No one knew.
In some respects, Selection Sunday was aggravating. The show used to air at around 11am, so fans had precious little time before they knew the final decisions of the committee. It was moved to Sunday evenings a couple years ago, a nod to the Big Ten and WCHA doing on-campus conference championships. The change permitted leagues to play their tournament title games on Sundays if arena or television schedules required that.
So we had all dang day Sunday. That was fine for UMD fans, because the Bulldogs were safely in the field, according to just about every amateur bracketologist available. Some had UMD ticketed for Fargo to play Michigan or Minnesota State. Or Loveland to play someone. Or Bridgeport to play UMass.
In the end, the Bulldogs got what would probably have been their COVID-inspired wish for this regional trip: A bus ride.
UMD heads to Fargo, and the Bulldogs get a matchup with No. 2 seed Michigan to open the tournament Friday at 3pm on KDAL.
This is, of course, a rematch of the 2011 NCAA title game, when UMD won its first-ever national championship to deny Michigan its ninth. Since then, UMD has won two more championships (the last two, to be precise), and Michigan is making just its fourth NCAA appearance since that 2011 final. The Wolverines have one Frozen Four appearance since 2011 (that was in 2018, also in St. Paul, where Michigan lost to Notre Dame in the semifinals on a late goal by Jake Evans).
It’s also one of the more intriguing first-round matchups in the bracket, with all due respect to the other seven. UMD is a grizzled, veteran team known for its ability to navigate difficult moments in games without a shred of panic in its game. UMD sports six players who have logged over 100 college games (Noah Cates just hit 100 in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, Cole Koepke is at 102, Kobe Roth and Nick Swaney both sit at 132, Matt Anderson is at 137, and Louie Roehl has played in 140 games), plus Jackson Cates (94) and Tanner Laderoute (95) are both knocking on the door. 13 players have at least one NCAA championship ring. UMD’s top six scorers (and ten of the top 12) are juniors or seniors.
Michigan is almost the complete opposite. The high-flying Wolverines have one junior (Nick Blankenburg) and one senior (Michael Pastujov) among their top ten scorers, and neither is in the top six. Everyone else near the top of the chart is a freshman or sophomore. Three Michigan freshmen — defenseman Owen Power and forwards Matty Beniers and Kent Johnson — are not only eligible for the 2021 NHL Draft, but should be taken early (Power is a serious candidate for the No. 1 pick). In fact, The Athletic’s scout extraordinaire, Corey Pronman, has the three in his top five ($) for this summer’s draft.
It’s also a bit of a contrast in styles. Michigan wants to push the pace, almost willing to trade chances with teams. And when you have a goalie like Wolverines co-captain Strauss Mann (1.89 goals against, .930 save percentage), you’re probably more willing to play that way. It also doesn’t hurt to have guys like Power, who is as involved offensively as any defenseman in the country now that Scott Perunovich is a professional. Michigan is balanced, too, with only Beniers and Vegas draft pick Brendan Brisson in double digits for goals (both have ten).
Will UMD’s experience matter? I hate to take a copout, but we’ll find out on Friday. Michigan had a trip to the Big Ten title game in hand, but kicked away a 2-0 third period lead and lost a semifinal game to eventual champion Minnesota in overtime. UMD has blown some third-period leads this season, but the Bulldogs have a championship pedigree that we can all see. Michigan is trying to build that while also developing an insane number of top NHL prospects at one time.
No one’s method is necessarily right. They’re different paths to the same goal. And it’ll be fascinating to witness this collision on Friday afternoon.
More later this week.
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