The NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament is down to the Frozen Four, and this looks like one of the best semifinal rounds on paper in recent memory.
Here's a look at all the relevant information leading up to the highly anticipated games alongside some semifinals picks.
Frozen Four Schedule
Thursday, April 11, 5 p.m. ET: Boston University vs. Denver
Thursday, April 11, 8:30 p.m. ET: Boston College vs. Michigan
Saturday, April 13, 6 p.m. ET: Championship Game
All times ET, and all games at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
Bracket
You can find the latest bracket by following this link found on NCAA.com.
Odds
As of Wednesday evening, Boston College was a -180 moneyline favorite ($180 bet to win $100) over Michigan, while Boston University was a -160 moneyline favorite versus Denver, per DraftKings Sportsbook.
Television and Live Stream Information
All three games will be televised on ESPN2. ESPN+ is the Frozen Four's live stream home.
Predictions
Nov. 25 marks the last time Boston University has lost a game in regulation against a team not named Boston College.
Simply put, the Terriers are a tough team to put away. Both RIT and Minnesota found that out the hard way en route to 6-3 defeats to BU in the NCAA tournament.
Macklin Celebrini presents the biggest problem for opponents. The freshman forward from Vancouver has amassed nine goals and 12 assists in his last nine games, including a goal and an assist against RIT and three helpers versus Minnesota.
But there's more to BU than Celebrini, with five or more players posting 36 or more points and six double-digit goal scorers populating the roster.
Like BU, Denver got to the Frozen Four by beating its two NCAA tournament opponents via identical scores. Unlike BU, both were nailbiters, with the Pioneers beating UMass (double overtime) and Cornell 2-1 (regulation).
That's very unlike Denver, which has 11 players who have scored 10 or more goals on its roster and has scored 198 goals on the year.
Junior forward Jack Devine leads the way with 27 goals and 29 assists. Denver also has a star freshman defenseman in Zeev Buium, who leads the team with 38 assists. Buium is first on the team in plus-minus rating as well (plus-33).
Denver also has the hottest goalie in the Frozen Four in Matt Davis, who has allowed just one goal per game over his past three contests. He registered 46 saves in the double OT win over UMass.
This semi is a very tough game to predict, especially with Denver also coming in hot with seven straight wins and victories in 13 of 14 games.
In the end, this feels like a coin flip. The coin falls on the BU side in a 4-3 overtime victory.
In the nightcap, not only has Boston College won 14 straight games, but the Eagles have averaged 5.3 goals per contest during that span.
The top five point-getters are all freshmen or sophomores, led by Will Smith (23 goals, 46 assists). Cutter Gauthier (37 goals) and Ryan Leonard (31 goals) pace the team in scoring.
And then Boston College has a great goalie in Jacob Fowler, who sports a 2.20 GAA and .924 save percentage.
Simply put, this team doesn't have any weaknesses. BC is currently 33-5-1, outscoring its opponents by 92 goals.
The Wolverines aren't going to let BC run them over en route to the championship, though. Michigan is on a Cinderella run after taking down North Dakota 5-2 before dispatching its arch rival (and the Big Ten champion) Michigan State, 5-2.
Seven Michigan players have 34 or more points, led by Gavin Brindley (25 goals, 28 assists) and Rutger McGroarty (16 goals, 36 assists). But the player to watch is Dylan Duke, who has scored four goals in the tournament (two apiece against North Dakota and Michigan State). Duke now has 26 goals on the year, and he's someone BC will assuredly keep an eye on Thursday.
Ultimately, don't expect a blowout here by any means, but BC is simply the better team and the pick to win, 5-3.
If those predictions hold, BC and BU would face each other in the final for just the second time in history. BU beat BC 5-3 in 1978 the first time around.
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