Men’s Frozen Four

Dave Hakstol is back in the Frozen Four after a two-year hiatus, making his fifth appearance since he took over North Dakota’s hockey program. He reflected on his coaching career at Wednesday’s press conference. “I got into coaching, not knowing if I had any ability in that area or not or what it was all … Read more

This is Michigan’s second trip to the Frozen Four in four seasons, but this year’s Wolverines are very different from the guys who lost their 2008 semifinal game to Notre Dame in overtime in Denver. That UM squad – including this year’s seniors, who were freshmen in 2007-08 – boasted two superstar players with 30 … Read more

The Wolverines want you to know something, Sioux fans. They aren’t afraid of you. There’s a lot being made in this Frozen Four of Michigan’s underdog status, something a bit unusual for the Wolverines. Not only is North Dakota the No. 1 seed in the tournament and heavily favored, but St. Paul is practically the … Read more

Playing the Frozen Four in the Xcel Energy Center is a bit of a homecoming for the seniors on this Michigan team. Louie Caporusso, Carl Hagelin, Chad Langlais, Tristin Llewellyn, Matt Rust, Scooter Vaughan and Ben Winnett were freshmen when UM played in the 2007 Ice Breaker Invitational. “It is interesting that this senior class … Read more

Following Michigan’s first Frozen Four practice Wednesday afternoon, the Wolverines were loose enough to provide a few laughs for the press, some of them unintentional. When coach Red Berenson was asked about the status of defenseman Brandon Burlon, who has been out of the lineup with esophagitis since mid-March, Berenson’s answer had his own players … Read more

If there was a single overriding theme from the Notre Dame players at today’s press conference, it was that they’ve got nothing to lose.  As a No. 3 regional seed with a dozen freshmen, they’re playing with house money. “Last time we were here [in 2008], we were a four seed and this time we’re … Read more

North Dakota was the fourth team to take the podium on the day before the Frozen Four gets started, and Brad Malone, Jason Gregoire, Chay Genoway and coach Dave Hakstol met with the media. Here are some clips. All four talk about their early experience in St. Paul, with Malone going over the team’s routine: … Read more

Every team depends on its goaltender to rise to the occasion.  The team that wins a national championship with shoddy play between the pipes will probably be the first. But with 12 freshmen on its roster, Notre Dame will likely be depending even more on its goalie, sophomore Mike Johnson, to get the Fighting Irish into the championship game. … Read more

Walking into the Xcel Energy Center front gate for the first time in three weeks Wednesday afternoon, I was surrounded by clusters of North Dakota fans, settling in to watch the Fighting Sioux practice session. The crowd was somewhat sparse, but it reminded me how dedicated Sioux fans are. The same arena was near full for … Read more

Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson has brought six teams to the Frozen Four, four with Lake Superior State and two now with the Fighting Irish. One would think that all those teams shared a common thread of a lock-down defense and some of them the abundance of freshmen in this year’s edition.  But while that might … Read more

Michigan coach Red Berenson and players Matt Rust, Carl Hagelin and Louie Caporusso took their turn in front of the media Wednesday. Here are some video highlights. Everyone takes a turn talking about being in St. Paul: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYJ_rHpjlS0 Berenson talks about parity in college hockey and how it affects the tournament: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOEC23OsbBI

This is Notre Dame coach Jeff Jackson’s sixth trip to the Frozen Four. The first four came with Lake Superior State, three of which resulted in national championships. (The other would have resulted in a fourth title if not for some guy named Paul Kariya.)  The most recent trip came with the Fighting Irish in 2008. By any … Read more

Two of the seniors currently on the Bulldogs’ roster, Justin Fontaine and Mike Montgomery, had chances to leave after last year. However, neither wanted to, both due to how their season ended (a loss to North Dakota in the WCHA Final Five) and due to the excitement pending in Duluth (such as their new arena). … Read more

On the eve of college hockey’s national championship, the season’s crowning moment, an interesting question was posed to Minnesota-Duluth’s Justin Fontaine, a native of Bonnyville, Alberta, regarding a Frozen Four in Canada. At first thought, the notion sounds weird — why would the NCAA move the Frozen Four to Canada? — but if you consider … Read more

If the semifinal contests break one way, we’ll have a championship game between the Fighting Irish and the Fighting Sioux. Almost certainly, that will be the first title matchup between Fighting anythings. If the semis go the other way, it’ll be the Wolverines against the Bulldogs. A matchup of animals that we’ve only seen about … Read more

A bit has already been written about it, but this weekend gives the Bulldogs and their blonde dye jobs a wider audience, like the New York Times, whose writer asked about it. “My first impression was I am not going to do that,” said coach Scott Sandelin. “They asked a couple times, but you know … Read more

Notre Dame senior Joe Lavin enjoyed the journey to the Frozen Four even more than the rest of his teammates.  At least in some ways. The Fighting Irish had to navigate through Hockey East, defeating Merrimack and New Hampshire in the hostile environment of the Manchester, N.H., regional. But for Lavin, it was home sweet home.  … Read more

Minnesota-Duluth is understandably excited and happy to be in the Frozen Four, not only for the obvious reasons, but because it has become the de facto representative for the state of Minnesota. That being said, the Bulldogs don’t feel like they’ve got any added pressure on them. “I don’t see it that way,” said goaltender … Read more

The semifinal game between North Dakota and Michigan will involve two of the most storied schools in college hockey.  Michigan’s nine NCAA championships leads the field; North Dakota’s seven titles ties the Fighting Sioux with Denver for second place. The contestants in the other semifinal, Notre Dame and Minnesota-Duluth, have zero national championships compared to Michigan … Read more

Minnesota-Duluth players Kenny Reiter, Mike Montgomery and Justin Fontaine and coach Scott Sandelin met with the media Wednesday. Here are some video clips. Reiter, Montgomery, Fontaine and Sandelin on playing in the Frozen Four: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJX2RmDRHk8 Reiter on his confidence despite the layoff: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hlx7-wplCs Montgomery on the Bulldogs playing in their home state: httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TyPwgdTXRs