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The Wisconsin Badgers(27-10-4) advanced to their 11th Frozen Four in program history by defeating the St. Cloud State Huskies by the score of 5-3 in the West Regional Final in St. Paul, MN. The Badgers move onto Detroit to face the "Cinderella" of the NCAA Tournament in the Rochester Institute of Technology Tigers(28-11-1). If the Badgers want to win the semi-final game against RIT and have the opportunity to play for their 7th National Championship in program history against the winner of the other semi-final game that features two #1 seeds in Boston College and Miami(OH), they should not overlook upset-minded RIT. WCHA Champion, Denver and Hockey East Champion, New Hampshire may have done just that and are no both sitting at home. It should be noted that UW was 3-0-1 vs Denver this year and also swept New Hampshire at the Kohl Center in a non-conference matchup early in the year in October. I was actually in attendance for that game as I was in Madison for Halloween on State Street. RIT is a great success story of the NCAA and deserves to be in Detroit. However, I only hope that their run will end next Thursday, April 8th when they face the Badgers(5 pm EST ESPN2). Looking at the schedule they did not win a non-conference game, but then dominated in the weak American Hockey Association earning the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament earning the #15 seed. However, they are playing good hockey at the right time. The Badgers need to look past the "Name" on the jersey and play hard to win the game. RIT's strength is their Defense and Goaltender. They collapse hard on the net preventing any rebounds or second-chance opportunities and force you to play on the perimeter. I got to watch a little of the Denver/RIT replay on Sunday and that is exactly what they did. Denver pounded RIT with 40+ shots on goal, but most of them were shots from the point or perimeter. RIT just continued to grind it out and as the game progressed, Denver got frustrated and became their own worst enemy. UW can not fall into this trap. They need to hammer RIT and force them into taking penalties. With the man advantage, UW should be able to crash the net and score. Should be a very entertaining game as the Frozen Four will be played on a football field for the first time. It should be noted that the Badgers have already played in a similar environment earlier on the year at Camp Randall Stadium. GO BADGERS!!! 1,2,3,4,5,6 WE WANT MORE!!!
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