NCAA Hockey Bracket Predictions: Road to Frozen Four
Junior hockey is beginning to wrap-up around North America. The Canadian Hockey League is set to start its playoffs shortly, while the NCAA bracket was recently determined – which will lead to the Frozen Four in Tampa Bay, Florida in April.
Winners from each CHL league (OHL, QMJHL, WHL) will compete in the Memorial Cup with host Red Deer Rebels (WHL) on May 19th to 29th.
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In a four-part series dedicated to Junior Hockey’s postseason, we wrap things up with NCAA hockey bracket predictions.
*Notable players from each team (plus goaltenders) are included with their season point total and NHL status is brackets – NHL team or year of eligibility.
NCAA Hockey Bracket Predictions: Tournament Preview
1 Quinnipiac
RIT
Notable Players:
Devon Toews (D), Qunnipiac – 27pts (NYI)
Connor Clifton (D), Qunnipiac – 26pts (ARZ)
Goalies:
Michael Garteig, Quinnipiac – 29-3-7 1.90GAA .923 save pct
Mike Rotolo, RIT – 8-7-2 2.69GAA .908 save pct
Christian Short, RIT – 8-6-3 2.76GAA .889 save pct
Nick Amato, RIT – 2-1-1 3.24 GAA .847 save pct
Yale
UMass-Lowell
Notable Players:
John Hayden, Yale – 23pts (CHI)
Rob O’Gara (D), Yale – 12pts (BOS)
Ryan Dmowski, UMass-Lowell – 13pts (2016 Draft)
Evan Campbell, UMass-Lowell – 12pts (EDM)
More puck prose: Top 10 Prospects on the Planet
Goalies:
Alex Lyon, Yale – 19-7-4 1.59GAA .938 save pct
Patrick Spano, Yale – 0-1-0 3.04GAA .900 save pct
Kevin Boyle, UMass-Lowell – 23-9-5 1.77GAA .935 save pct
Christoffer Hernberg, UMass-Lowell – 1-0-0 1.21GAA .941 save pct
4 Providence
Minnesota-Duluth
Notable Players:
Mark Jankowski, Providence – 40pts (CGY)
Tony Cameranesi, Minnesota-Duluth – 36pts (TOR)
Jake Walman (D), Providence – 28pts (STL)
Brian Pinho, Providence – 25pts (WSH)
John Gilmour (D), Providence – 23pts (CGY)
Dominic Toninato, Minnesota-Duluth – 21pts (TOR)
Andy Welinski (D), Minnesota-Duluth – 19pts (ANA)
Erik Foley, Providence – 19pts (WPG)
Carson Soucy, Minnesota-Duluth – 12pts (MIN)
Anthony Florentino, Providence – 12pts (BUF)
Steven Ruggiero (D), Providence – 1pt (ANA)
Goalies:
Nick Ellis, Providence – 25-6-4 1.82GAA .935 save pct
Hayden Hawkey, Providence – 2-0-0 1.67GAA .940 save pct (MTL)
Kasimir Kaskisuo, Minnesota-Duluth – 18-14-5 1.93GAA .922 save pct
Matt McNeely, Minnesota-Duluth – 0-1-0 3.03GAA .907 save pct
Boston College
Harvard
Notable Players:
Jimmy Vesey, Harvard – 46pts (NSH)
Ryan Fitzgerald, Boston College – 44pts (BOS)
Colin White, Boston College – 41pts (OTT)
Zach Sanford, Boston College – 38pts (WSH)
Alexander Kerfoot, Harvard – 34pts (NJ)
Miles Wood, Boston College – 34pts (NJ)
Alex Tuch, Boston College – 31pts (MIN)
Adam Gilmour, Boston College – 25pts (MIN)
Casey Fitzgerald (D), Boston College – 24pts (2016 Draft)
Ryan Donato, Harvard – 21pts (BOS)
Ian McCoshen (D), Boston College – 20pts (FLA)
Sean Malone, Harvard – 19pts (BUF)
Colin Blackwell, Harvard – 19pts (SJ)
Tyler Moy, Harvard – 19pts (NSH)
Steve Santini (D), Boston College – 19pts (NJ)
Chris Brown, Boston College – 11pts (BUF)
Wiley Sherman, Harvard – 10pts (BOS)
Chris Calnan, Boston College – 9pts (CHI)
J.D. Dudek, Boston College – 3pts (NJ)
More puck prose: NHL Mock Draft 3.0: Rounds 1-7
Goalies:
Thatcher Demko, Boston College – 25-7-4 1.87GAA .935 save pct (VAN)
Ian Milosz, Boston College – 1-0-1 3.37GAA .899 save pct
Merrick Madsen, Harvard – 18-6-3 1.96GAA .933 save pct (PHI)
Michael Lackey, Harvard – 1-4-1 3.58GAA .876 save pct
3 North Dakota
Northeastern
Notable Players:
Brock Boeser, North Dakota – 51pts (VAN)
Nick Schmaltz, North Dakota – 42pts (CHI)
Adam Gaudette, Northeastern – 30pts (VAN)
Dylan Sikura, Northeastern – 28pts (CHI)
Kevin Roy, Northeastern – 25pts (ANA)
Austin Poganski, North Dakota – 23pts (STL)
Tucker Poolman (D), North Dakota – 22pts (WPG)
Luke Johnson, North Dakota – 19pts (CHI)
Sam Kurker, Northeastern – 18pts (STL)
Paul LaDue (D), North Dakota – 16pts (LA)
Christian Wolanin (D), North Dakota – 15pts (OTT)
Keaton Thompson (D), North Dakota – 15pts (ANA)
Brendan Collier, Northeastern – 13pts (CAR)
Shane Gersich, North Dakota – 10pts (WSH)
Chris Wilkie, North Dakota – 9pts (FLA)
Gage Ausmus (D), North Dakota – 9pts (SJ)
Goalies:
Cam Johnson, North Dakota – 20-4-2 1.64GAA .935 save pct
Matt Hrynkiw, North Dakota – 10-2-2 2.13GAA .910 save pct
Ryan Ruck, Northeastern – 20-10-4 2.26GAA .912 save pct
Derick Roy, Northeastern – 2-3-1 2.94GAA .840 save pct
Michigan
Notre Dame
Notable Players:
Kyle Connor, Michigan – 69pts (WPG)
J.T. Compher, Michigan – 60pts (COL)
Tyler Motte, Michigan – 54pts (CHI)
Zach Werenski (D), Michigan – 34pts (CLB)
Anders Bjork, Notre Dame – 33pts (BOS)
Jake Evans, Notre Dame – 33pts (MTL)
Thomas DiPauli, Notre Dame – 31pts (WSH)
Cristoval Nieves, Michigan – 30pts (NYR)
Mario Lucia, Notre Dame – 24pts (MIN)
Cooper Marody, Michigan – 24pts (PHI)
Michael Downing (D), Michigan – 19pts (FLA)
Connor Hurley, Notre Dame – 18pts (BUF)
Brendan Warren, Michigan – 17pts (ARZ)
Nolan De Jong (D), Michigan – 11pts (MIN)
Dennis Gilbert (D), Notre Dame – 10pts (CHI)
Nicholas Boka (D), Michigan – 9pts (MIN)
Joseph Cecconi (D), Michigan – 7pts (DAL)
Joe Wegwerth, Notre Dame – 4pts (FLA)
More puck prose: Top 20 Goaltenders Under 25 Years Old
Goalies:
Steve Racine, Michigan – 19-5-3 2.89GAA .913 save pct
Zach Nagelvoort, Michigan – 5-2-1 2.99GAA .893 save pct (EDM)
Cal Petersen, Notre Dame – 19-10-7 2.19GAA .928 save pct (BUF)
2 St.Cloud State
Ferris State
Notable Players:
Kyle Schempp, Ferris State – 23pts (NYI)
Judd Peterson, St.Cloud – 23pts (BUF)
Robby Jackson, St.Cloud – 17pts (2016 Draft)
Ben Storm, St.Cloud – 7pts (COL)
Goalies:
Charlie Lindgren, St.Cloud – 30-8-1 2.05GAA .927 save pct
Rasmus Reijola, St.Cloud – 1-0-0 2.77GAA .878 save pct
Darren Smith, Ferris State – 16-9-5 2.15GAA .923 save pct
Charles Williams, Ferris State – 3-5-1 3.48GAA .888 save pct
Denver
Boston University
Notable Players:
Danny O’Regan, Boston – 43pts (SJ)
Danton Heinen, Denver – 42pts (BOS)
Jakub Forsbacka Karlsson, Boston – 29pts (BOS)
Will Butcher (D), Denver – 29pts (COL)
Jordan Greenway, Boston – 25pts (MIN)
Charlie McAvoy (D), Boston – 24pts (2016 Draft)
Quentin Shore, Denver – 23pts (OTT)
Matt Grzelcyk (D), Boston – 22pts (BOS)
Troy Terry, Denver – 17pts (ANA)
Doyle Somerby, Boston – 13pts (NYI)
Robbie Baillargeon, Boston – 12pts (OTT)
Brandon Hickey (D), Boston – 8pts (CGY)
John MacLeod (D), Boston – 2pts (TB)
Goalies:
Evan Cowley, Denver – 8-5-1 2.07GAA .929 save pct (FLA)
Tanner Jaillet, Denver – 15-4-5 2.23GAA .925 save pct
Sean Maguire, Boston – 13-8-1 2.27GAA .924 save pct (PIT)
Connor LaCouvee, Boston – 8-4-4 2.84GAA .901 save pct
More puck prose: OHL Playoffs: Round 1 Preview, Predictions
NCAA Hockey Bracket Predictions: Road to Frozen Four
*projected winner in bold
First Round
East
1 Qunnipiac
RIT (Rochester Inst.)
Yale
UMass-Lowell
Northeast
4 Providence
Minnesota-Duluth
Harvard
Boston College
Midwest
3 North Dakota
Northeastern
Notre Dame
Michigan
West
2 St.Cloud State
Ferris State
Boston University
Denver
More puck prose: QMJHL Playoffs: Round 1 Preview, Predictions
Quarter-Finals
East
1 Quinnipiac
UMass-Lowell
4 Providence
Boston College
West
3 North Dakota
Michigan
2 St.Cloud State
Denver
Frozen Four
1 Quinnipiac
Boston College
Michigan
2 St.Cloud State
Next: WHL Playoffs: Round 1 Preview, Predictions
Frozen Four Championship
1 Quinnipiac
Michigan