Frozen Four Preview

[schwartzwatch]

Impressive 3-1 win by Denver. Undrafted goalie Matt Davis not intimidated by all the NHL talent coming at him down the stretch. I'm looking forward to being at Enterprise for the Frozen Four. Hope some of you make it as well.

[Aesa]

Denver wins it 3-1

[STL fan in MN]

The game to watch tomorrow is Denver and Boston College. Rematch of the national title game from a year ago. Two heavyweights going at it. Only one makes the Frozen Four again.

Arguably, the two best players in college hockey squaring off again. Leonard v. Buium. Sounds like a Supreme Court case.

I’d agree with that but there’s a bunch of talent on both sides. Denver has been hit or miss this season and that’s reflected with only being a 3 seed in this tourney but if I had a vote for Hobey Baker, I’d probably go with Denver’s Jack Devine. He’s been that good. An excellent distributor (led the league in points and assists). He’s not going to be as good of a pro as Leonard, Buium and others (he’s a late ‘03 so he’s a bit older than most of the top college players) but he’s been the best overall player in college hockey this season IMO.

Denver doesn’t have the name recognition of BC’s roster but they still have 11 guys drafted by NHL teams on their roster. And they're generally older and more experienced too.

I’d say Leonard is BC’s best player (leads the league with 30 goals) but Perreault is right there and they of course have Hagens as well. And arguably the best goalie in the league in Fowler. They have 12 drafted players and then Hagens who will be as well in a few months.

I’ll give #1 BC the edge here today but wouldn’t be at all surprised if Denver pulls it off. They have the experience and I think Carle is the better coach. Greg Brown is a decent coach but I watched last year’s title game in person and it was clear Carle outcoached him badly in terms of in-game adjustments. BC just hasn’t been the same since legendary coach Jerry York retired.

MN, if DU wins this game (and potentially more), do you think Carle jumps ship to the NHL? Dude has an impeccable post season/tournament record at this point between DU and the WJC’s.

Honest answer: I don’t know. But Carle has made it pretty clear he’s not a big fan of how short of a lease NHL coaches get. He seems perfectly content making $400k/year as a college coach and likely having a job at Denver for decades if he wants it. Denver would eventually need to pay him more but he’d still make more in the NHL…but with a lot less stability. I’m sure he’ll explore it but if I had to guess, he’ll stay at Denver.

[STL fan in MN]

Denver wins it 3-1

Great win by Denver. They simply know how to win this time of year. They had an up and down year - 3 losses to Arizona State, even an exhibition loss to ACHA UNLV (Buium was missing that game as he was at the WJC) but never count them and David Carle out.

The Leonard-Hagens-Perreault line just didn’t have enough. But they’ll all be millionaires soon enough so that’ll alleviate the pain a bit.

Next for Denver is a rematch against Western Michigan, who beat the Pioneers in the NCHC championship game in Double OT last weekend.

[Pierre McGuire]

Leonard signed with the Capitals today. Man the Capitals have some players coming. Their front office has done a fantastic job.

[STL fan in MN]

Leonard signed with the Capitals today. Man the Capitals have some players coming. Their front office has done a fantastic job.

Yep. Bet Perreault signs here within the next day or so too. Pretty big exodus out of college hockey this year.