2018 Men's College Hockey Tournament

[SabresBaltimore]

The bracket was released. As a Clarkson alumni I'm super excited they got an at-large bid despite losing the ECAC final to Princeton in OT. That put's 3 from the ECAC in the bracket too. Princeton beat Cornell in the ECAC semis, but Cornell was ranked 2 in the country coming in.

 

Conference Teams

Atlantic - 1

Big 10 - 4

ECAC - 3

Hockey East - 3

NCHC - 3

WCHA - 2

 

The Big 10 is leading the way, with 4 teams (including 2 of the top 4 seeds).

 

 

Here's the full bracket: https://www.ncaa.com/interactive-bracket/icehockey-men/d1

 

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1 St. Cloud St (NCHC). vs. 4 Air Force (Atlantic)

Mar 23 4:00PM (ESPNU)

 

2 MSU-Mankato (WCHA) vs. 3 Minn. Duluth (NCHC)

Mar 23 7:30PM (ESPN3)

 

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1 Cornell (ECAC) vs. 4 Boston U. (Hockey East)

Mar 24 1:00PM (ESPN News)

 

2 Michigan (Big 10) vs. 3 Northeastern (Hockey East)

Mar 24 4:30PM (ESPN News)

 

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1 Ohio St. (Big 10) vs. 4 Princeton (ECAC)

Mar 24 3:30PM (ESPNU)

 

2 Denver (NCHC) vs. 3 Penn St. (Big 10)

Mar 24 7:00PM (ESPN3)

 

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1 Notre Dame (Big 10) vs. 4 Michigan Tech (WCHA)

Mar 23 3:00PM (ESPN2)

 

2 Providence (Hockey East) vs. 3 Clarkson (ECAC)

Mar 23 6:30PM (ESPNU)

Edited March 19, 2018 by SabresBaltimore

[Eleven]

Atlantic Hockey really needs to pull it together.

[SabresBaltimore]

Atlantic Hockey really needs to pull it together.

 

Yeah, I went back and did a conference breakdown. Just the automatic bid for them this year. Everyone else has at least 2.

[Rasmus_]

I'm rooting for Northeastern this frozen four season.  I love the way Adam Gaudette plays. 

[NNYSABRESMAN]

Nice to see Clarkson coming back to hockey relevance.

[Taro T]

Nice to see Clarkson coming back to hockey relevance.

Yep. Really had feared that the huge expansion of Div 1 was going to be the end of the program at a high level as eastern Canadian kids that were very good hockey players wanting an engineering degree in the States suddenly had a lot more options than just Clarkson & RPI.

[darksabre]

Atlantic Hockey really needs to pull it together.

Never. Not as long as we have to follow different scholarship rules.

[SabresBaltimore]

Yep. Really had feared that the huge expansion of Div 1 was going to be the end of the program at a high level as eastern Canadian kids that were very good hockey players wanting an engineering degree in the States suddenly had a lot more options than just Clarkson & RPI.

 

I was looking at Clarkson's roster. They have 3 Finns, a Latvian and a German to go along with their typical Canadian heavy (17 players) with some Americans (4 + 1 dual citizen) mixed in roster. Looking back at old rosters though, having Finns isn't a new thing, just something they hadn't done in several years. During the lean years, it seemed to be a lot more Americans.

 

I wonder if the success of the woman's team has had any effect on their recruiting for the men's team at all. Probably not, but it can't hurt to show such a small school can still compete with the bigger ones.

[Taro T]

I was looking at Clarkson's roster. They have 3 Finns, a Latvian and a German to go along with their typical Canadian heavy (17 players) with some Americans (4 + 1 dual citizen) mixed in roster. Looking back at old rosters though, having Finns isn't a new thing, just something they hadn't done in several years. During the lean years, it seemed to be a lot more Americans.

 

I wonder if the success of the woman's team has had any effect on their recruiting for the men's team at all. Probably not, but it can't hurt to show such a small school can still compete with the bigger ones.

There's definitely corelation w/ it. Too soon to tell if there's any causation.

[SabresBaltimore]

Oh, and this may just be me talking out of my ass, but I feel like US Collegiate hockey is on the rise. Is that due to the rise of Big 10 hockey/the aforementioned D1 expansion?

 

Personally if I was a Canadian kid who wanted/expected to go Pro, I'd rather do US college hockey over Canadian Juniors for 2 reasons:

 

1. If going pro doesn't work out you spend 4 years playing and end with a degree to fall back on.
2. If it does work out, you can leave school early without penalty. This includes going to the AHL to develop/get paid sooner.

 

It's always annoyed me that our Juniors prospects have to play in Juniors or for the Sabres until they are what 20? I forget exactly, but those contracts seem to hurt player development.

Edited March 19, 2018 by SabresBaltimore

[Taro T]

Oh, and this may just be me talking out of my ass, but I feel like US Collegiate hockey is on the rise. Is that due to the rise of Big 10 hockey/the aforementioned D1 expansion?

 

Personally if I was a Canadian kid who wanted/expected to go Pro, I'd rather do US college hockey over Canadian Juniors for 2 reasons:

 

 

• If going pro doesn't work out you spend 4 years playing and end with a degree to fall back on.
• If it does work out, you can leave school early without penalty. This includes going to the AHL to develop/get paid sooner.

 

It's always annoyed me that our Juniors prospects have to play in Juniors or for the Sabres until they are what 20? I forget exactly, but those contracts seem to hurt player development.

Not sure why everybody still takes issue w/ kids getting to become FA's after 4 years of NCAA. It is essentially the same for kids going to juniors. They get redrafted after 2 years and can then become FA's after 2 more years of juniors - aka 4 years. They date they turn FA is different for junior & college players, but the net result is equivalent - they become FA's 4 years after being drafted.

 

That none of them do it is indicative of why they go to Juniors - to pursue the dream of becoming a professional hockey player.

[SabresBaltimore]

Not sure why everybody still takes issue w/ kids getting to become FA's after 4 years of NCAA. It is essentially the same for kids going to juniors. They get redrafted after 2 years and can then become FA's after 2 more years of juniors - aka 4 years. They date they turn FA is different for junior & college players, but the net result is equivalent - they become FA's 4 years after being drafted.

 

That none of them do it is indicative of why they go to Juniors - to pursue the dream of becoming a professional hockey player.

 

 

What I meant was going to college to me seems to give the player more control of how/when they go pro than juniors.

 

Some players are good enough for the AHL, but not good enough for the NHL yet after 1 year.

 

Juniors doesn't allow that if you're 18/19. I think that's dumb/hurts player development.

 

If they are good enough for the AHL, they should play there. What good does 1-2 more years dominating in Juniors really do them?

 

If they went to college instead, they could just leave college after their freshman year to play in the AHL and hope to prove themselves/earn a callup.

 

Personally I don't really care about them becoming FA after 4 years in college. What I meant was if they don't make it right away/at all they have the fallback of a college degree.

[Taro T]

What I meant was going to college to me seems to give the player more control of how/when they go pro than juniors.

 

Some players are good enough for the AHL, but not good enough for the NHL yet after 1 year.

 

Juniors doesn't allow that if you're 18/19. I think that's dumb/hurts player development.

 

If they are good enough for the AHL, they should play there. What good does 1-2 more years dominating in Juniors really do them?

 

If they went to college instead, they could just leave college after their freshman year to play in the AHL and hope to prove themselves/earn a callup.

 

Personally I don't really care about them becoming FA after 4 years in college. What I meant was if they don't make it right away/at all they have the fallback of a college degree.

Yeah, my response was more than a bit tangential to your point, sorry 'bout that. :beer:

[SabresBaltimore]

Yeah, my response was more than a bit tangential to your point, sorry 'bout that. :beer:

 

Ah, OK.

 

Anyways..I'm excited for the tournament! I may only watch the Clarkson game though. Hoping there will be a few more of those :)

 

Notre Dame is going to be really tough to beat though, assuming they make it past Providence.

[Taro T]

Ah, OK.

 

Anyways..I'm excited for the tournament! I may only watch the Clarkson game though. Hoping there will be a few more of those :)

 

Notre Dame is going to be really tough to beat though, assuming they make it past Providence.

Maybe Tech can do a prop for Tech. ;)

[Eleven]

Definitely gotta sign that Buffalo kid.  I always wanted Marty St. Louis to play for the Blues, and I REALLY want this.

[SabresBaltimore]

Puck drops on the first game in about 30 minutes. I may watch simply because if Clarkson wins later tonight they'll play the winner tomorrow night for a chance at the frozen four.

[SabresBaltimore]

The #1 Overall seed in St. Cloud State is out. I didn't watch the game but Air Force seemed to beat them quite handily.

 

Meanwhile, it took Notre Dame almost all of the first over time period to beat Michigan Tech.

 

Clarkson just started. Let's Go Tech!

[SabresBaltimore]

Bummer. Clarkson lost 1-0 to Providence.

 

Minnesota-Duleth and MSU-Mankato are heading to over time tied at 2.

[Taro T]

Bummer. Clarkson lost 1-0 to Providence.

 

Minnesota-Duleth and MSU-Mankato are heading to over time tied at 2.

Providence's goal came early in the 1st on a weak cross checking pp.

 

Providence blocked at least 30 shots & Hawkey stoned the shooters on the few that did get through. They played each other 3 times & Clarkson outscored them 8-3. Could've used one or 2 of those goals in this one.

[SabresBaltimore]

Yeah, it was hard to get a shot through and like you said Hawkey stopped the ones that did, including a few really good chances. I'm hoping they'll be good again next season. I'm not sure how much turn over there will be. It sounded like Clarkson's top scorer was a 22 year old sophmore whose being heavily scouted. It wouldn't surprise me if he leaves for the pros. They also talked about having a lot of "old" players so I'm not sure if most of the team is upperclassman.

 

To be honest I've followed the women's team far more closely the last few years than the men's. Even when I saw the men's team was doing well this year, I didn't really pay too much attention to the roster. NHL Network shows some college hockey, but it nevers seems to be ECAC. Most ECAC hockey seems to be on NESN or some other Boston area network.

 

In other games, right now Cornell is losing 2-1 to Boston College in the third. I'm definitely rooting against Cornell. :)

Tonight's Elite 8 Schedule

 

3 Minn. Duluth (NCHC) vs. 4 Air Force (Atlantic)

Mar 24 9:00 PM (ESPN 2)

 

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1 Notre Dame (Big 10) vs.  Providence (Hockey East)

Mar 24 6:00 PM (ESPNU)

 

[SabresBaltimore]

Another 1 seed falls as Cornell goes down.

 

Notre Dame and Minnesota Duluth are through to frozen four. With Providence out, do the Sabres have any prospects left in the tournament?

 

Here's today's Elite 8 games:

 

4 Boston U. (Hockey East) vs. 2 Michigan (Big 10)

Mar 25 4:00PM (ESPN 2)

 

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1 Ohio St. (Big 10) vs. 2 Denver (NCHC)

Mar 25 6:30PM (ESPNU)

Edited March 25, 2018 by SabresBaltimore

[bcsaberks]

Another 1 seed falls as Cornell goes down.

 

Notre Dame and Minnesota Duluth are through to frozen four. With Providence out, do the Sabres have any prospects left in the tournament?

 

Here's today's Elite 8 games:

 

4 Boston U. (Hockey East) vs. 2 Michigan (Big 10)

Mar 25 4:00PM (ESPN 2)

 

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1 Ohio St. (Big 10) vs. 2 Denver (NCHC)

Mar 25 6:30PM (ESPNU)

I was pulling for Cornell.  Farrance from Victor with the gwg for BU was bittersweet.  I can't bring myself to root for Boston teams so Denver here forward I guess.  Either way enjoying the tournament.

 

Oh and no Sabres that I see - http://collegehockeyinc.com/nhl-draft-picks-playing-college-hockey.php

[SabresBaltimore]

I think at this point I'm rooting for Notre Dame because they've never won it before, and have only appeared the once. OSU hasn't won it either (or been to a fina), but I just don't like OSU I guess.

 

Talk about a good year for the Big 10. They are guaranteed to have at least 1 in the final, and very good odds someone from the Big 10 wins it all. Maybe I should root for Minnesota-Duluth. lol.

 

Frozen Four Schedule:

 

3 Minn. Duluth (NCHC) vs. 1 Ohio St. (Big 10) 

April 5 6:00 PM (ESPN 2)

 

 

2 Michigan (Big 10) vs. 1 Notre Dame (Big 10) 
April 5 9:30 PM (ESPN 2)

[darksabre]

Go Blue!