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NCAA Frozen Four: United Center To Play Host For Men’s Semi Finals and Championship Games

By Josh Marshall

Oct 4, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view outside of the United Center before the preseason game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 4, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; A general view outside of the United Center before the preseason game between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY Sports /
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The 2017 Men’s NCAA Frozen Four tournament will crown its champion in Chicago this Coming Saturday night.

The NCAA Frozen Four has finally come to Chicago and the United Center, with four of college hockey’s top programs. Thursday night, the semi-final rounds will be played and we will see top-seeded Denver University face off against Notre Dame. Also, University of Minnesota Duluth will faceoff against number two seed Harvard.

If you’re not familiar with college hockey, you may be asking yourself who some of these teams even are, but I can assure you, these are some of the best teams that college hockey has to offer. Each of these four teams has earned their way to the NCAA Frozen Four and deserve to be there. Denver University has been the top team in college hockey all season long and cruised through regionals to make it to Chicago.

Let’s talk about the team closes to Chicago for a little bit. Notre Dame isn’t known as a hockey school and the average fan probably doesn’t even realize they have a hockey team. Notre Dame had to earn their spot in the NCAA Frozen Four. They did so by beating the Minnesota Golden Gophers, a power house in college hockey. And also beating Massachusetts-Lowell.

Notre Dame finished their season with a 21-10-5 record. They would finish the season ranked 12th overall. Their record was only fourth best in the Hockey East Conference. UMASS-Lowell would win the conference.

Notre Dame has a huge test ahead of them in playing Denver University. Denver comes from probably the toughest conference in all of college hockey and is the top-ranked team in the sport. But one thing Notre Dame has going for them is heart and confidence. After beating UMASS-Lowell to make it to Chicago, Notre Dame is riding high right now.

Another thing for fans to look forward to. Notre Dame and Denver both have a Chicago Blackhawks prospect on their team. Dennis Gilbert (Notre Dame) and Blake Hillman (Denver) will be on display for Blackhawks fans to see.

Gilbert is a 6-2 defenseman drafted by Chicago in the 2015 draft. He has 22 assists on the year this season, and also won NCAA defensemen of the year for the 2016-17 season.

Hillman was a sixth-round draft pick by Chicago in the 2016 draft. He is a 6-1 defenseman, who has 80 career NCAA games under his belt but only 18 total points.

Both of these players could be part of the future of the Chicago Blackhawks, although they are not at an elite level.

Next: Striking Similarities Between Blackhawks and Cubs

My prediction for both semi-final games: Denver University will beat Notre Dame 5-2, Harvard will have a hard-fought 4-3 overtime win over Minnesota Duluth. This will be a very exciting Frozen Four, fans should expect high energy from all the teams involved. Notre Dame will have a lot of crowd support but don’t count out Denver they are the top-ranked team for a reason.

Denver will beat Harvard on Saturday for the NCAA Men’s Championship, 5-3. Denver and Harvard will be an all out battle between to top two teams all season long.

If you want to enjoy some good college hockey tune in this Thursday and Saturday for the semi-finals and championship games.

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