The 2016-17 college hockey season winds down with four teams remaining, two games scheduled and one final destination. The Harvard University Crimson, the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) Bulldogs, the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the DU Pioneers will clash in the Windy City.
Denver (31-7-4, 20-4-3, NCHC), seeded No. 1 overall, returns to the Frozen Four for the second-consecutive year after being eliminated by the 2016 champion University of North Dakota last year in Tampa, Florida. After graduating only four seniors last season, the returnees are fueled by last season’s heartbreak to claim the national title.
The Pioneers young, dynamic offense is led by Finnish freshman Henrik Borgstrom who has 21 goals and 21 assists, sophomore linemate and leading goal scorer Troy Terry (Denver) with 22 goals, 19 assists and sophomore forward Dylan Gambrell’s (Bonney Lake, Washington) 11 goals and 28 assists.
Denver’s defensive corp is the best in the nation, allowing just 1.83 goals per game and directed by team captain and Hobey Baker Hat Trick finalist Will Butcher (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin).
“Certainly they [have] some dynamic forwards, but I think the key to their team is their defensive core,” Notre Dame Head Coach Jeff Jackson said. “They’re great skaters, they create gaps, they don’t give up much space with their skating ability. They got good defensive sticks. A lot of it has to do with their skill and their skating ability on the backend and obviously with goaltending; that just is a great combination. They certainly have a great work ethic, they get back and their forwards do a great job of supporting their defensemen, and they don’t give you a lot of time and space, and that’s a sign of a really talented team.”
Denver’s junior goaltender Tanner Jaillet (Red Deer, Alberta) boasts a save percentage of .930 in his 36 appearances. Jaillet’s stellar performance this season has earned the honor of becoming a finalist for the Mike Richter Award, as well.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (23-11-5, 12-6-4 Hockey East) and host school return to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2011 when they were eliminated by Minnesota Duluth in St. Paul.
Top Ten Hobey Baker Award finalist junior forward Anders Bjork leads Notre Dame’s energetic offense with 21 goals and and 31 assists.
Notre Dame goaltender Cal Petersen is a force to be reckoned with, a player Denver is quite familiar with after tying the Irish 1-1 and 2-2 in a New Year’s series during the 2015-16 season. Peterson boasts a .929 save percentage in his 39 games of action and is one of the five finalists for the Mike Richter Award.
“Anders Bjork and Cal Petersen are probably the two biggest factors right now that I’m looking at,” Denver Head Coach Jim Montgomery said.
Harvard (28-5-2, 16-4-2 ECAC) is coached by Ted Donato, a former Crimson player himself who won an NCAA Championship in 1989 and later played professionally in the NHL.
Harvard showcases the top offense in the nation, averaging 4.14 goals per game. Alongside Donato, five of the top 30 leading scorers in the nation skate for the Crimson. The statistical leaders include senior forwards Alexander Kerfoot, who has 16 goals and 28 assists, Tyler Moy with 21 goals and 23 assists and Sean Malone accumulating 18 goals and 24 helpers.
Harvard is rolling on a 16-game winning streak and an 18-game unbeaten streak (17-0-1). The Crimson claimed this year’s Beanpot, ECAC tournament title and East Regional.
“They are a very talented team that’s on a pretty good winning streak right now. We just have to figure out how to beat them,” UMD coach Scott Sandelin said in a pre-Frozen Four media conference call on March 28. “Just watching them [in the Beanpot tournament], I was impressed with the way they played. They’ve had a tremendous year.”
Minnesota Duluth (27-6-7, 15-5-4 NCHC) has won seven straight games and similar to Harvard, has accumulated a trio of titles in the North Star College Cup (Minnesota equivalent of the Beanpot), the NCHC Frozen Faceoff and West Regional titles.
The Bulldogs are led by seven seniors, including captain Dominic Toninato who has registered 16 goals and 12 assists. Senior linemate Alex Iafallo holds a team-high 19 goals and 30 assists.
“We have a great respect for Minnesota-Duluth,” Harvard Head Coach Donato said. “They have a great balance. They’ve got the great goaltending, they have a good mix of size and skill and they just go about their business winning hockey games.”
Harvard and Minnesota Duluth will participate in the weekend’s first game on April 6 with a 6 p.m. puck-drop. Following their match-up, the Pioneers and the Fighting Irish will take the ice at 9:30 p.m.
