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The Herald's 2023 NCAA men's hockey tournament predictions

brad elliott schlossman, grand forks herald
·4 min read
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Mar. 23—GRAND FORKS — The National Collegiate Hockey Conference has dominated the NCAA tournament since UND won it in 2016 in Tampa.

An NCHC team has won five of the last six national titles.

But the NCHC field is thinner this year.

There are only three NCHC teams in the tournament — Denver, St. Cloud State and Western Michigan — attempting to keep the national crown in the league. Denver is the defending champion. Neither St. Cloud State nor Western Michigan have ever won it.

The statistic that best illustrates the changing landscape in college hockey: No team in the nation has been to more than five NCAA tournaments in a row.

Because of the unpredictability of the sport, in 2016, I decided to see if a coin could better predict the outcomes of NCAA tournament games than me. It did. The coin correctly picked UND as the national champion that year.

Since then, I've won four years. The coin has won twice.

On to Year 7.

Schlossman's picks: Minnesota over Canisius; MSU-Mankato over St. Cloud State; Minnesota over MSU-Mankato.

Comments: Canisius, at No. 41 in the Pairwise, is the lowest-ranked team to make the NCAAs since Robert Morris (No. 44) in 2014. Minnesota easily dispatched that Robert Morris team 7-3 and shouldn't have trouble with Canisius. St. Cloud State went 17-6 with defenseman Dylan Anhorn in the lineup this season and scored four-plus goals in 12 of 23 games, nearly half. Since Anhorn went out with injury, the Huskies are 7-6-3 and have reached the four-goal mark once in 16 games. Minnesota has gotten bounced by MSU-Mankato in the last two NCAA tournaments, but the Gophers should get through this time.

The coin's picks: Minnesota over Canisius; St. Cloud State over MSU-Mankato; St. Cloud State over Minnesota.

Schlossman's picks: Cornell over Denver; Boston University over Western Michigan; Boston University over Cornell.

Comments: Every year, fans like to point to one regional as the 'Bracket of Death.' This year, it's Manchester. All four teams are a threat to come out of it. Last year was the first time since 2005 that all four No. 1 seeds won in the first round. Odds are one will probably lose. Cornell is a good defensive team that could keep Denver's explosiveness in check. The Big Red are one of the country's biggest teams, Denver is one of the smallest. Boston University comes in red hot, winning seven in a row.

The coin's picks: Denver over Cornell; Boston University over Western Michigan; Boston University over Denver.

Schlossman's picks: Michigan over Colgate; Michigan Tech over Penn State; Michigan over Michigan Tech.

Comments: Michigan is the most talented team in Allentown, but two other squads in the regional have the capability to hot-goalie an opponent — Colgate's Carter Gylander and Michigan Tech's Blake Pietila. Gylander just did exactly that in the ECAC tournament.

The coin's picks: Michigan over Colgate; Penn State over Michigan Tech; Michigan over Penn State.

Schlossman's picks: Quinnipiac over Merrimack; Harvard over Ohio State; Quinnipiac over Harvard.

Comments: Bridgeport is the second-toughest regional and another one where anyone could win. Quinnipiac is a veteran team with seven fifth-year seniors on the roster. Most have been in the tournament before. Harvard has more NHL draft picks than anyone in college hockey. Quinnipiac has beaten Harvard twice this year. If there's a rematch, can the Bobcats do it a third time? Beware Ohio State if it gets hot, too. The Buckeyes outshot Michigan 40-17 and 52-21 in games this season. When they get hot, they get really hot.

The coin's picks: Merrimack over Quinnipiac; Ohio State over Harvard; Merrimack over Ohio State.

Schlossman's picks: Minnesota over Boston University; Quinnipiac over Michigan; Quinnipiac over Minnesota.

Comments: The Herald's preseason No. 1 in 2021-22 was Denver. The Pioneers went on to win the national title. The Herald's preseason No. 1 in 2022-23 was Quinnipiac (and Minnesota was No. 2). Why change anything now?

The coin's picks: Denver over St. Cloud State; Michigan over Merrimack; Michigan over Denver.