2013 Frozen Four. Apparently college hockey is still happening

Submitted by gwkrlghl on

So I had almost completely forgotten that college hockey was still going on. In what is absolutely the weirdest frozen four I have ever seen we had Yale beat Umass-Lowell 3-2 in OT and Quinnipiac is currently up 4-1 on St Cloud State with 5:00 left in the 2nd

I haven't followed college hockey as much this year with Michigan being awful, but what a weird frozen four. Four nobodies in the college hockey world with it looking like it's going to be a Yale-Quinnipiac final.

Feels like a fake championship. Anyway, just wanted to share because I don't know if we'll ever seen a frozen four this weird looking again

MGoBoard
Hockey
wtf
Why is Quinnipiac in the Frozen Four

goblue16

April 11th, 2013 at 10:16 PM ^

To be honest there doesn't seem to b too much interest this year mainly cause neither Michigan, MSU, OSU, notre dame, even Wisconsin and Minnesota are in it. No doubt they have the biggest fan bases in college hockey

Joined: 03/28/2010

MGoPoints: 17468

gwkrlghl

April 11th, 2013 at 10:34 PM ^

Pretty sure this is going to end up being the least attended frozen four in probably a decade or two. There is no one there right now in Pittsburgh. Probably only 5,000 or so

Joined: 04/13/2012

MGoPoints: 72

Blueisgood

April 11th, 2013 at 10:38 PM ^

There'll be a first time national champion this year, as none of the four schools have ever won one. And I believe it's the first time in the frozen four for all the schools except Yale. Definitely a weird year

Joined: 09/21/2009

MGoPoints: 2865

BlueinLansing

April 11th, 2013 at 10:45 PM ^

this was the first Frozen Four is 50 yeas without at least one of Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Boston College, or Boston Univ.

 

something like that anyway.

 

 

Joined: 09/01/2009

MGoPoints: 23520

gwkrlghl

April 11th, 2013 at 11:29 PM ^

Yale v Quinnipiac.

I would say it's an absolute lock for this to be the least attended final in decades. Neither school has more than 6,000 undergrads. I won't be upset missing this game except for the fact that Michigan barely missed out on tournament featuring an all EZAC final. Gah

Joined: 04/13/2012

MGoPoints: 72

SFBlue

April 12th, 2013 at 12:44 AM ^

No, it's a badass sport. Bad for overall excitement for the sport but good for both programs in getting there. Frozen 4 isn't sweet only if Michigan makes it. It is an awesome event.

Joined: 11/02/2009

MGoPoints: 15699

Number 7

April 12th, 2013 at 11:30 AM ^

Damned straight.  If Michigan isn't going to be in it, I'd rather have 4 upstarts competing than a Frozen Four comprised of the usual suspects.  Also don't mind seeing the WCHA and Hockey East getting closed out.  (Oh yeah, I'm also a Yale season ticket holder, so there;'s that, too).

Joined: 06/09/2009

MGoPoints: 5256

Mlaw2010

April 12th, 2013 at 1:15 AM ^

Just because the schools that you're all used to won't win the championship doesn't make it a "fake championship" or a bad Frozen Four.  Quinnipiac was the best team in the country for most of the year.  Yale has already beaten 2 number 1 seeds to get to the finals.  These are two good hockey teams and just because you don't know much about them doesn't make that less true.  Also, this is great for the ECAC - no more fans of the other large conferences saying they're the fourth best conference.  They were the second best conference for most of the year and these teams earned their way here.

Joined: 11/10/2008

MGoPoints: 574

chatster

April 12th, 2013 at 5:52 AM ^

This may have been weird looking.  It may have been the "Anti-Final Four."  And, to date, based on people actually in the seats at Pittsburgh's CONSOL Energy Center, as opposed to tickets sold, it may be the worst attended Frozen Four (a term coined by a former Boston University Sports Information Director*) in many years.  But it shouldn’t be a complete surprise that three of the four schools that got there are little known to most sports fans, and the fourth, Yale, is much better known for its alumni who’ve "gone pro in something other than sports."

Of the 59 schools playing NCAA Division One men’s hockey, only 15 of them play Division 1A/ FBS football and only eight of them are from the BCS conferences (six from the Big Ten, two from the ACC, if Notre Dame now counts as an ACC school): Air Force, Army, Boston College, Bowling Green, Connecticut, Massachusetts-Amherst, Miami, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Western Michigan and Wisconsin.

It’s likely that more people in the United States watched the EPL’s Manchester Derby in which City beat United 2-1 this week before over 75,000 fans at Old Trafford than watched the semifinals of the Frozen Four.

Yet, considering all the focus that there has been on tragedy in Connecticut since last December 14, it’s nice that the people of Connecticut will have something good to celebrate this weekend.

*Link to article about this year’s Frozen Four and how that term was coined. http://bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/04/06/frozen-four-breaks-from-tradition/ceyojE9xgzDq0rTY2VH85I/story.html 

Joined: 09/14/2010

MGoPoints: 26926

MGoStrength

April 12th, 2013 at 10:44 AM ^

As someone that volunteered for a year with Quinnipiac strength & conditioning in 2010-2011 I am really happy for those guys.  Bui, Hartzell, Arnt, Barron, Currie, etc. are all great guys and hard workers.  It's great to see them having such success.  I never got to know Pecknold very well, but they have a great strength coach.  So happy for those guys & great to see an all-Connecticut finals.  

 

And btw Hartzell is just as explosive and athletic as they noted on ESPN last night.  He can probably dunk better than anyone on the basketball team.

Joined: 07/29/2010

MGoPoints: 20002

SFBlue

April 12th, 2013 at 2:25 PM ^

Yale making the Finals does make the loss to ND more painful, because the field was pretty open (I mean, it's always more open than March Madness, or college football).  ND lit us up pretty good this year. 

Joined: 11/02/2009

MGoPoints: 15699