Recap of Day 1 of NCAA Tournament

In an exciting first day of the NCAA Tournament a #1 seed, #2 seed, #3, and #4 seed all advanced. It was an exciting four games as three of the games were one goal games. Both games in the West regional were close affairs. First, St. Cloud topped Northern Michigan 4-3 in double overtime. This was the first win for the (2)Huskies in the national tournament in eight tries. This game was followed by another nail-biter as Wisconsin beat Vermont 3-2 behind three power-play goals by the (1) Badgers.

The biggest upset of the day came in the East Region where (4) RIT beat a highly praised Denver team 2-1. I was able to watch this game on TV and was very impressed with the Tigers and their goaltender Jared DeMichiel. DeMichiel was very aggressive in net as he was on top of his crease all game. On one save he was even out around the hash marks.

The only game that was a blowout was the UNH-Cornell game where Bobby Butler,the nation's leading scorer, and the (3) Wildcats put up a six spot on Ben Scirvens and the Big Red. Scrivens did not allow a goal for an ECAC record 266:11, but UNH was able to put up six goals in the final 23+ minutes of the first round game. Not only was this not good for Cornell, but it is bad for the ECAC as a whole. Cornell was supposed to be the top team in the ECAC by far and a legitimate contender for the national tournament. But, allowing six goals in their first tournament game proves that the ECAC is truly the weakest of the "Big Four" conferences in college hockey. As a Union fan it is mind-boggling how Cornell looked so dominant during the ECAC playoffs and in the championship game against the Dutchmen, and then get demolished against UNH. Imagine what the Wildcats would have done to Union's four freshmen defensemen and freshman goaltender. This was the first time the Big Red allowed six goals all season and only the third time they allowed at least five goals. Also note that Cornell went into Manchester earlier this season and beat the Wildcats 5-2.

Well, after going 3-1 today I lead the family bracket challenge. But, my one loss is a big one since I picked Cornell to go to the Championship game. Luckily, two people picked Denver to go to the championship game and one picked the Pioneers to win them all.

Tomorrow, the Northeast and Midwest Regionals get underway. In the Northeast, (1) BC takes on (4) Alaska-Fairbanks at 1:30pm, and (2) North Dakota will go up against the last ECAC team left in the tournament in (3) Yale at 5:30pm. (1)Miami, the nation's top team, kicks off the Midwest regional against (4)Alabama-Huntsville at 4pm, who snuck into the tournament as they won the CHA tournament when Bemidji was upset in the previous round. At 7:30pm, (2) Bemidji looks to cool down (3) Michigan, who is riding a hot streak into the national tournament. They seem to be really feeding off the opportunity of playing in the Frozen Four in their home state.

Hopefully, tomorrow's six games will be equally exciting as today's.