Well I did fairly well with my Hockey East picks a couple weeks ago.  I did underestimate Merrimack a bit, first predicting they’d need three games to take care of Maine and then having them losing to New Hampshire.  But now it’s time to take a shot at the big tournament.  So without further ado, here are my predictions for the NCAA tourney which begins on Friday:

East Regional
Yale over Air Force
UM-Duluth over Union

UM-Duluth over Yale

Northeast Regional
Merrimack over Notre Dame
Miami over New Hampshire

Miami over Merrimack

West Regional
Boston College over Colorado College
UNO over Michigan

Boston College over UNO

Midwest Regional
Denver over Western Michigan
North Dakota over RPI

North Dakota over Denver

Frozen Four
Miami over UM-Duluth
Boston College over North Dakota

Boston College over Miami

Yeah, I have a lot of chalk in the Frozen Four, but I think the top seeds other than Yale are very strong.  Really, I think ANYONE can come out of that East bracket (yes, I’m a Yale hater…so be it). I do think the semifinal between North Dakota and BC will be the real national championship game.  Merrimack and Miami is probably a tossup, so I went with the Redhawks who have a lot of experience in the tournament in recent years.  Still, I’ll be rooting for the Warriors in addition to feel good stories like Union, making their NCAA debut, and Western Michigan who are making their first appearance in the tournament since 1996.

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Thanks to the overwhelming responses I got from yesterday’s post.  My intention certainly wasn’t to solicit positive feedback, though I really appreciate everyone who provided some.  I really just wanted to state my case that I don’t think I “fear the truth” when it comes to UMass hockey, as well inform readers that Chip Ainsworth is a media member that talks tough about Toot Cahoon and John McCutcheon from a very safe distance equal to the length of the eastern seaboard.

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Jon Quick’s goaltending skills have reached Jedi level.

Scott Coen featured Paul Dainton on his broadcast last night.

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In one of the stranger transactions you’ll see Michigan State has filled their coaching vacancy with the commissioner of the conference they just announced they were leaving.