NCAA Hockey Tourney- Day 2- The last half dozen standing!!

Well day 2 didn’t go as Cats fans would have hoped for. The UNH-Miami game was a good game, with the Redhawks pulling out the 2-1 win, though UNH did out play them most of the game, but sometimes the bounces don’t go your way. The Redhawks will play the red hot BC Eagles. The Eagles beat St. Lawrence 4-1. I stayed for 2 periods of that game, thought the Saints played with the Eagles and at times controlled the pace of the game. I have seen BC twice in the last week, and still think they are very beatable. This team is bound to hit a ref who will not cave into them and call the late hits, holding the stick, and the dives the Eagles do. Hopefully the Redhawks can come out and control the pace of the game and use their physical presence to take out the Eagles. Did get home in time to see the last half of the Maine-UMass regional final. Looks like Big Ben was the missing element for Maine as they finally beat UMass, after 4 straight losses, 3-1. Maine’s power play was the difference in that region. So now Maine is off to the Frozen Four in St. Louis. There they will met up with a very tough Michigan State team. Michigan State took out the #1 seed Norte Dame last night in a tight 2-1 game. I have seen both MSU games this tourney, and have been really impressed with them. They have depth and play a good defensive game. The might midget in net had played huge for them. So in one frozen four game will have Big Ben vs. The mighty midget. Should be a good game, and low scoring I think. I didn’t get to see any of the Western regional first round games. But once again Minnesota didn’t really come out to play in the first round. Last year they lost to Holy Cross, in probably the biggest upset in NCAA hockey history. You would think that they would come out to prove something this year. With the #1 seed overall playing Air Force, they would come out with both guns blazing. But once again the Gophers were down in the third, they were down 3-1 early in the third. But unlike last year the Gophers did pull out the victory with a tight 4-3 game, with Air Force getting some chances with the goalie pulled for a 6-5 at the end of the game. The Gophers will face their WCHA nemesis North Dakota. The Sioux won a wild 8-5 game over Michigan. The Sioux known for their defensive style of play, but not last night. With what sounds like a very entertaining game the Sioux’s offensive exploded and scored 5 power play goals. I am really looking forward to watching that Minnesota- North Dakota game tonight.