The Road to the Joe is in the final stretch

As the CCHA playoffs head into the semi-finals this weekend some questions as to which teams will make the NCAA tournament and which teams are on the proverbial bubble have been answered and others have been created.

Top-seeded Notre Dame (ranked #2 in the USA Today Poll) and Second seed Michigan face interesting tests as they continue on their head-on collision for the Mason Cup (CCHA Playoff Championship Trophy).

Notre Dame Fighting Irish ~vs~ Northern Michigan University Wildcats
The first semi-final game on Friday showcases Notre Dame and perennial pest Northern Michigan.

How They Got Here:
The Wildcats dispensed with Miami (OH) in three games this past weekend and have routinely played spoiler to one team or another during the CCHA Play-offs in past years. The Irish are having one of their best seasons ever and that includes last season when they played college hockey juggernaut Boston College for the NCAA title in Denver.

The Irish swept NMU during the regular season series and I’d look for this trend to continue in the semis. Notre Dame has all the chips stacked in their favor against an under gunned team in Northern. Led by seniors Eric Condra and Christian Hanson the Irish have a very well balanced offense with nine players scoring over 20 points this season. To add insult to injury Notre Dame’s defense is led by their senior goaltender, Jordan Pearce who not only boasts a mere 1.62 GAA and .934 save percentage but led the Irish to last year’s championship game. The Wildcats try to counter with youth. Northern only has four seniors on their roster and are led by two sophomore forwards in Mark Olver (16 – 19 – 35pts.) and Gregor Hanson (13 – 21 – 34pts.).

Notre Dame will want to put the cats away by the end of the first period. If Northern hangs around too long and keeps the game close, their chances of pulling off the upset increase with all the pressure being on Notre Dame to play for the CCHA’s automatic bid to the big tournament.

Mike’s prediction: N.D. – 4 NMU – 1

Michigan Wolverines ~vs~ Alaska (Fairbanks) Nanooks
The second semi-final game on Friday features the University of Michigan Wolverines making their 20th straight semi appearance against the upstart and upset minded Nanooks of Alaska (Fairbanks).

How They Got Here:
Alaska knocked off the Ohio State University Buckeyes in the best-of-three series last weekend. The Nanooks posted two shut-out victories over the Bucks to all but burst Ohio State’s chances to be an at-large team in the NCAA tournament. Alaska also split with the Wolverines earlier in the season which they will assuredly use as a catalyst to taking out the Wolverines on Friday.
Michigan looks to continue the trend it set last weekend bringing one of the nation’s strongest offensive teams against Alaska. Michigan has two sophomores with more than 40 pts., Aaron Palushaj and Louie Caporusso. In addition the best news the Wolverines have is the return of senior captain, Mark Mitera who had been sidelined most of the season with a knee injury. But being young doesn’t really hurt U of M because most of the team advanced to the Frozen Four in Denver a year ago, before losing to Notre Dame in the national semi-final.

The question to who wins this game begins in goal for both teams. Alaska senior goalie Chad Johnson boasts a 1.66 GAA and .939 save percentage and will have to stand on his head to carry his team to victory. Michigan on the other hand will rely on sophomore Bryan Hogan (1.89, .917) to carry the Blue to another Frozen Four appearance. Look for Michigan’s strong offense to blister Alaska’s net minder with shot after shot, and in the end, be just too strong for the Nanooks to handle.

Prediction: Mich. – 5 Alaska – 3


Look for more confernce reviews later this week.