Speed and Balance On Display in NCAA Frozen Four Championship

Thursday's semifinals at the NCAA Frozen Four in Detroit were thrashings. Beatdowns.

Frankly, they weren't terribly entertaining hockey games, which is too bad. College hockey only gets one shot at the national spotlight, and when the games aren't that good, it hurts the overall perception of the sport.

When Boston College and Wisconsin meet at Ford Field for the national championship Saturday night, they won't feel the pressure to create a classic. After all, the pressure to win the title is more than enough.

On paper, it looks like the kind of game that can meet expectations. Of course, games aren't played on paper, even if that would be a better surface than the ice at Ford Field.

Wisconsin's balance was on display in Thursday's first semifinal, an 8-1 Badger win over RIT. They forechecked, played tough defense, hit, and moved the puck like an NHL team at times. It's the kind of style that can give anyone fits, even a team with Boston College's speed.

"I think we have to go out there and do the small things and that will be the biggest difference in the game," said goaltender Scott Gudmandson. "We've got to have great puck management and get the puck deep. I think that BC kind of lived off of turnovers after watching the game last night, so if we have good puck management I think we will be fine out there."

The Eagles sure did take advantage of Miami mistakes -- both turnovers and blown coverages -- to pull away for a 7-1 win in the second semifinal Thursday. Head coach Jerry York, who's danced this dance a few times in his life, knows where the big challenge lies against Wisconsin.

"The strength of their team is in the defense," he said. "I don't know if I've seen a defense that deep and that talented in college hockey in the span of my career. They've really got some outstanding players there.

"They're big, they're very physical and they handle pucks extremely well. So that's more than key to our approach. We've got to limit their input in their offense. If they join the play, they'll have a lot of shots from the offensive points but also we have to win the cycle game that goes on – the game below the dots."

That strength lies in guys like Ryan McDonagh, a somewhat unheralded player who leads the defensive corps but doesn't get a lot of points. The accolades usually go to junior Brendan Smith, who had five assists in the semifinals and leads all Division I defensemen in points this season.

Head coach Mike Eaves is obviously very pleased with the offensive play of his defense.

"When you blend them in," he said, "the offense that we have this year is a direct result of having people with natural skills playing to the thought process that we want to get up in the rush, we want to have balance on our attack. Because of their talent and the way we play, the philosophy, you can see the numbers have come out the way they have."

Justin Schultz is another nice offensive player on the blue line, while Cody Goloubef and John Ramage -- draft-eligible this summer, NHL fans -- can bring the lumber.

Boston College will try to counter with their speed and skill up front. Cam Atkinson, Joe Whitney, Jimmy Hayes, and Ben Smith were huge factors in the semifinal win, but they'll have their work cut out against a team much more mobile than Miami.

Oh, and let's not forget that junior goalie John Muse, who was very good when called upon Thursday, has already won a national title in his career (2008).

"They've scored a ton of goals, but we have too so it should be a great game," Hayes said. "I think with the speed it's going to have an exciting fast pace so I think it will be great for our game."

There will be no contrast in styles. Both teams will want to push the pace, move the puck, and forecheck like crazy. The team that is able to avoid giving up odd-man rushes and stay out of the box will have a distinct advantage.

This type of game seems to favor Wisconsin, because their defensemen bring such a huge element to the game that is hard to neutralize or duplicate. However, they have managed to lose ten games and tie four others, so it's not like the Badgers are unbeatable.

Boston College will be out to prove that they're the team to get it done when it counts the most.