Dustin

Lots of Big Ten talk for sure. But they never seem to mention the Big Ten Hockey Conference didn't exist when those teams won those titles.

Walks right in and scores.

Yep, looked like slow motion on that eventual Augustine save. Not a surprise the save was made.

UConn 1-0 over Mich St.

I figured I'd start a thread specific to the NCAA tournament games. I'm sure there will specific threads created for UND's games, so this would be primarily for discussion of what's happening outside of UND specifically. I figured I'd start out the discussion by creating a list of the 16 teams and my relative happiness if said team won it all, divided into 4 categories. Elated - North Dakota. Absolutely the scenario I'm hoping will play out. Happy - Probably the longest list of teams in quite a while that I would be happy for that team, their program, their fans, etc. These are in no particular order. - Wisconsin. While I appreciate our hard-nosed history with the Badgers, I do not wish them ill will and easily root for them over more vicious rivals. College hockey is better when Wisconsin is relevant. - Michigan St. Sparty would be on the cusp of joining college hockey's blue bloods with another Natty to their name. I would gladly welcome them to the club. - Cornell. Have decent hockey history, and have not won a championship in over 50 years. - Dartmouth, Merrimack, Minnesota St., UConn, Bentley. None of these have ever won the championship, and getting new blood is good, too. Okay - Western Michigan, Quinnipiac, Providence. These guys have all won their first (and only) championship this century. Are they a one-time wonder, or are they building towards being part of the conversation for the foreseeable future? These guys being successful adds even more parity to college hockey. - Penn St. This is the one I am most on the fence. Their breakup of college hockey alliances/conferences is almost unforgiveable. But I love seeing a big-name institution commit to college hockey and bring a bigger spotlight. Unhappy - Michigan. Their smugness irritates me. I also don't want a former UND player to win a championship after exiting via the transfer portal. - Minnesota-Duluth. The rivalry with the Bulldogs keeps getting more vicious. It's getting close to Gophers and Pioneers. Speaking of which.... - Denver. These guys winning would absolutely be worst case scenario for me. Hope they're ousted early so I don't have to think about them anymore.

Great read. Thanks for posting.

Just spit balling here, but what about a first round of campus sites (1 hosts 16, 2 hosts 15, etc) without ESPN's involvement, and then an Elite 8 tournament to replace the Frozen Four? This would only involve one travel (unless you were going to follow your team to the opponent's home site in Round 1), and 7 games in one venue spread over 4 days. You could even re-seed after Round 1. It has the some of the same benefits of my "super regional" idea in that you get a lot of hockey in one place in a short time. The biggest downside for me personally is that I love watching the Masters, which is the same weekend. As it is right now, they do not overlap much in terms of action/coverage (afternoon golf vs evening hockey), but in this case they would overlap a lot. A Monday night championship might get better viewership than a Saturday night, even though Saturday night "feels" like the right night to end the season. Here's how this year's tournament could be scheduled under this scenario.

I get the low attendance for the game(s) when the host isn't playing, but how it that any different from hosting a 4-team regional the old way?

I listened to part of the CHN podcast this week, first time having ever done so. CHN On the Air, Including the CHN Insiders Podcast, and Hockey on Campus Radio Show on Sirius XM : College Hockey News Of course, they were talking about many of the same things we've been talking about regarding the regional format, seeding via the NPI, etc, etc. I learned quite a bit and thought about things I hadn't thought about before. When the topic came to home regionals, they were talking that ESPN wouldn't go for that because they'd have to send 8 crews. So, each higher seed would host a game? I was always assuming 4-team regionals, like they are now. Have I been misunderstanding what people have been calling "home regionals"? And another aside, if ESPN wants to send fewer crews out, that sounds like a perfect set-up for my "Super Regional" idea. I think that would also generate excitement, have good optics, and be good for the game.

Yes, even though they are rivals, college hockey is better as a whole when the blue bloods are all contending.

It would be interesting to see who calls who's bluff. Would the committee just award 4 regionals to the 4 eastern teams/conferences, or would they award a campus site in the west due to lack of alternative bids? I agree, it would be worth it for a round of bids just to see what happens.

Definitely KG. Not sure about Berry - what's he up to these days?

I've been thinking about this. Maybe not exactly home regionals, but some sort of change to the format.

I don't remember the schedule/time of the regional finals being TBD at the time the bracket is announced. Is that a new thing this year?

Traditional championship game start time is 6-6:30 CT, so I would definitely lean towards that 7:30 (ET) time listed. But you never know.

I've seen different times (and network) for this. This is from the SAME website.

Just has to be managed right. I don't think Hakstol ever really grasped this.

Well, we don't really have any one superstar. Just a load of solid depth.

I'd say dream scenario for UND. Now, no excuses, just go take it. See you Saturday night in Vegas.

So, the only chance to play Michigan, UMD, Denver, or Western Michigan is in the National Championship game? I think ANYONE cheering for UND would take that in a heartbeat.

They shouldn't be, as they have the #1 and #2 overall seeds.

It used to be.

2 pm

"Lead" college hockey analyst for ESPN. Most people on this site don't care for him.

Wow, for some reason I just assumed they were at least a little more successful, like the other Ivy League hockey teams. Last time they made it, UND won the championship. That would be history worth repeating.