Well, it's an interesting field in the Final Five this year, to say the least. It did not go entirely as I predicted it would... The most surprising outcome of last weekend was the Gophers being swept by Alaska-Anchorage at Mariucci. Going to the series, the Gophers were 26-1 at Mariucci in the the first round of the playoffs. Their only loss came to the Seawolves in 2007.
The other teams that made it are: North Dakota, with a sweep over Tech; Denver, with a sweep over Mankato; Duluth, with a sweep over St. Cloud; Colorado College, won two of three against Wisconsin; Anchorage, with a sweep of the Gophers; and Bemidji, with a sweep at Omaha.
I'm only going to pick the games after it's been decided who's playing in them. So, today I will only be picking the Bemidji/Duluth game and the Anchorage/Colorado College game.
Bemidji vs. Duluth, 3:37
It took Duluth three overtimes on Saturday night, but they finally defeated SCSU by a final score of 3-2. Duluth looked good last weekend, but part of that was St. Cloud absolutely rolling over and dying. It was truly a pathetic effort...
The Beavers went on the road and were absolutely dominated by Omaha, but luck stayed with them during their sweep. The Beavers got timely scoring and tremendous goal tending to defeat the Mavericks.
I'm feeling Bemidji in this game because they bring it every night. The Bulldogs could take the night off thinking the Beavs aren't going to show up, but that would be a mistake. These games are so tough to pick, but I'm going to go with the Bulldogs to win this one 3-2.
Anchorage vs. Colorado College, 7:37
Honestly, this game bores me. Two out of state teams are playing tonight. I can't imagine the WCHA is happy about that, but what can you do... Anchorage did the unthinkable and went into Minnesota and swept. The Gophers couldn't hit the net, and they gave up tons of odd-man rushes and breakaways. To the Seawolves credit, they capitalized on them.
The Tigers had an absolute battle with Wisconsin. It was the only series to go three games, and CC trailed every game going into the third period.
Both teams are playing for their NCAA tourney lives, and need to win the Final Five to get in. My gut is telling me to pick CC, but Anchorage is playing well and they're 3-2 against CC this season. Based on the numbers, I'm going to pick the Seawolves to win this one 4-1.
