Pair of Hockey East teams highlight 2009 Frozen Four

Chockey Betting Lines

03/29/2009 - Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Boston University and the University of Vermont, both from Hockey East, highlight the final four schools in the NCAA men's ice hockey tournament, set for April 9-11 at Verizon Center in Washington, DC.

The Terriers won the Hockey East regular season and playoff titles, finishing the year as the top-ranked school in the nation, garnering the overall top seed for the tourney. BU gained its first Frozen Four berth since 1997 by routing Ohio State, 8-3, on Saturday and conference-rival New Hampshire on Sunday by a 2-1 count to take the Northeast region.

Vermont, which finished fourth in the stacked conference, captured the East region with victories over former ECAC foe Yale on Friday, then a disputed 3-2 double-overtime triumph Saturday against Air Force.

The Miami-Ohio RedHawks are the lone Central Collegiate Hockey Association team in the field, gaining the semifinals after toppling top-seed Denver, then Minnesota-Duluth in the West region on Friday and Saturday.

Bemidji State, from College Hockey America, rounds out the field after taking the Midwest region following a 4-1 triumph over Cornell on Sunday to reach its first Frozen Four in school history. The Beavers, which were the fourth seed in the grouping, also dispatched regional top-seed Notre Dame on Saturday to become the first team from outside the traditional four powerhouse conferences to reach the national semis.

For the semifinal round on Thursday, April 9, Boston University squares off against Vermont and Bemidji State looks to continue its run by facing Miami- Ohio.

The winner of both will meet on Saturday, April 11, for the national championship. Boston College took home the 2008 title, topping Notre Dame.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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