Experience Rules Midwest Regional

With the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship set to start Friday, FanHouse is taking a look at each of the four regionals.

There is plenty of experience to be had at throughout the Midwest Regional bracket. Each of the four teams in the group has at least five players with over 100 games played at the college level. There is senior leadership all over the place, most notably with the top-seeded and heavily favored Notre Dame.

1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (31-5-3)
Central Collegiate Hockey Association
Automatic bid

Perhaps you were sold by their 20-game unbeaten streak at mid-season. Maybe it was the run of ten straight wins that they have been on since suffering their fifth loss of the season. It might be that you like them because they return so many players from last year's team, the one that went from a fourth seed in regionals to the Frozen Four championship game. No matter what, you can't deny that there's a lot to like about this Notre Dame team.

Team Leaders
F Erik Condra, 13-25-38; F Calle Ridderwall, 17-15-32; G Jordan Pearce, 30-5-3, 1.61, .934 saves

NHL Fans Should Watch
Condra (Ottawa) is one of the top seniors in the country. Not only has he been a solid player for four years and a team captain this year, but he's also been nominated for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award for his play on the ice, his academic achievement, and his character. Sophomore defenseman Ian Cole (St. Louis) is a solid all-around player who likes to hit but can also move the puck and quarterback the power play.

Under The Radar
Pearce was great in goal last year in getting Notre Dame to the final, and he's been even better this year. A lot of the credit goes to a defense that has only given up 24 shots a game in Pearce's starts, but that shouldn't be taken as any discredit to Pearce, who is as fundamentally sound as they come.

Fun Fact
If you're a longtime college hockey fan, the name Jeff Jackson probably rings a bell. The fourth-year Notre Dame coach had previously coached at Lake Superior State (Mich.), leading the Lakers to two national championships and six straight NCAA Tournament bids in the 1990s. He will try again this year to lead Notre Dame to their first-ever national championship.

2. Northeastern Huskies (25-11-4)
Hockey East Association
At-large bid

Northeastern had become a perennial bottom-feeder in Hockey East before Greg Cronin arrived. In just his fourth year on the job, Cronin has led the Huskies to their first winning season in seven years, and their first NCAA Tournament since 1994. A talented, experienced goaltender is leading the way, along with two top senior forwards.

Team Leaders
F Wade MacLeod, 14-21-35; F Ryan Ginand, 20-12-32; G Brad Thiessen, 25-11-4, 2.09, .932 saves

NHL Fans Should Watch
Freshman forward Steve Quailer (Montreal) is only 19, but he showed some maturity and earned ice time on an experienced Northeastern team. Quailer is six-three, but only 185 pounds, so look for him to fill his body out a bit during his time in college. In the meantime, ten goals and 25 points isn't a bad haul for a freshman on an NCAA Tournament team in Hockey East.

Under The Radar
Thiessen has been nothing but great for the Huskies throughout the last two seasons. This year's version of Northeastern scored more than half a goal per game more than last year's team did, and that made a world of difference for Thiessen, who has been steady all the way through.

Fun Fact
Northeastern has had a hockey program for almost 80 years, yet their 25 wins this season ties the school record set in 1981-82, which still stands as the only Frozen Four trip in program history.

3. Cornell Big Red (21-9-4)
ECAC Hockey League
At-large bid

Mike Schafer has led a bit of a renaissance for Cornell hockey. Ned Harkness led the Big Red to two national championships, including an unbeaten season in 1969-70. Since he left, Cornell has only been to four Frozen Fours, but Schafer has taken the Big Red to seven NCAA Tournaments in his 14 years on the job. At 275 wins and counting, Schafer can cement his legacy at Cornell with another Frozen Four run.

Team Leaders
F Riley Nash, 13-21-34; F Colin Greening, 14-15-29; G Ben Scrivens, 21-9-4, 1.77, .933 saves

NHL Fans Should Watch
Nash (Edmonton) is a first-round pick who will be a solid player in the NHL before too long. He's got size, strength, skating ability, and hands. Greening (Ottawa) is four years older than Nash, but the 23-year-old has the skills to at least earn a shot in Ottawa, where forward depth is really lacking right about now.

Under The Radar
At six-three and over 200 pounds, junior defenseman Brendon Nash (Riley's older brother) is a big kid who can move the puck well. He's the leading scorer among Cornell defensemen, and a regular fixture on the power play.

Fun Fact
In its formative years, Cornell hockey was played on outdoor ice at Beebe Lake. In 1947, after 45-plus years of games, Beebe Lake's ice was no longer thick enough because of mild weather, so the hockey program was dropped. Only when Lynah Rink was built in 1957 did the hockey program return to Cornell. The program and Lynah Rink have been around ever since.

4. Bemidji State Beavers (18-15-1)
College Hockey America
Automatic bid

This year, only one team that didn't make it into the Pairwise rankings qualified for the NCAA Tournament. Bemidji State, based in northwestern Minnesota, is by far the underdog of this year's field. The Beavers have the worst record of any team, the worst non-conference record, and will be given literally no chance of beating Notre Dame.

Team Leaders
F Matt Read, 13-22-35; F Tyler Scofield, 18-14-32; G Matt Dalton, 17-10-1, 2.25, .918 saves

NHL Fans Should Watch
The only Bemidji player who has been drafted is junior defenseman Chris Peluso (Pittsburgh). While he only has one goal in 94 career games, Peluso has developed into a solid defensive defenseman who can move the puck. While he's not much of an offensive threat, he's a good leader on this Beavers team.

Under The Radar
Freshman defenseman Brad Hunt is overlooked because of his size (five-nine), but he's actually a pretty good-looking player. Hunt is a threat on the power play (seven of his nine goals have been with the man advantage), and he is solid in his own zone.

Fun Fact
Former Bemidji State coach R.H. "Bob" Peters has made quite an impact on hockey. In fact, he has contributed so much to the game that he has two conference championships named after him. The Division III Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, where Bemidji State played from 1980 until their move to Division I in 1999, plays its conference tournament for the Peters Cup every year. College Hockey America, Bemidji's current league, has named its regular-season championship after Peters, who served as commissioner of the league from 2001 through 2008.