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The NCAA men’s hockey tournament is here, and after a 16-team field battled through regionals, the Frozen Four is set for Thursday and Saturday at TD Garden in Boston.
Advancing to Boston are Michigan, the Big Ten tournament champion and No. 1 overall seed; Minnesota State, the CCHA tournament and regular-season champ; Denver, the regular-season champ in the NCHC; and Minnesota, the Big Ten’s regular-season champ.
All the Frozen Four games will be broadcast on ESPN2 or ESPNU and are available for streaming in the ESPN app.
The balance of power all season was in the western conferences, and that’s the way the regionals played out. Minnesota State, winner of 17 games in a row, is back in the Frozen Four after making its first appearance in the national semifinals last year.
The other three teams are among the most decorated programs in the sport: Michigan is in the Frozen Four for the 26th time and has won nine national titles, Minnesota is making its 22nd Frozen Four appearance and has won five national championships and Denver is in the national semifinals for the 17th time, after winning it all eight times.
So what will it take for each team to win it all? We asked ESPN college hockey analysts Dave Starman, Paul Caponigri and Sean Ritchlin for their takes on what the Pioneers, Wolverines, Gophers and Mavericks need to do to skate out of Boston with a national title.
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Regional takeaways | Field at a glance
Contents
Frozen Four
at TD Garden, Boston
All times Eastern; all games also available on ESPN app
April 7
National semifinals
Denver vs. Michigan, 5 p.m., ESPN2
Minnesota State vs. Minnesota, 8:30 p.m., ESPNU
April 9
National championship game, 8 p.m., ESPN2
Denver will win if …
Dave Starman: If the Pioneers’ second line of Carter Mazur, Massimo Rizzo and Cameron Wright impacts the game and their third line with Brett Stapley creates matchup issues against Michigan’s third defensive pairing, they’ll be in great shape. Also, Denver’s possession game,…
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Source : espn
