First off I want to comment on the fairness of the brackets. According to Coach Eaves, Wisconsin is happy to be in Saint Paul as they should be. Madison is a relatively close drive, many grads live in the Twin Cities, they are a #1 seed, and they are coming off of 2nd in the WCHA regular season and winning 3rd in the tournament.
I believe that North Dakota should have been placed in the West for their performance at the WCHA Tournament, that they too have many grads in the Twin Cities, and proximity to Saint Paul is good. North Dakota should not have to travel to the East Coast allowing SCSU to play in its backyard. North Dakota deserves the close region over SCSU.
On to the Picks. For conservation of space and time, I am just going to go with my Frozen Four.
West: Wisconsin. See West Region Preview for more info.
Midwest: Michigan. It is that time of year when Michigan teams excel and this one seems to be on a run. And many people really want the Bemidji/Miami rematch and that will be the downfall of the Beavers, looking ahead too far ahead.
East: Denver. This is the toughest for me to pick as I do not know what to expect out of this Pioneers team. It could a first round exit like last year for the way they have been playing as of late. But looking at the rest of the field, they are the choice that I make.
Northeast: Boston College. It seems too easy to pick North Dakota to win this one with the tear they are on. The downside to the Sioux is that they played six games in nine days (two sets of three straight games, actually) culminating with the WCHA Playoff Championship. Now they have to travel east and face a good BC team. BC will use their “home” ice advantage in Worcester, Mass. to win this region.
There you have it, this writer’s predictions. If you are filling out a bracket yourself, you should know that analysis is my strong point, not predictions. And I’d like to hear how your bracket does in the first round. Leave a comment and show your knowledge!
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