Monday, March 23, 2015

Top NCAA Tournament Storylines

More than 100 NHL Draft picks chase national title in 2015 NCAA Tournament.

Top NCAA Tournament Storylines
Jack Eichel’s 66 points – in one year – rank him among the top 60 career scorers in the NCAA Tournament.

Anybody’s game – Six teams have held the No. 1 position in the national polls at some point this season, making this one of the most wide open tournaments in memory. Of course, that’s always true in a single-elimination tournament – the No. 1 overall seed has only won once in the last five years (Boston College, 2012).

Another first-time champ? – Three of the last four years the national champion was a team that had never won it before (Minnesota Duluth in 2011, Yale in 2013, Union in 2014). Seven of the teams in the 2015 field are seeking their first championship, including No. 1 overall seed Minnesota State and top East Regional seed Miami.

No one-year wonders – At most, one Frozen Four team could be making its first appearance in the semifinals. Minnesota State and Nebraska Omaha are the only teams in the field never to reach the Frozen Four and both are in the Midwest Regional.

Experience counts – Despite the rise in early departures for the NHL in recent years, college hockey remains a game that rewards experienced teams. The tournament field is a case in point, with nine of the top 11 scorers in the field being juniors or seniors. A number of players in the field turned down opportunities to sign pro contracts last summer to pursue an NCAA championship, including Miami’s Austin Czarnik, Boston College’s Michael Matheson, Denver’s Joey LaLeggia, Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey, Minnesota’s Kyle Rau and Providence’s Jon Gillies, among others.

Most seniors
7 – Boston College, Denver, North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Yale
6 – Harvard, Miami, Michigan Tech, Minnesota, Minnesota State

Top-scoring senior classes:
145 points – Minnesota (67g-78a)
132 – North Dakota (60-72)
131 – Miami (51-80)
131 – Denver (57-74)
124 – Minnesota State (38-86)

View the future – Twenty-eight NHL teams have at least one draft pick in the tournament, with a total of 107 drafted players on the 16 rosters (RIT is the only team without any draft picks). Chicago and Minnesota (7 each) have the most prospects participating among NHL teams. Minnesota (16), North Dakota (14), Harvard (10) and Boston College (9) have the most drafted players on their rosters. While most players are drafted prior to arriving at college, some – like top-three Draft prospects Jack Eichel (BU) and Noah Hanifin (BC) – are eligible for the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. Many others will be signed as undrafted free agents.

Forty-six schools have had a former player in the NHL this season, including 15 of the 16 teams in the tournament (Quinnipiac is the lone exception). Thirty percent of all NHL players developed in NCAA hockey.

Draft Picks in the 2015 NCAA Tournament | NCAA In the NHL

Family ties – Two sets of brothers could face each other in the tournament, though they would have to take place in the NCAA semifinals (Jonny vs. Michael Brodzinski) or championship game (Danny vs. Tommy O’Regan). Seven teams have brothers on their rosters, including the first-round draft-pick duo of Jordan and Nick Schmaltz at North Dakota.

Two father-son combinations are in the tournament as coaches and players, though neither could meet until the national title game. RIT head coach Wayne Wilson’s son, Stu, is a junior at Yale. Minnesota associate coach Mike Guentzel’s son, Jake, is the leading scorer at Nebraska Omaha.

Boston bound – Thirty-eight Massachusetts natives are pursuing a trip to TD Garden, as the Frozen Four returns to Boston for the first time since 2004. Eight of the 16 schools have a Massachusetts native on the roster.

Hailing from everywhere – Eight countries, 29 states, 6 Canadian provinces and the District of Columbia are represented on NCAA Tournament rosters. Minnesota leads the way with 96 players on 14 of the rosters, meaning that it’s very likely at least one Minnesotan will be on the NCAA championship team for the 16th consecutive season. The teams’ top scorers hail from nine states or provinces, led by Minnesota (3). Ten of the teams have a Californian on the roster.

BCS busters – For 11 straight years, at least one school that plays Division II or III in sports other than hockey has reached the Frozen Four. Candidates this year include No. 1 overall seed Minnesota State, RIT, Minnesota Duluth, Michigan Tech and St. Cloud State.

Hobey watch – Each NCAA regional features at least one Hobey Baker Award finalist (seven of the 10 total are in the tournament). The winner will be announced the day before the championship game in Boston.

NOTES BY REGION / GAME

Midwest Regional

Teams have only one Division I title between them (Harvard, 1989); all other regions have at least 10 … Three of the four teams won their conference tournaments (Nebraska Omaha the exception) … Top three goal scorers in the nation are all in this region (Harvard’s Jimmy Vesey, Minnesota State’s Bryce Gervais, RIT’s Matt Garbowsky) … All three senior No. 1 goaltenders in the tournament are in this region.

First round: Minnesota State vs. RIT – Neither team has won a Division I title, although Minnesota State won the Division II title in 1980 and RIT won titles in 1983 (Division II) and ’85 (Division III) … The two oldest teams in the tournament by average age.

First round: Harvard vs. Nebraska Omaha – Harvard head coach Ted Donato played for UNO head coach Dean Blais when Blais was an assistant coach on the 1992 U.S. Olympic team … Three Harvard players played for the Omaha Lancers of the USHL, and sophomore defenseman Clay Anderson is from Omaha.

Potential second round: Minnesota State vs. Nebraska Omaha – The two Mavericks, who both joined Division I in 1996, compete for the Spirit of the Maverick Trophy. They split two regular-season games to open this season … Minnesota State head coach Mike Hastings was an assistant coach at UNO prior to taking over his current position three years ago.

East Regional

First round: Denver vs. Boston College – Rematch of last year’s first round (6-2 BC win) … Two NHL teammates’ brothers will face off in this game: BC’s Matthew Gaudreau (brother of Johnny) vs. Denver’s Quentin Shore (brother of Drew).

First round: Miami vs. Providence – Providence head coach Nate Leaman grew up in Centerville, Ohio, a fan of Miami and attended the school’s summer hockey camp …

Northeast Regional

Three of the teams have won titles in the last six years and each has won one since 2003 … The top two power plays in the tournament are in this regional (Minnesota, Boston University).

First round: Boston University vs. Yale – The nation’s best offense (BU) vs. its best defense (Yale) … BU’s Jack Eichel and Yale’s John Hayden were both captains on the 2015 U.S. National Junior Team.

First round: Minnesota vs. Minnesota Duluth – The 228th meeting in the rivalry will be just the second in the NCAA Tournament (2004, a UMD win) … Will be the fifth meeting of the season (UMD leads, 3-1-0), in the fifth arena … Two teams allowed the most (Minnesota) and tied for second-most (UMD) goals against per game this season among tournament teams.

West Regional

The only regional without a conference tournament champion.

First round: North Dakota vs. Quinnipiac – UND (100 wins) and Quinnipiac (97) rank third and fourth in wins during the past four seasons, trailing only Minnesota (105) and Boston College (104).

First round: Michigan Tech vs. St. Cloud State – Both teams are making their 11th NCAA Tournament appearance, with all of St. Cloud State’s coming since Michigan Tech’s last appearance (1981).