The NCAA Hockey bracket is out--Penn State vs. DU on Saturday at 7 PM!

[STPGopherfan]

You guys had a bad finish against us, but really didn't have a terrible year. You had wins over St. Cloud, UND, swept Clarkson . . . not so hot against UM but they were an excellent team. Supreme players with Middlestet and Sheehy - something just wasn't right, bad mix maybe? STILL would have made the Tournament were it not for Princeton and Northeastern getting autobids in big upsets.

I find it impossible to believe that Minny will be down for long. Look at Michigan - from the outhouse to a contender in one season. Things turn on a dime in this game. Good luck.

Thanks! Being a football fan, I know that you can be king one day, and a peasant the next. Especially with the administrations the University of Minnesota has had.

BTW I think we missed out by thousandths of a point. Oh well.

Make some noise in the tourney!

Cheers!

 

[NittanyLionFan]

Damn. I'm in Section 119 which is on the goal line in the corner. Similar to my seats in Pegula. I hope it's the end where we attack twice. (Phantoms end).

Good news is, the bar is four rows up.

I'm in 119 as well! I would imagine that most of PSU's block is there. Nice to know the bar is close, lol!

 

[androcles]

Picked up my tix through the ppl website but holy hell the added "fees" are some of the worst I've ever seen. The seats along the glass are $106.50 with a $19.50 fee tacked on, an up-charge of 18%.

Then when buying tickets it's no longer free to print at home as they charge a $2.50 to do so.

I thought about doing the mobile phone option and then sending the file to my printer but they expressly say that a printed mobile ticket will not be able to be used for entry. I just don't trust doing the mobile option and see no reason I should be charged to print the tix at home. Howlin' at the moon I know.

 

[androcles]

...just picked up my 4 tickets today in Sec 115 at PPL Will Call...
...WE ARE!...

 

[michnittlion]

Northeast is Worcester, Mass, East is Hartford I believe, MW Allentown, West in Sioux Falls SD. Finals in St. Paul. That is actually a pretty typical spread. That is where the teams are.

It's not a fairly typical spread. There's usually 1 regional site that is actually IN the Midwest. 1 city among Cincinnati, South Bend, Toledo, Green Bay, Saint Louis, Fort Wayne, Grand Rapids, and Madison has hosted the Midwest regional in each of the last 10 years.

The problem is - none of those cities made enough $ (they all probably lost $) that they wanted to bid again. Literally NO cities between Sioux Falls and Allentown bid for NCAA hockey regionals in either 2018 or 2019. As a result, Allentown's bid, by default, becomes the "Midwest" regional.

Honestly, the NCAA regional hockey model is broken. These neutral-sites rarely make $. What the NCAA should do is have the top 4 seeds host the regionals. But there are a lot of institutions (mainly the smaller ones who prefer the neutral-sites, they think it increases their chances of winning tourney games) that are opposed to such.

 

[RGWhirly]

Another day closer. Have seen on several message boards and forums where many DU fans think they are going to coast to the Frozen Four. They very well could because they are a very good team, but I think they are going to have a much greater challenge of getting through us and likely Ohio State than they think.

 

[NittanyLionFan]

Have seen on several message boards and forums where many DU fans think they are going to coast to the Frozen Four.

It may be true; but, I kinda feel like PSU could be in a good position to make the Frozen Four if they can get past Denver. That is, the Regional could be "easier" than the Semiregional. Getting out of the first round, however, is likely to be a tall task!

 

[RGWhirly]

It may be true; but, I kinda feel like PSU could be in a good position to make the Frozen Four if they can get past Denver. That is, the Regional could be "easier" than the Semiregional. Getting out of the first round, however, is likely to be a tall task!

DU really reminds me of Notre Dame. Jaillet is an excellent goalie and their D really collapses around the net to make it tough to get rebounds. We are definitely going to have to get a lot of shots and try to block Jaillet's view. Terry and Borgstrom killed us last year in the regional final. DU is talented with all four lines but if we do not let those two kill us feel pretty good about our chances. We showed we can hang with ND, we can hang with DU. Will definitely need to score 3+ goals to win.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Another day closer. Have seen on several message boards and forums where many DU fans think they are going to coast to the Frozen Four. They very well could because they are a very good team, but I think they are going to have a much greater challenge of getting through us and likely Ohio State than they think.

Denver is defending champ and a great team. A GREAT team. So I can't criticize that outlook too much. I say the exact same shiz on various Villanova boards.

But they ain't coasting past Ohio State. And they sure ain't coasting past us. We fought to the finish last year and win or lose, we'll do it again on Saturday.

 

[RGWhirly]

Hell no this is not falling to the second page. Can’t wait for Saturday.

 

[ChiTownLion]

 

[VaNtyLion]

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Not sure what Gadowsky is getting at with the "we were not us" against Denver last year. They were a better team, period. I think we held our own for most of the game but came apart a bit late in the 2nd when DU broke open a 2-3 game and made it 2-5 with quick goals. We were fast and loose on D all year and that's a recipe for disaster against DU.

Denver routed ND in the Frozen Four and went on to beat the only other team I'd have put on their level last year in Duluth. They were legit and on another level, but have had trouble finding that edge consistently this year....until the NCHC tournament last weekend where they beat UMD and SCSU, which shows they're ready to defend the national title.

I'd still favor DU over any team in the country on a neutral sheet of ice. Lucky for PSU, this is a de facto home game and should be electric. The experience of last year's game should help us this year a lot, I think. Also think we're a bit more effective defensively but Saturday will be biggest test of the season.

 

[RGWhirly]

Not sure what Gadowsky is getting at with the "we were not us" against Denver last year. They were a better team, period. I think we held our own for most of the game but came apart a bit late in the 2nd when DU broke open a 2-3 game and made it 2-5 with quick goals. We were fast and loose on D all year and that's a recipe for disaster against DU.

He actually addressed that in a story yesterday. Stated they had a horrible week of practice, legs were very tired, they were very wide-eyed, etc. I am paraphrasing but those are things he mentioned. Said the break since losing to ND has allowed them to have fresh legs, practices have been hard and good quality, the guys are pumped and energized, etc. DU will still be a tough out but I feel good about our chances to compete. Last year for me as a fan, beating Union was a bonus because I did not think we would win that game.

 

[RGWhirly]

Just saw that each of the other 3 teams released a bunch of tickets back for public purchase. I am not surprised DU did not fill their allocation with the distance of course but am a bit surprised OSU and Princeton did not sell more.

 

[VaNtyLion]

He actually addressed that in a story yesterday. Stated they had a horrible week of practice, legs were very tired, they were very wide-eyed, etc. I am paraphrasing but those are things he mentioned. Said the break since losing to ND has allowed them to have fresh legs, practices have been hard and good quality, the guys are pumped and energized, etc. DU will still be a tough out but I feel good about our chances to compete. Last year for me as a fan, beating Union was a bonus because I did not think we would win that game.

Fair enough (although that week of practice didn't exactly hurt their first game performance vs. Union). I would buy that PSU was wide eyed early on against DU in falling behind 0-2 though. It reminded me of our earlier first D1 games with Minnesota, but they responded well in getting back into the game. DU is just too talented though. It's a tall order to knock them out and I'm at the point with this season that we can say it's holding serve after last year's B1G tourney title. Really needed to make the NCAAs and see what can happen with "home" ice in Allentown to keep that momentum going.

I don't really have an expectation of beating DU on Saturday but can say nothing at all is surprising in the Frozen Four tournament. Bring the A game and let the pieces fall where they may...can live with the result.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Fair enough (although that week of practice didn't exactly hurt their first game performance vs. Union). I would buy that PSU was wide eyed early on against DU in falling behind 0-2 though. It reminded me of our earlier first D1 games with Minnesota, but they responded well in getting back into the game. DU is just too talented though. It's a tall order to knock them out and I'm at the point with this season that we can say it's holding serve after last year's B1G tourney title. Really needed to make the NCAAs and see what can happen with "home" ice in Allentown to keep that momentum going.

I don't really have an expectation of beating DU on Saturday but can say nothing at all is surprising in the Frozen Four tournament. Bring the A game and let the pieces fall where they may...can live with the result.

I hear what you are saying. Denver is very, VERY good. At the same time we have offensive firepower that few teams, including the Pioneers, can match. And we play them one time. Jones goes Elvis for us and that might be all we need.

And besides. I'm not driving all the way across Pennsylvania expecting us to lose!

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

My buddy from Reading (fellow football season ticket holder) bailed out on me at the last minute - he has to work. Fortunately an old friend from high school back in the Coal Region wants to go!

So I am taking that as a good omen.

 

[PA_JOE]

Electric” - PPL center.... I see what you did there. Anyway, I’ll be there live and in person at PPL and looking for some good hockey. Hoping the Nits can give me a reason to stick around A-town until Sunday night, would love to knock the Buckeyes out of the NCAA tourney like B10 b-ball, NCAA wrestling, etc. That very well may cause some heads in Columbass to explode.

Not sure what Gadowsky is getting at with the "we were not us" against Denver last year. They were a better team, period. I think we held our own for most of the game but came apart a bit late in the 2nd when DU broke open a 2-3 game and made it 2-5 with quick goals. We were fast and loose on D all year and that's a recipe for disaster against DU.

Denver routed ND in the Frozen Four and went on to beat the only other team I'd have put on their level last year in Duluth. They were legit and on another level, but have had trouble finding that edge consistently this year....until the NCHC tournament last weekend where they beat UMD and SCSU, which shows they're ready to defend the national title.

I'd still favor DU over any team in the country on a neutral sheet of ice. Lucky for PSU, this is a de facto home game and should be electric. The experience of last year's game should help us this year a lot, I think. Also think we're a bit more effective defensively but Saturday will be biggest test of the season.

 

[RGWhirly]

Headed to Allentown later today. Tomorrow our guys pull the upset and then take out the Buckeyes to make it to the Frozen Four.

 

[Fox Chapel Lion II]

Electric” - PPL center.... I see what you did there. Anyway, I’ll be there live and in person at PPL and looking for some good hockey. Hoping the Nits can give me a reason to stick around A-town until Sunday night, would love to knock the Buckeyes out of the NCAA tourney like B10 b-ball, NCAA wrestling, etc. That very well may cause some heads in Columbass to explode.

 

[NittanyLionFan]

I'm in 119 as well! I would imagine that most of PSU's block is there. Nice to know the bar is close, lol!

This article says no alcohol served at NCAA Championship matches. So much for being close to the bar, lol! ;-)