It’s that time of year again, the Frozen Four is just over a week away and I hate to say it but my two favorite teams lost out in the first round of the regionals. My alma mater, the University of North Dakota was the first to fall when they lost in overtime to Notre Dame. It was a crushing blow when after having a goal overturned so North Dakota could remain alive and head to overtime, Notre Dame scored almost immediately to send them back home. 

My second favorite team, St. Cloud State, played the following night and looked to have a bit more success until Quinnipiac scored two quick goals at the beginning of the third period to have a 5-3 lead. St. Cloud wouldn’t give up however and fought admirably to the end but it wasn’t their year and they too had to pack up their things to head home. 

Thankfully I can say Minnesota State Mankato is still in it, unfortunately they’ll have to face fellow Minnesota college, the University of Minnesota, in the first round of the Frozen Four. I understand they base these things on seeding but did we really need to have the two Minnesota based teams face each other? Couldn’t there have been a possibility of an all-Minnesota Championship? I guess that’s not as fun for non-Minnesotans but it would’ve been pretty cool. 

However, this year’s Frozen Four is still pretty neat in the fact that it has three former Western Collegiate Hockey Associate (WCHA) teams in it, the oddball being Michigan. Now for those of you wondering what I mean by former WCHA teams, back when I was growing up the WCHA was basically a combination of teams from the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC), the Big Ten, and the WCHA itself. Teams like North Dakota, University of Minnesota, Wisconsin, St. Cloud State, Colorado College, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State Mankato, heck even Alaska had teams in the conference. 

It was easily one of the strongest Division I hockey conferences around if not the best and of course I’m biased but there were some good hockey teams and it was extremely competitive. However, as time went on things had to change and teams left or were forced to move on to other conferences and the WCHA disbanded.  

The NCHC is becoming like the WCHA was but it’s still not the same. I really miss when those teams would play each other so it’s pretty neat to see three former teams from that conference still make it to the Frozen Four. Hopefully one of them can take the trophy home. Personally, I’m cheering for Mankato now, I mean I have a number of good reasons. They’re a great team, my mom and boss at my day job both went to college there, plus they’re the color purple which is the same as my high school, had to add that fun fact in there. 

In all seriousness, it would be pretty cool to see Mankato bring home their first ever NCAA Championship and join the ranks of the other former WCHA members. Regardless of who wins it should be some fun hockey to watch as these teams have been playing really strong hockey as of late. Michigan is one I would keep my eye on as they have the number one overall first round draft pick for the NHL, Owen Power. However, don’t count out Mankato, they’ve had a very competitive team the last few years as well as a very competent goaltender. 

Denver and the University of Minnesota are always factors and could be surprises as well. I’m really hoping not because they are my least favorite teams for no reason other than I grew up a fan of all the other teams instead, but I still highly respect the talent they have and if it comes down to it, I’d cheer on a Minnesota team before Michigan. I can’t wait to watch these games unfold and hope to see Minnesota State Mankato bring home the trophy.