Gophers Draw Boston College In NCAA Hockey Tourney

A few weeks ago there was a distinct possibility the Gophers men's hockey team would be on the outside looking in when the NCAA announced who would compete to get to the Frozen Four.

A hot run spurred by goaltender Alex Kangas later and the Gophers sat comfortably, one would assume, Sunday morning when the 10 at-large NCAA bids were announced. The Gophers narrowly missed the automatic bid after falling 2-1 to Denver in the WCHA championship game Saturday night.

The Gophers were given a 3 seed in the Northeast bracket, a draw that pits them against Boston College. Should the Gophers advance from the first round, they would play the winner of Miami (Ohio) and Air Force. This region plays it's games in Worcester, MA.

Perhaps the surprise of the NCAA bracket is the snub of Minnesota State-Mankato in favor of Wisconsin. The Badgers are a sub- .500 team and the Mavericks, who the Gophers beat in a 3-game playoff last week, were most likely the last team out.

I imagine Eric (aka The Sports Guy) will be around at some point to actually provide some insight into the men's hockey team.