It's a shame that the championship game isn't being carried but you've really got to consider that it's a niche market of a niche market. The "huge" story in the Olympics didn't get a lot of press outside of the hockey hotbed areas. On the men's side, take a look at the games that are being shown on the national networks. Half of the games NBC showed were of Notre Dame, undoubtedly tied in with their football contract. CBS had a contract with the NCHC, which I'd bet is a near-zero revenue contract for the league or they might even be paying for the exposure. That accounted for half of CBS's games. Even on the non-national level, Quinnipiac (the proclaimed mecca of hockey in another thread) pays to have a few of their games broadcast on NESN.
Then you have to look at the teams participating in the Frozen Four. You have two Big Ten teams that don't have a huge following outside their home state. Minnesota, in particular, is seen as an also-ran in the Big Ten in any other sport besides hockey. Wisconsin has a much better athletic program but they still don't have a huge national following. Then, you have a division II and division III play-up that most people couldn't even locate on a map. Heck, I live in New York and a lot of people I talk to don't even know where Clarkson is, much less that they have a hockey team. Even right in the center of the "niche", Clarkson rarely draws more than 100-150 for home games and I'd imagine Mercyhurst doesn't do much better.
Despite the fact that the TD Center is "sold out" this weekend, I doubt that many outside of the university even know that it's going on. I'd imagine once CCT, MC, and Wisconsin give back their team allotments, there will be plenty of empty seats. Heck, I've been following our women's team pretty closely for a couple of years now and I didn't even know the Frozen Four was going to be just 70 miles from my front door until a few weeks ago.
In order for ESPN to exercise it's right to broadcast a game, I'd assume they'd have to see some sort of benefit. Even when they broadcast the Division II and III football championships, there is some market because they're stuck in a period devoid of football and they will draw some viewers. Sports like LAX or women's soccer feature "brand name" schools in sports that are growing in the U.S. Even the D-III play-up in LAX is a much more recognizable name than Clarkson. Now, you put the NCAA women's frozen four up against the men's conference tournaments (further eliminating "niche" fans), there is really no market for these games.
