Monday, April 4, 2011

Frozen Four Set to Face Off

Michigan, Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota and Notre Dame advance to St. Paul

Frozen Four Set to Face Off

Michigan, Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota and Notre Dame won the four NCAA Regionals and have advanced to the 2011 NCAA Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn.

Minnesota Duluth will face Notre Dame in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 7. Michigan and North Dakota will meet at 8:30 p.m. ET. Both semifinals will be broadcast live on ESPN2, while the championship game – on Saturday, April 9, at 7 p.m. ET – will be on ESPN.

On Friday, fans can watch the Hobey Baker Award presentation at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

Ticket demand for the 2011 Frozen Four is higher than any recent event, with all-session packages on StubHub going for at least $399.

One team in the final will be competing for its first national championship, as Minnesota Duluth and Notre Dame have never won one. On the other side of the bracket, Michigan (9 titles) and Notre Dakota (7) are among the most successful schools in tournament history.

A few other notes on the four teams:

  • North Dakota is the only No. 1 seed in the group and the only one of the four to have won its conference tournament.
  • The four rosters feature players from 19 states, six Canadian provinces and three countries (U.S., Canada and Sweden). Regions with the most representatives are Minnesota (26), Michigan (15), Alberta (12) and Ontario (7).
  • Forty-four NHL draft picks will be in the field, coming from 23 of the 30 teams in the NHL. Montreal has the most picks in action with five.
  • The USHL produced 45 of the participants, or 43.7%. The U.S. NTDP has 14 former players in the Frozen Four.
  • While two of the schools have won titles in the past, three of the head coaches have led teams to championships. Jeff Jackson of Notre Dame led Lake Superior State to the 1992 and ?94 titles and is seeking to become the fourth coach to win titles at two schools (Rick Comley, Ned Harkness and Jerry York are the others).
  • Notre Dame and Minnesota Duluth won their regions despite struggling a bit down the stretch; those two teams are 15-9-2 combined since Feb. 11, while Michigan and North Dakota are 24-1-1 in that time.
  • Brothers Matt (Michigan) and Bryan (Notre Dame) Rust could meet in the national championship game.