I should have gone with my gut and picked St. Norbert. I called both semis wrong, but Russell got Oswego right, so I am 5-3 and Russell is 6-2. Let’s see if I can catch him!

St. Norbert vs. Oswego
Candace: St. Norbert has been on a roll in the second half. There’s also that whole thing about experience winning before. I’ll call St. Norbert to win, possibly in overtime.
Russell: St. Norbert appears to be a team of destiny. Oswego refuses to be denied with their new found philosophy. I’ll go with the homer call as the SUNYAC Correspondent, and go with the “home” team in Lake Placid.

Since I correctly called the Amherst game last weekend, Russell and I are now tied with postseason picks at 5-1 (.833). We are down to the final weekend. First up are the semifinals. Let’s see how we can do!!

St. Norbert vs. Norwich
Candace: St. Norbert is the defending champion, and tough to pick against, but Norwich has been fearsome all year long, plus the Cadets have three top scorers. Look for Norwich to get up early and hold off St. Norbert in the end.
Russell: Many people picked Norwich at the start of the season to win the national championship. The defending champions, St. Norbert, struggled at the start of the season, but are back in familiar territory. I like Norwich, which has been consistently great all season.

Amherst vs. Oswego
Candace: They have an interesting record vs. common opponents, with Oswego at 5-2-1 while Amherst is 6-2. Amherst is currently riding a 12-game win streak. Oswego has also been hot, losing only one game in 2012, to Plattsburgh in the SUNYAC tournament, a team Amherst beat in the quarterfinals. I think Amherst is going to win a squeaker.
Russell: Defense wins championships, and Amherst is the best in the country. However, Oswego is no slouch with the third-best defense. Plus, Oswego is an offensive juggernaut. I’m going with the juggernaut.

Well, in my first attempt at D-III picks, I went 2-1 (.667), while Russell went 3-0 (1.000). We’ve got the quarterfinal games coming up this weekend; let’s see if I can gain any ground.

Wentworth at Norwich
Candace: This is one of those that makes me rethink my ideas of gambling. Norwich in a waltz.
Russell: Is there even a question about this one? The Cadets in a blitzkrieg.

Gustavus Adolphus at St. Norbert
Candace: Gustavus surprised me in beating Milwaukee School of Engineering, but the defending champs are a cut above MSOE. St. Norbert takes this.
Russell: The key in this game will be Gustavus’ freshman goalie, John McLean. I still see St. Norbert winning, but it will be close.

Elmira at Oswego
Candace: Oswego crushed Elmira twice to open the season, and while Elmira has put together a good run since, I don’t think they have enough to beat the Lakers.
Russell: The Lakers always seem to wake up for the NCAA quarterfinal game. Plus, they are going against a weaker defense than Plattsburgh. Oswego by three.

Plattsburgh at Amherst
Candace: This is the toughest game to pick in the quarters. Amherst is led by Jonathan La Rose in net, while Mike Moher has put up good numbers on offense. Kyle Kudroch counters offensively for Plattsburgh. I’m going against Russell’s pick here and calling for the home team to take a squeaker.
Russell: This will be the lowest scoring game of the playoffs, either 1-0 or 2-1, with maybe some overtimes thrown in. Based on the competition they faced this year, Plattsburgh is the better team and will win.

Our columnists have been watching the action all season long, and each is weighing in with picks for the tournament. The action should be fierce; can you beat any of our columnists’ prognostications?

Tim Costello – ECAC East/NESCAC columnist (Drop the puck!!)
First Round
Wentworth over Plymouth State
St. Thomas over St. Norbert
Gustavus Adolphus over MSOE

Quarterfinals
Norwich over Wentworth
Gustavus Adolphus over St. Thomas
Oswego over Elmira
Amherst over Plattsburgh

Semifinals
Norwich over Gustavus Adolphus
Amherst over Oswego

Championship
Amherst over Norwich

Neal Jensen – MCHA/MIAC/NCHA columnist
First round
Wentworth 4, Plymouth 2
St. Norbert 3, St. Thomas 1
Milwaukee School of Engineering 6, Gustavus Adolphus 4

Quarterfinals
Norwich 6, Wentworth 2
St. Norbert 5, Milwaukee School of Engineering 3
Oswego 5, Elmira 2
Amherst 4, Plattsburgh 3

Semifinals
St. Norbert 3, Norwich 2
Oswego 4, Amherst 3

Championship
St. Norbert 4, Oswego 2

Rachel Lenzi – ECAC Northeast/MASCAC columnist
First round
Wentworth 5, Plymouth 3
St. Norbert 4, St. Thomas 3
Milwaukee School of Engineering 5, Gustavus Adolphus 4

Quarterfinals
Norwich 4, Wentworth 1
Milwaukee School of Engineering 3, St. Norbert 2
Oswego 3, Elmira 1
Plattsburgh 4, Amherst 3

Semifinals
Norwich 5, Milwaukee School of Engineering 2
Oswego 4, Plattsburgh 3

Championship
Norwich 4, Oswego 2

For the D-III tournament, D-III Editor Candace Horgan has decided to join the picks race. She and Russell will pick each round’s game.

Wentworth at Plymouth
Candace: Wentworth swept Plymouth at Plymouth in early January, and I don’t think much has changed since then, so expect the Leopards to move on.
Russell: We have arguably the two weakest Eastern conference champions facing off for the right to be Norwich’s sacrificial lamb. Wentworth will get the “honor” in a close one,  defeating Plymouth for the third time this year.

Milwaukee School of Engineering at Gustavus Adolphus
Candace: Two words: Connor Toomey. I think Toomey’s goaltending outweighs Ross Ring-Jarvi’s scoring ability, and think MSOE comes out on top in a close one.
Russell: I’m still one of  those snobs who doesn’t buy into the MCHA’s ability to compete on the  national level, despite Adrian’s success last year. I’ll take Gustavus pulling away as the game goes on.

St. Thomas at St. Norbert
Candace: St. Thomas gets new life after losing in the MIAC tournament to St. Olaf. It doesn’t matter however, as defending champs St. Norbert move on.
Russell: Many felt St. Norbert got ripped off and should have been able to play the lowest Western seed, MSOE. I feel it won’t matter, as St. Norbert will win by three.

Sean McLaughlin had the opportunity to end an eight-year drought. A little more than 10 minutes into overtime, McLaughlin converted.

The freshman forward scored the only goal of the game — scoring on a penalty shot after Curry’s Michael Lopez was called for tripping on McLaughlin’s breakaway attempt — to clinch the ECAC Northeast tournament title for Wentworth and put the Leopards in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

Wentworth earned the ECAC Northeast’s automatic bid to the 11-team tournament, which begins Wednesday — the Leopards (20-6-1) open the tournament at 7 p.m. at Plymouth State (17-6-3), the MASCAC tournament champion.

Wentworth, the top seed in the conference tournament, won its fifth ECAC Northeast championship, and its first since 2004. Furthermore, the Leopards ended Curry’s two-year run as ECAC Northeast champions.

A second freshman, goalie Alex Peck, was also key in Wentworth’s win. Peck finished with 20 saves and earned the ECAC Northeast tournament’s Most Outstanding Player honors. In a 5-3 win Wednesday over Western New England in a semifinal, Peck made 29 saves.

The MASCAC tournament championship game also went to overtime, but Plymouth State’s 5-4 win over Salem State wasn’t decided on a penalty shot. Instead, Kyle Weiland’s goal at 4:48 of the second overtime helped Plymouth State earn its first NCAA tournament berth in school history.

Weiland was named the Most Valuable Player for the Panthers, the top seed in the MASCAC tournament; Weiland had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s championship game.

Weiland’s goal ended a game in which the lead changed hands three times before Plymouth State defenseman Phil Moore scored with 2:30 left in regulation to the teams to overtime.

The guest list has been finalized and the invitations have been delivered. Three automatic bids were awarded and one at-large bid was given in the West Region for the NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey tournament.

Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) survived two overtime games to win the Harris Cup, and received the MCHA’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Gustavus Adolphus reigned victorious in the MIAC tournament to receive an automatic bid as well. St. Thomas had to sweat out the week to hear it received the at-large bid to the NCAA tournament after being upset by St. Olaf in the MIAC semifinals.

The defending national champions had a historic Peters Cup. St. Norbert won its 10th NCHA championship while not allowing a goal in the two games it played.

MCHA
Adrian made two first period goals stand, as it defeated Lawrence, 2-1, in the first game of the Harris Cup semifinals. Shelby Gray started off the scoring for Adrian with a slap shot on a power play at 12:57 of the first period. Just over two minutes later, MCHA Player of the Year Zach Graham scored the eventual game-winner. Brad Scurfield scored a power-play goal at 10:28 of the second period for Lawrence’s lone goal of the game. Lawrence outshot Adrian, 36-24, in the game and 13-2 in the third period, but Scott Shackell stopped 35 shots to gain the victory for Adrian. Peter Emery made 22 saves in the loss for Lawrence. It was the third one-goal game of the year between the two teams.

The second Harris Cup semifinal game was another one-goal affair, as MSOE defeat Marian, 3-2, in overtime. Kevin Medina scored the game-winning goal at 15:42 in the overtime for MSOE. Josh Keizer drew first blood for MSOE with a first period goal. Marian scored twice in the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Bryan Wilson got Marian on the scoreboard with a goal at 5:53 of the second period, and then Dmitry Sentsov gave Marian the lead at 16:49. Mike Pao tied the score in the third period for MSOE. Connor Toomey made 26 saves, including 10 in overtime, for MSOE. Josh Baker stopped 43 shots for Marian.

Jordan Keizer’s second goal of the game at 5:09 of overtime gave MSOE to its first Harris Cup title since the 2005-06 season.  MSOE quickly built a 2-0 lead five minutes into the game on goals by Kyle Smith and Kevin Medina. Ryan Lowe tipped the puck in at 7:52 of the first for Adrian’s first goal of the game. Jordan Watts tied the game at 2-2 with another deflection. Keizer scored his first goal of the game in the third period at the 10:46 mark. Less than three minutes later, Shelby Gray tied the game once again for Adrian with a slap shot from the blue line. Connor Toomey made 35 saves in goal for MSOE, while Scott Shackell had 31 saves for Adrian.

MIAC
Gustavus Adolphus jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead en route to a 4-2 victory over St. Olaf in the MIAC tournament final.  Dane Erickson scored the first two goals for Gustavus, and Jack Walsh made it a three-goal lead before the first period was done.  Reminiscent to their matchup two weeks ago, St. Olaf was not about to give up. In the second period, St. Olaf took control, as Charlie Raskob scored a power-play goal with a wrist shot through traffic to cut the deficit to 3-1. After being outshot by Gustavus, 17-8, in the first period, St. Olaf turned the tables and outshot Gustavus, 19-7, in the second period. Early in the third period, Kevin Harris made it a one-goal game for St. Olaf. Less than a minute later, Gustav Bengston gave Gustavus a two-goal lead once again. Although St. Olaf did outshoot Gustavus, 41-30, in the game, Gustavus goalie John McLean was the star of the game, as he made a season high 39 saves.

NCHA
St. Norbert shutout Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 4-0, to win its 10th Peters Cup. St. Norbert scored three power-play goals in the first two periods to pave the way. David Jacobson stopped all 21 shots he faced for his second consecutive shutout in NCHA tournament play and his fourth of the season. Alain Joanette scored first at 9:23 of the first period for St. Norbert. Cody Keefer and Seth Soley scored second period power-play goals as St. Norbert went three-for-five with the man advantage. Kyle Stroh finished off the scoring with an even-strength goal at 16:19 of the third. St. Norbert made history by not allowing a goal in the NCHA playoffs.

Hail to the champions — Amherst and Norwich!

And when you can’t get to the rinks to see the conference finals, thank God for the webcasts that were truly outstanding from both Norwich and Amherst, despite some early audio difficulties. Unlike being there, the replays were great, and the camera work was outstanding. Kudos to all involved in the production and announcing!

One did it the easy way, while the other truly earned it in a hard-fought championship game. So now, with the league titles under their belts, all of the focus shifts to the national stage and the seeding and schedule from the committee that came out late on Sunday evening. Here is a quick recap of the weekend that decided the titles.

ECAC East
Friday afternoon saw Norwich struggle at times with a Southern Maine team that they handled easily both games played during the regular season. In fact, the Huskies scored first before Norwich found its game and took a 2-1 lead into the locker room following the first period of play. Norwich found the back of the net early in the second period, but this time, the Huskies answered back with a goal and some strong scoring chances following uncharacteristic turnovers by the Cadets in their defensive zone. The second period ended 3-2 for Norwich.

The third period was close checking as expected, and scoring chances were few for both teams as the final 20 minutes were played without a goal and the hosts moving on to the championship game on the basis of a close, and at times not crisp, 3-2 win.

The second semifinal game saw Castleton and Skidmore playing for the third time in three weeks, and this time the Spartans played a very efficient and dominant game in winning by a 4-0 score. Based on Castleton’s play on Friday night, as well as Norwich showing a few chinks in the armor, the final on Saturday appeared to be everything fans would want to see between the two Vermont schools.

A funny thing happened on the way to the final. In the first 2:56 of the game, Norwich scored on its first two shots past goalie Thomas Shelley, and the proverbial rout was on. Castleton used all three netminders dressed for the game, including Shelley twice, during the 11-1 drubbing administered by the Cadets. Pier Olivier-Cotnoir and Travis Janke, along with a host of Cadets, enjoyed a great night offensively, as virtually everything they threw at the net was finding a way past the Castleton goaltenders. A six-goal outburst in the second period sealed the fate of the Spartans, and the third period was merely a formality for the final score, as the celebration began early in Northfield for Norwich.

With top-ranked Oswego falling in the SUNYAC conference final to Plattsburgh, it will be interesting to see where the Cadets end up in the NCAA tournament seeding.

NESCAC
In the first semifinal, a red-hot Middlebury squad (7-1-0 in their last eight games) faced number two seed Bowdoin. This one had a lot more offense than many expected, and not from the team from Maine. The Panthers ran off to a 6-3 win and set themselves up to play in their 12th conference championship game, most among all NESCAC members.

The host Amherst team then faced a game Williams squad in the second semifinal, and brought a solid game to the ice, as they took a 2-0 lead into the third period. All-NESCAC defenseman Justin Troiani scored a power-play goal midway through the third period to close the gap to 2-1, but Jonathan La Rose and the Amherst defense made the difference stand up, setting up the title game matchup with Middlebury.

The final game of the regular season saw Amherst survive a Middlebury onslaught for two periods before a third period rally erased a 1-0 deficit and the Lord Jeffs skated off with a 2-1 win to close out a 17-1-0 regular season record. That win was coach Jack Arena’s first at Middlebury against a Middlebury team, but could they do something no Amherst team had ever done — beat Middlebury three times in the same season?

The title game started out much the same as the final regular season game in Vermont, as the Panthers came out flying. They quickly built a 2-0 lead on an even-strength goal and a power-play goal, forcing Amherst to use an early timeout to settle things down. Amherst responded with a power-play goal late in the period to cut the deficit to 2-1.

The second period was all Amherst, as they capitalized on several loose pucks and rebounds to score three times in the period and build a 4-2 lead heading into the final 20 minutes. The final period was tight and tense as expected, and Middlebury did score to close within a goal at 4-3, but could not get the equalizer, as the Lord Jeffs skated off Orr Rink with their second NESCAC title since 2009.

For Castleton and Middlebury, a win in the final was their only entry into the NCAA tournament, so with the top-seeded teams winning both the NESCAC and ECAC East tournaments, the pool bids should be interesting beyond the obvious one headed Oswego’s way.

This week will see team previews in advance of Wednesday’s first round NCAA games, and this pundit, along with the rest of our intrepid D-III correspondents, will be picking the tournament game-by-game, so you can match your predicting abilities with the rest of us in what is shaping up to be a great 2011-12 NCAA tournament.

Just a couple of weeks remaining in the D-III puck world!  Savor every moment — it is going to be great!

This is what the players and coaches have worked for all season.

Four teams are left in the MCHA and have gathered in Adrian, Mich. to play for the Harris Cup. Lawrence and Adrian will begin play on Saturday afternoon, while Marian and Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE) will play in the nightcap. The two victors will play Sunday afternoon for the Harris Cup.

The MIAC tournament final will feature No. 4 seed St. Olaf at No. 2 seed Gustavus Adolphus Saturday.  St. Olaf skated past Hamline, then upset No. 1 seed St. Thomas to make it to the title game. Gustavus beat St. John’s in the other semifinal game.

In the NCHA, St. Norbert will be vying for its fourth Peters Cup in five seasons, while Wisconsin-Stevens Point is making its first title game appearance in 12 seasons.

I went 3-3 last week, which makes my season record 52-36, a .709 percentage.

{Predicted winners bolded}

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Wis.-Stevens Point at St. Norbert
No. 15 Wis.-Stevens Point and No. 5 St. Norbert have met three times this season. Wis.-Stevens Point won the first game in October by a score of 5-1 at Willett Arena in Stevens Point. Kyle Heck had a hat trick for Wis.-Stevens Point in the game. The following night, St. Norbert evened the series back home at the Cornerstone Community Center with a 4-1 win. Four different players scored for St. Norbert, including NCHA Player of the Year Johan Ryd. The teams did not meet again until February, when St. Norbert came away with an 8-3 win again at home. Once again St. Norbert had a balanced scoring attack, as eight different players contributed to the goal scoring.

In St. Norbert’s last three games, it has eight goals in 14 power-play opportunities, including going five-for-nine against Wis.-Stevens Point on Feb. 9. Ryd leads St. Norbert in scoring with 34 points, followed by Kyle Stroh with 26 points and Cullen Bradshaw with 25 points. David Jacobson has played the most minutes in goal, with a 1.72 goals against average and a .928 save percentage. He also has three shutouts on the season.

Heck leads Wis.-Stevens Point with 28 points and 20 goals. He is the first player to score 20 goals for Wis.-Stevens Point since Mike Brolsma accomplished the task in the 2001-02 season. Luke Nesper and Chad Boeckman each have 18 points on the season. Brandon Jaeger has a 1.96 goals against average and an .895 save percentage on the season.

St. Olaf at Gustavus Adolphus
No. 11 Gustavus and St. Olaf met just two weeks ago at the end of the MIAC regular season. Gustavus took three-of-four points in the home-and-home series, but had to come from behind in both games. Adam Smyth had three goals in the series for Gustavus that secured a No. 2 seed for the tournament.

Ross Ring-Jarvi leads Gustavus in scoring with 28 points. Zach May is the second-leading scorer with 20 points. Smyth leads the team with 14 goals and has 18 points. Ryan Johnson and Andy Pearson have also added 18 points on the season. John McLean has started the most games in goal for Gustavus. He has 2.13 goals against average and a .922 save percentage.

Peter Rohn and Charlie Raskob lead St. Olaf offensively. Rohn has 24 points and leads the team in goals with 11. Raskob has 23 points and leads the team with 17 assists.

The big mystery is who will start in goal for St. Olaf? Ben Leis played the most for St. Olaf during the season. He has a .925 save percentage and 2.30 goals against average on the season, but he was replaced at the start of the second period against Hamline after giving up two first period goals. Steve Papciak replaced him and St. Olaf went on to defeat Hamline, 3-2. Papciak started against St. Thomas as St. Olaf came back to defeat the conference champions, 4-3.

Lawrence at Adrian
Since joining the MCHA, No. 6 Adrian has never lost to Lawrence, compiling a 12-0-0 record. In its lone series this season in January, Adrian swept Lawrence. Both games were 3-2 victories. The first game saw Adrian build a 3-0 lead after two periods before Lawrence scored twice in the third to make things interesting. The next day saw the teams exchange leads before a third period goal put the game away for Adrian. Seven of the 10 goals in the series were scored on the power play.

Adrian’s leading scorer is Zach Graham, who has 39 points on the year, which is eighth-best in the nation. Josh Cousineau has 30 points, while Chris Stansik has 29 points. Scott Shackell and James Hamby have split goal duties this season. Both allow less than three goals a game and have save percentages over .900.

Brad Scurfield leads Lawrence in scoring with 31 points. Matt Hughes is the leading goal scorer with 15, and has 26 points on the season. Phil Bushbacher has 25 points on the season. Peter Emery has been the main goaltender, posting a 2.38 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.

Marian vs. MSOE
In their only series this season, Marian swept MSOE. The home-and-home series saw Marian score three goals in the third period at Milwaukee to win, 4-2. The following game saw Marian score two more goals in third to win 4-3. In both games, Marian did not allow MSOE to score in the final 20 minutes.

Marian is led offensively by Dakota Dubetz, who has 34 points on the season. Brian Berger is the leading goal scorer with 17, and has totaled 27 points. Brendan Roberts has 23 points on the year. Josh Baker is the main goaltender. He has a 3.12 goals against average and a .902 save percentage.

MSOE’s offense is headed up by the Keizer brothers. Older brother Jordan is the nation’s second-leading scorer with 43 points. He leads the country with seven short-handed goals on the season. Younger brother Josh has 29 points on the season. Todd Krupa also has 29 points for MSOE. In goal is Connor Toomey, who has set most of MSOE’s career goaltending records. This season he has a 1.97 goals against average and has three shutouts on the season.

It’s for hardware this weekend, it’s for pride, but most of all it is for history. It is the chance for staking a claim as the best team in the conference and winning that all important auto-bid to the NCAA tournament. No coach is going to be saying anything about the national tournament just yet. There is lots of work to be done, and winning the league may be the only way to guarantee a spot at the “big dance.”

Last week’s quarterfinal round saw my picks at 6-2-0 with a clean sweep of the NESCAC games and a .500 split on the ECAC East matchups. I am picking both semifinals in each conference and based on those outcomes, the championship games for the following day. It all starts on Friday afternoon, so enjoy the best of high-stakes hockey and the electric atmosphere that comes with the playoffs.

Friday, March 2, 2012
Southern Maine vs. Norwich
Last week, I bucked history in predicting that Babson would make amends for its sole loss down the stretch run and turn the tables on Southern Maine at home; I was wrong. So guess what?  This week, I am staying with history that saw Norwich handle the Huskies not once, but twice, by the same 5-1 score. The Cadets are pretty tuned up and just have too much firepower for Southern Maine, so any guesses on the score? Yup, history repeats itself. Norwich 5-1

Skidmore vs. Castleton
The two teams played each other just two weekends ago to wrap up the regular season with a home-and-home series that saw the visiting team win both games. The Spartans won a 9-1 blowout while Skidmore eked out a 1-0 win to secure the important fourth seed for home ice last week. So what happens this week on neutral ice? It’s playoff hockey, so expect it to be tight and low scoring. The Spartans have much more to play for than the last meeting in Rutland, and prove they can win the close ones too.  Castleton 2-1

Saturday, March 3, 2012
Castleton vs. Norwich
Both regular season contests went to the Cadets, and while Castleton aspires to be ECAC East champs, Norwich has been there and this team has done that. I still believe there is value to a team in having been there before, and that is the intangible that makes the difference on Saturday. Don’t let the final score fool you; it’s closer than that on the ice. Norwich 5-2

Williams vs. Amherst
The first NESCAC semifinal pits two teams that also saw each other on the final weekend of the regular season. Amherst swept the season series, including the game two weeks ago in Williamstown. When the NESCAC Player of the Year happens to be the starting goalie for Amherst and you’re the best defensive team in the country, you know that goals will be at a premium for the Ephs. Add to that the fact that the Lord Jeffs are unbeaten at Orr Rink this season and you have a recipe for moving on to the championship game. Amherst won’t score a lot either, but it is more than enough. Amherst 3-0

Middlebury vs. Bowdoin
This may be the most exciting game of the weekend, and yes I do believe it will take extra time to decide the outcome. Both teams traded big wins over each other at home during the regular season, and the Panthers appeared to be dead during that January stretch of games that included the loss in Brunswick. This time, the game will be low scoring, but not for the lack of aggressive play and speed game that both teams possess. Both teams have clutch players that show up large in these kinds of games, but look for the game-winner off the stick of a senior looking for one more shot at a second title in his college career. Bowdoin 3-2 (OT)

Sunday, March 4, 2012
Bowdoin vs. Amherst
It is the age old comparison of offense vs. defense and which can earn the championship. These two teams split the regular season, with Bowdoin issuing Amherst its only league loss in Brunswick in a wide open 7-4 score. Amherst returned the favor, winning at home, 3-1, in the second game, so now the question is what happens in round three between these two conference heavyweights. The game is in Amherst, and the Lord Jeffs have barely given up seven goals in their last five games. In this case, it’s defense that wins. After all, it has been winning all season. Amherst 3-1

So, I may not be going out any kind of limb here picking the top seeds to win their respective conference titles. The fact is that these two teams have not only played the most consistent hockey over the course of the regular season, they are playing great hockey when it counts the most, and that is a combination that wins championships. However the games come out this weekend, I want to congratulate all of the teams on their outstanding seasons and wish the winners the best of luck in the NCAA Tournament starting in less than a week. The road to Lake Placid starts this weekend. Enjoy the ride!

The championships and conference glory are on the line — drop the puck!