The 2018 Frozen 4

[osualum86]

Re: The 2018 Frozen 4

Obviously by my USCHO name you see where my sentiments lay going with Ohio State obviously. As far as how they will stack up I can't honestly say except that we had our star goalie back in net against BC so as long as she's getting healthier that's a plus for us. Also we played like we were on a mission and we are. We're the team who as they say are the Cinderella team playing not only in their first Frozen 4 but their first NCAA tournament ever! We made some HUGE hires in our coaching staff right at the beginning of the season and even on such short time to prepare it has paid off big! Not only their ability to coach but in the all important mental game in how they motivate these girls to believe in themselves.
I make no predictions but I think if Ohio State plays their full "A" game they have a legitimate chance.

Totally agree with your last statement! The way our Bucks played Saturday, they will be a tough out in the Frozen Four regardless of who they play. If one of these other teams thinks they can just step on the ice and beat us, be my guest. Overlook us at your own peril. Some called Saturday's game an upset. There was nothing upset about it, the better team won. I give BC credit for making the big push in the third period, but Ohio State owned them in the first two periods. Their goalie made some great saves to keep the game from getting out of hand. Kassidy Sauve made some big saves for us, obviously, and it was great seeing her in there. That was a statement win, shutting out a team with their firepower. That was the only time BC had been shut out all season.

 

[thirdtime's . . .]

Re: The 2018 Frozen 4

Now that more than the usual number of precincts have reported and the pronounced lead remains unchanged, let’s turn momentarily to a related issue, though it is not poll-worthy.

Who does the play-by-play for the FF games, on whom we streamers are so dependent? Will the NC$$ bus in HE and CHA talent? Actually, true homers are often the best, since anyone who knows their own team really well usually makes it a point to know the players on both sides of the puck and to stay focused on the action. That was true from what I saw in the quarters last weekend. This should be a given, but some of us can take nothing for granted on that score, especially with non-conference foes. (And dare I ask who will do “color”? One guy last weekend said lack of momentum can be a good thing for a team if it leads you to score a goal (!) because that, in turn, can bring confidence . . . GO LACK OF THE BIG MO!) So, are we likely to get knowledgeable voices or NCAA stand-ins? I don’t remember recent history.

 

[Nowheresville]

Re: The 2018 Frozen 4

This year all of the games are live on BTN - so only streaming is BTN2Go.

Last year they only had the final, but I seem to remember it was Dan Kelly on the mic - their normal Hockey PbP guy - and I'd guess he'll do it again this year. I don't recall who they had doing color.

 

[ndodge]

Re: The 2018 Frozen 4

Interesting that people are acting like this will be a road game for Wisconsin or that playing at Ridder will be a disadvantage for them. This seems like as close to a home Frozen Four as the Badgers are likely to ever get.

Ridder is a place where this Badger team has done remarkably well and seems to be very comfortable. Other than the Gophers, there's no team that's got nearly the experience or success playing in there - They've played twice as many games as even the Buckeyes over the past 3 season, and prior to losing to the Gophers in this years WCHA Final, they were undefeated in their previous 9 games in the building, winning 2 WCHA Tournament titles in the process.

This is also the first time the Badgers will have played in a Frozen Four in Minneapolis where the Gophers won't also be there, so I have to imagine the crowd will very much be on their side with a pretty large crowd coming up from Madison.

.

Lots of Badger fans right in the Twin Cities also, including me

 

[bluffrinkrat]

Re: The 2018 Frozen 4

This year all of the games are live on BTN - so only streaming is BTN2Go.

Last year they only had the final, but I seem to remember it was Dan Kelly on the mic - their normal Hockey PbP guy - and I'd guess he'll do it again this year. I don't recall who they had doing color.

One of Providence's finest players Sonny Watrous did the color.

 

[ARM]

Re: The 2018 Frozen 4

One of Providence's finest players Sonny Watrous did the color.

Sonny has also been the person that the host of the NCAA Selection Show goes to for reactions to the bracket the last two years.

 

[robertearle]

Re: The 2018 Frozen 4

With Grant (understandably) MIA, I went ahead and did the 'chances of winning' percentages.

If you want to think that each game is a coin-flip, and each team is a 25% chance to win, you aren't far off, and you can stop reading here.

But based on the current KRACH ratios, Clarkson has a 38.1% chance of winning the championship, Wisconsin 31.0%, Colgate 23.4% and Ohio State 7.4%.

Again, this is based on the KRACH ratios, and Ohio State has a significantly lower KRACH rating than the other three. So even though Wisconsin and Clarkson are basically a tie in KRACH, Ohio's lower KRACH makes Clarkson's appearance in the championship game more likely than Wisconsin getting there. That is what accounts for Clarkson being 7% 'more likely' to win.

And as I said, if you want to discount Ohio State's KRACH numbers, because they're a better team now than the one that lost ten times this year, etc., that's a reasonable position to take.

But I figured that somebody should do the percents, just for the record.