The NCAAs

[BCWH Superfan joe]

It's time. Predictions, discussion, etc. :)

Harvard @ Wisconsin
UMD @ Mercyhurst
BC @ Dartmouth
SLU @ UNH

[BCWH Superfan joe]

Let me know if my understanding of how they seed the FF is wrong.

QF winners:
Wisco
Mercyhurst
Dartmouth
St. Lawrence

Semifinal winners:
Dartmouth over Mercyhurst
St. Lawrence over Wisco (might as well pick one major upset)

Final:
Dartmouth over St. Lawrence in an all-ECAC affair.

[ClOuD 9]

It's time. Predictions, discussion, etc. :)

Harvard @ Wisconsin
UMD @ Mercyhurst
BC @ Dartmouth
SLU @ UNH
Wisconsin beats Harvard
Mercyhurst beats Duluth
Dartmouth pounds Boston College
UNH squeaks by St. Lawrence

[freak]

It's time. Predictions, discussion, etc.

Sieve......

[BCWH Superfan joe]

Sieve......

Hahaha well it worked last time. I think the competition is a little tougher this time, though.

[vellnueve]

ugh it won't let me post my bracket image

Wisconsin
UNH

BC
UMD

UNH
BC

BC

[freak]

ugh it won't let me post my bracket image

Wisconsin
UNH

BC
UMD

UNH
BC

BC

As for the bracket itself?



Use the "code" function.


UW
UW
HU
UNH
UNH
UNH
SLU
BC
MC
UMD
UMD
BC
DC
BC
BC


As for the bracket itself....... :p

[gocu11]

Harvard @ Wisconsin-Wisco
UMD @ Mercyhurst-Mercyhurst
BC @ Dartmouth-BC in 4 overtimes
SLU @ UNH-SLU

BC over Mercyhurst
SLU over Wisco

SLU over BC

[MICZamboni]

The Mercyhurst vs. Duluth matchup is an interesting matchup to me. I know very little about Duluth so maybe someone from that fanbase can pipe in with their assessment but what I do know is that they have a very good goaltender in Martin. I also understand there backup is also very good. What I don't know, as a Mercyhurst fan, is about the rest of the Bulldog team.

This is what you are going to get from Mercyhurst. 3 very good lines and a respectable 4th line that won't hurt them. Hosier is one of the best in the country (apparently only 3rd or 4th best in the CHA but that is another thread) and will be at her best for the series. I believe she plays better when they play very good teams.
We have 5 very capable goal scorers in Agosta, Chouinard, Colizza, Bourbeau and Jones, all with 13 or more goals on the year. Dianoski is also a goal scorer who is starting to catch fire after joining the team after the Christmas break.

Payne and Pendleton head the defense and are both very good at both ends of the ice. Pendleton has been moved up to the forward position at times to add some bodies in front of the net. Ayearst, Nugent and Bonello are all experienced on the blue line and won't hurt the team as well.

I have been looking forward to this day for a long time and I hope the girls step up there game. Good luck Lakers!!!!

[sk8happy]

Looks like we fans are in for some great hockey next weekend. Good luck to all the teams.

Here's my prediction:

Wisco vs Harvard: No brainer. Too much depth for the Crimson blueline to handle. The Badgers win 4-1 and head to Lake Placid

Mercy vs UMD: More interesting. But in no way do I see the Bulldogs taking out the Lakers in Erie. This one might be close for while, but again I'm betting the Laker depth plus Agosta carries the day. Mercy 5 UMD 1

Dartmouth vs BC: I'd love to root for the Eagles in their first ever trip to the NCAA's. BC played them tough in early January, but I don't see a repeat. The Green's seniors vs the Eagles inexperience- too much Green! Schaus won't be able to save the day. Big Green Onward, DC 4 - BC 1

UNH vs SLU: Two well matched squads. I'll take the Cats at home- their record at the Whitt is ridiculous.

[BCWH Superfan joe]

That's a pretty perfect analysis all around Sk8.

The one thing I can say about BC is that they will certainly have a shot of energy after being given this 'second life.' Additionally, I'm not sure about the other teams, but BC will be coming off of a week of spring break where they will be able to focus on hockey and get their batteries recharged. Of course, DC might be on break too, IDK.

BC has two lines that can compete with anyone. In the Beanpot against Harvard, the 3rd and 4th effectively forechecked and held their own against Harvard's depth, and Schaus was on top of her game. I'd imagine that both of those things would have to happen in order for BC to win, along with a monster game from one of the 'top 6' forwards of Stack, Thunstrom, Fardelmann, Zavisza, Spillane or McDonald.

As for UNH it's tough to pick against them at the Whitt but I really do believe SLU is much better than they showed today against Dartmouth. Wisco and Mercyhurst are too good to lose at this stage.

And Vellenueve's bracket reflects what I'd like to happen for the most part- but IDK. haha

[dave1381]

Actually, the game is going to be on the first day of Dartmouth's finals period. Lovely. Gotta love trimesters.

I'm sure they would have scheduled this for Friday had the men not been hosting the ECACHL quarterfinals.

[BCWH Superfan joe]

Actually, the game is going to be on the first day of Dartmouth's finals period. Lovely. Gotta love trimesters.

I'm sure they would have scheduled this for Friday had the men not been hosting the ECACHL quarterfinals.

Woo ;) we'll take any break we can get. haha

[freak]

As for UNH it's tough to pick against them at the Whitt but I really do believe SLU is much better than they showed today against Dartmouth.

And while November is history, UNH handled SLU pretty well back then. They tied 1-1 in a game that wasn't that close, with SLU tying the game halfway through the 3rd on a PP scrum. And UNH solidly beat the Saints in the second game.

What concerns me, is that the 'Cats need to start scoring more, because they won't be facing NU or UVM next weekend.

I would really like to see the Faber-Paton-Taylor line back together. Faber-Paton-Long has been pretty good, but before the suspensions, the former line couldn't do much wrong. They were all over the stat sheet.

[dave1381]

I think SLU's a much-improved and much more consistent team since November. Dartmouth's the only team they've lost to since December. I don't think you'll UNH outshoot them 28-18 or whatever like they did both games last time. That said, UNH is still certainly the favorite.

[freak]

I think SLU's a much-improved and much more consistent team since November.

I don't think I implied that they weren't.

March is certainly different than November, but between those two teams, that's all we can go off of.

As I said, I'm concerned with scoring for UNH at this point. I wouldn't be surprised to see 30+ sog, but they'll need to net 3+, imo.

[dave1381]

OK, then my sense is SLU has been one of the most improved teams in the country since November, while UNH has merely improved, so the games will be closer than in November. That's what I was getting at.

[BCWH Superfan joe]

Looking at the box from the last BC-DC game - DC out shot BC 27-17, which doesn't necessarily concern me, we don't typically outshoot the better teams. I like that both teams had low shot totals. In the 3rd period shots were 10-9 DC, so BC wasn't dying toward the end the way they sometimes do. In fact, after a rough 1st period (9-3 DC SOG and both DC goals) BC played them pretty even the rest of the way. They will have to put up the game of the year, but they CAN run with the Green.

[pgb-ohio]

I ordinarily refrain from making predictions. But since my Buckeyes are done for the season and there seems to be a need for a Western perspective on this thread, here goes:

Quarterfinals:
Wisconsin over Harvard
New Hampshire over St. Lawrence
Minnesota-Duluth over Mercyhurst
Dartmouth over Boston College

Semi-Finals
Wisconsin over New Hampshire
Dartmouth over Minnesota-Duluth

Championship Game
Wisconsin over Dartmouth

Best of luck to all 8 teams!

[BCWH Superfan joe]

Why do you think MN-D will beat MC? I'm not questioning MN-D's skill, I'm just curious as I've never seen them play. What do they do that will allow them to contend with the Lakers?