East Regional
Providence, R.I., Saturday March 30
Providence, R.I., Saturday March 30
#1 Quinnipiac vs #16 Canisius 3:30 PM [TV: ESPN3]
#6 Boston College vs. #12 Union 7 PM MT [TV: ESPNU]
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#6 Boston College vs. #12 Union 7 PM MT [TV: ESPNU]
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Northeast Regional
Manchester, N.H., Friday March 29
Manchester, N.H., Friday March 29
#3 Lowell vs. #14 Wisconsin 2:30 PM MT [TV:ESPN3]
#7 New Hampshire vs. #9 Denver 6 PM MT [TV: ESPNU]*
Midwest Regional
#7 New Hampshire vs. #9 Denver 6 PM MT [TV: ESPNU]*
Midwest Regional
Toledo, Ohio, Saturday March 30
#4 Notre Dame vs. #13 St. Cloud State [TV: ESPN3]
#5 Miami vs. #11 Minnesota State [TV: ESPN3]
West Regional
Grand Rapids, Mich., Friday March 29
#5 Miami vs. #11 Minnesota State [TV: ESPN3]
West Regional
Grand Rapids, Mich., Friday March 29
#2 Minnesota vs. #15 Yale Noon MT [TV: ESPNU]
#8 North Dakota vs. #10 Niagara 3:30 PM MT [TV: ESPNU]
Frozen Four
#8 North Dakota vs. #10 Niagara 3:30 PM MT [TV: ESPNU]
Frozen Four
Pittsburgh, April 11 and 13
East Winner vs. Midwest Winner
Northeast Winner vs. West Winner
*DU fans interested in purchasing ticket packages can contact Nick Staehler at the Magness Ticket Office at (303) 871-7426 by 12 PM (MT) Wed. March 27.
*DU fans interested in purchasing ticket packages can contact Nick Staehler at the Magness Ticket Office at (303) 871-7426 by 12 PM (MT) Wed. March 27.
From: Denver Post
by Mike Chambers
Coach George Gwozdecky's 19th University of Denver hockey team will forever be considered a special one. Less than a year after losing its top three forwards early to NHL deals and being slammed into rebuilding mode, the Pioneers on Sunday officially advanced to their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament.
Denver (20-13-4), the country's only team to reach 20 wins from 2001-02 until now (12 years), is the #3 Northeast Region seed and will play #2 New Hampshire (19-11-7) on Friday (6 PM MT) in Manchester, N.H. [read entire article]
Coach George Gwozdecky's 19th University of Denver hockey team will forever be considered a special one. Less than a year after losing its top three forwards early to NHL deals and being slammed into rebuilding mode, the Pioneers on Sunday officially advanced to their sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament.
Denver (20-13-4), the country's only team to reach 20 wins from 2001-02 until now (12 years), is the #3 Northeast Region seed and will play #2 New Hampshire (19-11-7) on Friday (6 PM MT) in Manchester, N.H. [read entire article]
61 comments:
1) BC gets a hallpass.
2)Once again, DU sent off to be cannon fodder in someone else's backyard.
3) DU/CC/AFA consortium should make a bid to host a regional each and every year.
4) Canisus?
5) Barry Melrose-still the greasiest, least informed announcer in sports today. And still wearing prison-issue threads.
Scott,
Canisius won their tourney and got the auto-bid. If CC had won the Broadmoor they would have automatically qualified. I like DU's bracket. DU has played everyone in it and knows what it will take to beat them. It would be nice to exacty some revenge on UNH. DU blew that game in Magness. Wisconsin is red-hot right now and I wouldn't mind seeing Lowell take them down. At thsi tiem fo the year you have to beat the best to be the best.
Edit: that should be "At this time of the year"
I really like DU is getting the second game in NH and that it is on prime time TV.
Anyone going to the game? I live in NH so I will make it. Hope to see some other folks there.
Far better for DU's energy level to be playing in an amped up barn in New Hampshire, than playing in front of a couple hundred fans at a neutral site.
National TV, an extra week's rest, no flights up and back to the twin cities, and once again CC is sitting at home cleaning their golf clubs.
What's not to like?
And in the Wild West Mascot Region it will be Coombe Daddy vs. Coombe Daddy. Hard to say who is going to win that one, but we sure know who is going to lose.
We have no idea which team shows up for DU? The tourney-ready Pios who beat North Dakota and Minnesota late in the season, or the tired Pios who got pushed around by those same two teams.
So much of DU's success will be predicated on sharp goalies. Do we get 'focused Jussi' who wins the tight games, or do we get 'Softy Jussi', who gives up bad goals at bad times?
All in all, considering what DU lost this early year compared to all other schools, making the tourney is an accomplishment. We should be happy with any victories DU gets...
After all the ups and downs this year, the great start, the injuries, the 8-game winless streak etc, the Pios get an opportunity. That's all they can ask for.
DU's NCAA record since 2005 NC
2006 & 2007: No NCAA's
2008: Wisconsin. Fell behind 2-0. Lost 6-2
2009: Miami. Fell behind 3-0. Lost 4-2
2010: R.I.T. Fell Behind 2-0. Lost 2-1
2011: Western Michigan. Fell behind 2-0. Won 3-2 OT
North Dakota. Fell Behind 1-0. Lost 6-1
2012: Ferris State. Fell behind 2-0. Lost 2-1
That is a harsh record since the back-to-back. Hope Gwoz can get back the magic. Maybe playing tentative "playoff hockey" is not the answer for DU in the regionals.
That's an ugly track record indeed. It seems fairly obvious that these recent DU teams have been plagued by slow starts and a lack of urgency early on in these NCAA games. Hard to figure why--nerves, lack of confidence, thinking too much, overcoaching? Regardless, this DU team needs to go out and let it fly. There may not be the elite NHL type talent on this year's squad, but they are certainly good enough to make some noise.
Isn’t Juicy Jussi the one that coughs up all the rebounds?
Didn’t Howe sell his soul rather than his sole?
Twister - in most of those years we had injuries to key players. the stretch runs of the regular seasons and playoffs those years were wars
Personally, I am not surprised or offended that DU is playing UNH in NH. It seems to be the status quo for the Pios in the past. Frankly, after watching DU start 9-0-1, then pretty much ride a turbulent roller coaster during the rest of the season, I am pleased that they made the tourney at all.
As for the game on Friday, I truly believe that they are in the drivers seat. Lately, they have been coming into the first round of the NCAAs as a #1 or 2 seed and end up getting beat by a team that they possibly underestimated. This year, they know exactly what they are up against, and I dont think that they are looking any farther than Friday night's game.
I think that is how you have to play every playoff game, and I think that it might just be enough to give them the edge.
Also, congrats to the WCHA for getting 5 teams in. That is a good note to end on for DU's last season in such a storied conference. I do not believe that the league will be as strong going forward without all of the teams it has this season.
WCHA got six teams in.
Certainly an amazing way for the league to finish this era.
Good to see that Minnesota State is on the upswing.
Something to note, in the game when New Hampshire beat DU, the 6-4 loss, five of those goals were against Brittain, not Olkinuora, and one was an empty netter .. with Olkinuora now established as a seasoned veteran and a top goal tender, I like our chances better. This isn't the same squad NH scored in bunches against.
What scares me about UNH was how easily they were able to spring their forwards on fast breaks against our D.
DG - as I recall it was Dakota Mermis getting smoked on a couple of the rushes
Who is Dakota Mermis?
This D corp wont get smoked. Phillips and Mayfield could very well be the best pure defensive pairing in the league. They are consistantly matched against the opponents top line every game. They will be ready.
With Quinn getting the BU job, I hope the Gwoz contract extension can get done. Dragging this out is stupid.
TV?
DU's game(s) will be televised live on ESPNU.
All the NCAA hockey games this weekend will be shown live on ESPNU, except for four games that can be seen tape delayed on ESPNU [WI-LOW, Can-QIN, MSUM-MIA & SCSU-ND] or live online at ESPN3.
TV Schedule:
http://www.uscho.com/scoreboard/division-i-men/20122013/list-27/
Speaking of Dakota Mermis.
He got off to a great start for the OHL London Knights after leaving DU at midseason.
He recorded two goals and seven assists in his first nine games.
However in the remaining 18 games of the regular season he had no goals and only two assists.
The playoff just got underway and he has a goal and an assist in two games.
Any information on Dakota's brother? Is he going to return to DU?
Who cares about the Mermis brothers. Our team is in the tournament. Lets support the current players.
I care, he is my boyfriend
Some final thoughts now that the tournament selection show is over. That show has to be the WORST, most boring selection show EVER. The Quinipiac players looked like they were prisoners, the studio had no energy, and the interviews were horrible. Barry was reading off cue cards and the interview with the Quinipiac coach was a yawner. I have a couple of thoughts...
--I would sort the 16 teams into 1's, 2's, 3's and 4's and have random drawings for each of the 2, 3, & 4 seeds assignments LIVE for the regional tournaments. Create some suspense - and at least BC would have a 'random' chance of an easy bracket instead of a planned easy bracket path to the Frozen Four. I know they are trying to pump-up attendance by seeding teams geographically - which is only good for the East Coast Teams. If they really want to bump up attendance, play the first two rounds on the 1-seed's ice--they earned it! The Frozen four is a neutral site anyway...
--Allow two weeks between the last weekend of conference championships and playoffs so teams will be healthy and ready to go. You could even have a 'play-in' for two bubble teams on the 'open' weekend for the 16th spot.
--Get rid of Melrose as a college hockey 'expert'. No one likes him. Use another ESPN host and add some coach's from programs that did not make the final sixteen to comment on the teams.
--Make the show an hour. Hold it in an auditorium, times square, or in a tree house - anywhere but a boring ESPN studio. In fact, maybe there is a better venue - Fox Sports, NBC Sports Network, etc...
--Sunday night at 9:00 PM EST - PLEASE! We can do better. Do it earlier in the day for better press coverage. It is difficult to make announcement late Sunday night and get good coverage the next day in the media.
--This is a good time to talk about the Hobey Baker award and interview the top candidates. Why not announce the Top 3 finalists on the show? Create some interest. Show their highlights and statistics.
I do not think this has to be a 'throw-away' show with no production value and zero energy.
The show couldn't have been much earlier, Tim.
The CCHA Championship still had to be played on Sunday and the outcome determined whether Michigan was in or out, plus Notre Dame winning or losing had an effect on their positioning of 3 or 4 spots.
Yes, I know it's like beating a dead horse to say that Melrose does not belong in broadcasts on college hockey. But I'm going to do it, anyway. Seriously, find someone who knows what he's talking about, beyond what's written on a cue card. Melrose has no knowledge or apparent interest in the college game, and the distraction that his presence creates should outweigh any miniscule bump in the ratings that his "star quality" provides.
ESPN is paying Melrose to do basically nothing since they don't telecast the NHL any more.
They're going to use him every chance they get.
College hockey is lucky that ESPN televises any of these games at all.
They should try and get a deal done with NBC... They have treated college hockey pretty well.
Tim - Responding to your comments:
--I would sort the 16 teams into 1's, 2's, 3's and 4's and have random drawings for each of the 2, 3, & 4 seeds assignments LIVE for the regional tournaments. Create some suspense - and at least BC would have a 'random' chance of an easy bracket instead of a planned easy bracket path to the Frozen Four. I know they are trying to pump-up attendance by seeding teams geographically - which is only good for the East Coast Teams. If they really want to bump up attendance, play the first two rounds on the 1-seed's ice--they earned it! The Frozen four is a neutral site anyway...
The random drawing thing, while potentially exciting, ALSO has the potential to completely screw over every team in the tournament...even the #1 seeds. Quinnipiac has EARNED the #1 overall seed and deserves the "easiest" first round game. Leaving their opponent up to chance takes the grind of a regular season and conference playoff system and completely trivializes it in the name of excitement. Not fair, IMHO.
The "on campus" sites argument can be debated until we're all blue in the face, but the fact remains that this is supposed to be a "national" tournament and having regionals at "neutral" sites reinforces that...frequently at the expense of attendance. Personally, I think there are few answers here, but do understand the arguments on each side and wouldn't be offended if the NCAA went back to hosting regionals at campus sites.
--Allow two weeks between the last weekend of conference championships and playoffs so teams will be healthy and ready to go. You could even have a 'play-in' for two bubble teams on the 'open' weekend for the 16th spot.
While I understand your reasoning for wanting to delay things by a week, this could create scheduling problems vis-a-vis the NCAA hoops tournament.
That said, I'm all for a 'play-in' game for the 16th spot.
--Get rid of Melrose as a college hockey 'expert'. No one likes him. Use another ESPN host and add some coach's from programs that did not make the final sixteen to comment on the teams.
Can't argue with that. Melrose looked like he wanted to be somewhere...anywhere...else.
Further, I love the idea of using coaches from other teams. They can at least speak intelligently on the relative merits of the teams from their conferences who have made the tournament.
...though it would get tiresome hearing from the Anchorage coach every year...
--Make the show an hour. Hold it in an auditorium, times square, or in a tree house - anywhere but a boring ESPN studio. In fact, maybe there is a better venue - Fox Sports, NBC Sports Network, etc...
ESPN has the contract to televise the NCAA hockey tournament. Until that runs out, we kind of have to take what they give us.
Never forget, no matter how much we love it, this is a niche sport that just doesn't enjoy wide acceptance by the masses. It's unfortunate, but there you have it.
--Sunday night at 9:00 PM EST - PLEASE! We can do better. Do it earlier in the day for better press coverage. It is difficult to make announcement late Sunday night and get good coverage the next day in the media.
What Anon 2:28 said.
--This is a good time to talk about the Hobey Baker award and interview the top candidates. Why not announce the Top 3 finalists on the show? Create some interest. Show their highlights and statistics.
Couldn't agree more. The Hobey is a special award and this would give it some needed prestige in the weeks leading up to the trophy presentation.
I do not think this has to be a 'throw-away' show with no production value and zero energy.
Again. Niche sport, here. The fact that ESPN devotes any bandwidth whatsoever to the NCAA selection show during the first weekend of March Madness is, frankly, astounding.
I agree that they shoud have the 1 seeds host the region. Unfair to schools like DU and CC to have to be put on a plane every year (assuming CC actually makes a tourney). At least rotate a regional in CO every 2 to 3 years. Or Omaha for crying out loud. 8 hour drive from Denver, 5 hour drive from the Twin Cities, and 8 hour drive from Grand Forks. The arena in Omaha is a great facility.
I know I pull for your hated rival, but I love this site. Just looking out for fellow NCHC teams. The NCAA needs to wake up and realize that the center of the college hockey world is out west. Not in the north east.
The NCAA does everything it can to keep the travel expenses to a minimum.
The predetermined regional sites probably saves the NCAA money. What would happen if both Alaska schools got home ice?
Random draws and flying teams to higher seeds' cities is probably out due to cost considerations.
Some schools have rinks that only hold 500 fans. Other schools have multi-purpose Arenas that are booked out years in advance for high school sports tournaments, concerts or other sports.
Great thoughts.
One correction. When I said 'random' assignment of 2, 3 & 4 seeds, I meant that the assignment of within each seed (2 seeds,3 seeds ,4 seeds) would be to random tournament sites. My premise, for example, is that 2-seeds (teams ranked from 5-8) are relatively equal. The same for 3 seeds (9-12) and 4 seeds (13-16). Put the 1-seeds in the four tournament sites and, if possible, put them in the best geographic fit. I know this will never happen but it would create some excitement.
"@SchlossmanGF: DU will travel 400 more miles for its regional this weekend than BC has traveled for regionals in the last 13 years COMBINED."
Makes a good argument for at least one of the four regional tournaments alternating between Omaha/Denver.
I have often thought that each of the four regional tournaments should be rotated between 3-4 locations.
For instance...
Western Region:
- Rotate between Denver, Colorado Springs, Omaha, and Minneapolis
Midwest Region:
- Rotate between Cincinnati, Madison, Chicago, and Detroit
East Region:
- Rotate between Albany, Buffalo, Hartford, and Philadelphia
Northeast Region:
- Rotate between Boston, Manchester, Bridgeport, and Providence
I don't know how much it would help with travel concerns (teams would still be seeded based on the PairWise, thus could be sent pretty much anywhere); but it could allow for local hockey fans to become more involved with the tournament.
Regardless, it's patently ridiculous that an NCAA tournament game hasn't been held west of St. Paul since 2008.
Northeast region is one of contrasts...two league playoff champs...and the only two teams in the tournament that lost their way in, failing to make it out of the first round of their league playoffs...Wisco is 21-5-4 after a 1-7-2 start...UML is 22-3-1 after a 4-7-1 start...UNH is 8-10-5 after a 11-1-2 start...DU is 11-12-5 after a 9-1 start. Won't know till game time if the week off for either DU or UNH makes a difference.
Any of the local tv networks picking up any of this weekend's games?
@ MagnessMan
Unfortunately, it's on ESPNU and ESPNU only.
Which really sucks if you live in Colorado and have Comcast, because Comcast, for whatever idiotic reason, does not carry ESPNU in Colorado.
??????
I have Comcast and I live in Colorado. ESPNU comes in on channel 404 and there are three regional games scheduled for Friday, including DU.
A swing and a miss......
ESPNU might be a part of the "sports pack" on your cable system, and might require a $5 monthy fee for that groups of channels.
Comcast in Denver definitely has ESPNU. I believe 9:21 is correct that you have to pay extra. Order it for the NCAAs and then cancel.
I have Comcast, and have the sports pack, but ESPNU is not authorized, even though it shows up in my channel line-up.
ESPN-U is definitely listed on Comcast's Channel Guide
The problem may be if you don't have a digital box or the right package. A call to Comcast should clear things up.
Post any info you find out.
My bad. ESPNU IS available on Comcast in the Denver Metro area.
It is not, however, available on Comcast in Breckenridge. Since I will be in Breck this weekend, that means I get to try to find a sports bar that's willing to turn off basketball for a couple of hours on a Friday night.
This might be interesting...
Incidentally, thanks to everyone who pointed out my stupidity. Especially Anon 5:49 AM - you're obviously a credit to the whole interweb.
Crimson and Gold, The Pioneer and Boone tavern all will be rocking with it on.
Weird that ESPN U shows as unauthorized for many in the Denver Metro area with Comcast. If you are in this situation I've had success logging in to my Comcast account online to stream ESPN U live through Xfinity. Here is the direct link if you want to give it a shot http://xfinitytv.comcast.net/live/network/espnu
I think it's only "unauthorized" if you don't have the sports pack for $5 per month.
Saw on the news that Denver picked up the Badgers on the way to New Hamphire. Going to a long ride back for at least one if not both teams.
I have a feeling that any ride with Mike Eaves is a long one, no matter any outcome....
This crap is not frickin quantum physics. It is really rather simple. ESPNU is not included in "starter" or "basic" packages but if you fork over just a bit more dough it is readily available to any Comcast/Xfinity subscriber in Denver. Seriously, some people just make our Pio Nation seem a lot denser than need be.
You can get ESPNU on Comcast in Denver, but you have to have the Digital Preferred package. It's not part of the now $9 I think sports pack.
Who is heading to New Hampshire or already there?
George Gwozdecky is going. Infact he's already there.
Nick Shore is going.
peter gozinya go too
DU Hockey NCAA Tourney Play = One and done.....again!
Gotta love it!!!!
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