When the puck drops on Thursday for the Division I Men's Hockey Frozen Four, UNH won't be there. The Wildcats won't be lacing up their skates or taping their sticks. But that doesn't mean Wildcat fans shouldn't pay attention.
For those still in hockey mode, there are several storylines that are reason enough to tune in and watch the Frozen Four games. For the casual hockey fan, there are things that make the remaining games interesting even if you don't have a horse in the race. Here are my top three:
1. Cheer for the team that beats your team.
Cheer for Boston University. If it sounds like I'm advocating treason here, I'm not. I'm not saying fans should rush out and buy a Colin Wilson jersey or don the red and white, but if the Wildcats lost to the future national champions, it takes a bit of the sting off.
The Terriers have more talent than anyone in the field. While boasting two of the final three finalists for the Hobey Baker award-given to the best player in college hockey-in Wilson and Matt Gilroy, they also have all-world freshman goaltender Kieran Millan, whose dominating play smashed UNH's heart to pieces in the regional finals.
At the end of the season, all but one team goes home disappointed. That's just the way it is. If UNH finished their season with back-to-back tremendous games before falling on a last minute fluky goal to the future champs, that wouldn't be so bad.
They have enough talent to bring home another trophy for head coach Jack Parker. It's time to see if they can do it.
2. It's a Hockey East thing.
Cheer for a Hockey East school. The conference that our Wildcats call home has been dominant all year long. For instance, when UNH's record was sitting at 4-5-3 in late November near the end of their roughest stretch of the season, they were still ranked 13th in the country. They held a 2-3-2 record in-conference and that was enough to keep them afloat during their turbulent times, caused largely by the injury to starting junior goaltender Brian Foster.
BU was so strong this year, but for the majority of the season Northeastern University occupied the pole position in the conference standings. Although narrowly edged out by the Terriers in the final weeks, NU's stud netminder Brad Thiessen is the only non-Terrier up for the Hobey, leading the Huskies to its first NCAA tournament birth in 15 years.
Unfortunately for Hockey East fans, BU and Vermont square off in the national semifinals on Thursday, meaning only one of them will be able to advance to the championship game. But whichever team advances, they should have the support of UNH fans in hopes of bringing the national championship back to its rightful home in Hockey East.
3. You want a Cinderella?
The NCAA men's basketball tournament has earned the nickname "March Madness" due to its unpredictability and colossal upsets, dating back to 1966 when Texas Western College beat a very dominant Kentucky team for the national title.
But look at what's happened recently? Last year, all No. 1 seeds made it to the final weekend. This year, there's been a couple of upsets, sure, but nothing to write home about. Is Villanova beating Pittsburgh really that much of an upset? The Wildcats had already downed the Panthers once during the regular season. Cleveland State beating Wake Forest was an upset, but honestly, how many people had the Demon Deacons cutting down the nets? You want an upset? A Cinderella? Ladies and gentlemen, I present Bemidji State.
Who? The No. 16 seed in the tournament, the Bemidji State Beavers from Bemidji, Minn., have already knocked off the second overall seed, Notre Dame, and Cornell on their way to the Frozen Four.
The Beavers come from College Hockey America and received an automatic bid to the tourney after winning their conference championship. If they hadn't done that, they would be back in Minnesota by now, doing whatever it is people do in Minnesota.
The Beavers are the only team in the field that wasn't ranked in the top 25 at the end of the regular season. In most cases, they're home on their couches watching the games, and now they're in D.C. ready to square off against Miami (OH) for the right to advance and play for the national championship.
UNH can't win it. Not this year. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't watch.
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