Frozen Four: Down to the Final Four

Say what you want about the difference between single elimination and a hard fought 7 game series, but the single elimination sure gets the event done faster. The 2014 Frozen Four which began on Friday with 16 teams is already down to the final which will compete for the right to become the best NCAA hockey team in two weeks time. The final four for the frozen four consist of; North Dakota, Union, Boston College and Minnesota.

All of the teams took different routes to get to the final four so we’ll briefly breakdown their tournament thus far, point out the next round match-ups and even offer up our predictions on the final four.

If you’re looking to see North Dakota’s run to the final four you can check out story of their run from yesterday. They entered the tournament as the 14th seed and pulled off two big upsets on route to the final four.

Next we’ll breakdown Union’s run to the final four. Union came into the tournament with the number 3 overall seed and was widely respect as the nations best team so big things were expected. Max Novak and Matt Hatch led the team to an easy 5-2 victory over Vermont in their first game as both players netted two goals. Max Novak came up big again in Union’s second game against the Providence Friars recording a goal and an assist on route to a 2-1 win for Union. Check out this nifty goal Novak potted in Union’s first game.

Novak has come up big for Union this tournament and was named the MVP of the regional tournament (5-2) and is a major reason the team is now in the frozen four.

Boston College

A second number-one seeded team is on to the frozen four in Boston College who owe some credit to their freshmen for stepping up. 5 foot 9 freshman Ryan Fitzgerald, made a few new friends around Boston when he sparked the team’s offence after they fell down by one against UMass Lowell. The big man on camps Johnny Gaudreau came up big in the teams 4-3 win over UMass Lowell with two big assists on the night.

However BC’s easiest game came in the first round when Gaudreau netted a hat-trick on way to a big 6-2 win over Denver University. While Gaudreau needs an NCAA title to complete his trophy rack, Boston College will be looking to win their fourth NCAA title in seven years.

Minnesota

The number-one overall seed is headed to the Frozen Four after holding off Robert Morris and St. Cloud State over the last two days. In the West Regional Final, B1G 10 player of the year Adam Wilcox did not disappoint recording his fourth shutout of the season in the 4-0 win. Up front the Golden Gophers were power by Nate Condon who recorded two goals in their 7-3 win over Robert Morris and an assist in their 4-0 win. Check out Nate Condon’s beautiful coast to coast goal.