It’s that time again! The Frozen Four is finally upon us again, and this year’s finale to the NCAA tournament is sure to be an exciting one for Flyers fans, no matter how it shakes out.
The pair of semifinal games kick off this afternoon, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, and the complete schedule is as follows, with all games being shown on ESPN2/ESPN+:
Thurs. 4/11
5:00 PM: Denver vs. Boston University
8:30 PM: Boston College vs. Michigan
Sat. 4/13
6:00 PM: National Championship
For Flyers fans, that first game is the one that we’re going to be the most keyed in on, as it will feature both of the two Flyers prospects still remaining in the tournament. Devin Kaplan and the Terriers took down Minnesota in the final of the Sioux Falls regional, and did it pretty commandingly. It certainly wasn’t an easy matchup for them, on paper at least, and they have another difficult one coming up. Denver was one of the best teams in the NCHC this season, and while they haven’t necessarily been dominant in the tournament so far, they’ve done enough to get themselves here, when they’ll get a serious bit of reinforcement (Massimo Rizzo should be back!), which certainly plays into their favor.
This tournament setup will certainly be a test for the allegiances of Flyers fans with their two prospects facing off against each other immediately, but on the bright side, perhaps, it does guarantee that there will be one familiar face in that final game for the National Championship.
And as far as predictions go, your guess is as good as ours (really, it is, tell us your predictions too!) That said, with how stacked that roster is, it would be hard to bet against Boston College in that second semifinal game, and we feel like a healthier Denver team probably has an edge over BU, so we’re taking them to come out of that semifinal.
And the new National Champion? We’re leaving that to you. Who have you got?
