman has more than lived up to the hype with Boston, as John Buccigross of ESPN points out:
Currently ranked at No. 2 in the draft rankings, according to Mike G. Morreale of NHL.com, Eichel will be the player shining on Thursday. As his NHL career approaches, Eichel will lead Boston past North Dakota on a national stage.
Going up against another stellar goaltender in Massa, Eichel will get one more chance to prove why he should be ahead of Connor McDavid. Given his success this season, there's no reason not to believe he can excel again to earn Boston its sixth title and first since 2009.
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