With Miami of Ohio knocking off Michigan in double overtime after a dubiously early whistle prevented a goal for the Wolverines, the NCAA Frozen Four is set to go on April 8. Here are the two games that will be played that Thursday. And just for fun, I will scour the Internet to give you a few fun (and a few not-so-fun) facts about each school. I’m sure Brandon will fill you in later on, you know, actually relevant stuff. Miami of Ohio
- Ben Roethlisberger went there. He should be an honorary Finn based on the sheer difficulty of spelling his last name. If nothing else, he could at least share a beer or two with Jamie Langenbrunner (not a Finn, just another guy with a challenging last name, mind you.)
- You can say “I went to school in Oxford” and not totally be lying. Just make sure to say “Oxford” a lot louder than “Ohio.”
- Last year was their first appearance in the Frozen Four. They lost in the championship game to Boston University.
- Dan Boyle leads the list of Redhawks (Redhawks? Really?) who went on to have NHL careers.
- If you root based on emotional factors, it’s hard to top “Win it for Burkie.” (Brendan Burke, son of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, died in a car accident shortly after telling the world that he was gay. Just a heartbreaking story.)
vs. Boston College
- BC’s hockey history goes way back. They’re definitely a “hockey factory” as their squads tend to be loaded with draft picks.
- Former BC Eagles that are current NHL players include Bill Guerin, Brian Gionta and Rob Scuderi.
- Doug Flutie threw that awesome Hail Mary TD pass playing for BC. In other news, he is short.
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Wisconsin
- They’ve won six national championships.
- Ron Dayne played for their football team and then drew my ire during his brief and horrible career as a New York Giant. Seriously, he stunk.
- I am obligated by the Board of Lazy Joking to mention something about cheese here.
vs. RIT
- Apparently RIT stands for “Rochester Institute of Technology.” I can’t lie to you, I was really pulling for “Rhode Island Tech.” I guess we can’t always get what we want.
- You know, there just aren’t enough teams with tigers as their mascots. It always seems to be some ultra-specific regional wildcat but tigers are super cool. (This concludes the scientific and objective part of the post.)
- Cameron Burt is supposed to be really good. If his teammates refuse to call him Cameron Burt Reynolds, then I will immediately be forced to root for Wisconsin. I am a man of twisted and nonsensical principles.
- I genuinely have nothing else to say about RIT. I apologize for my ignorance.
So, there’s a few fun facts for each game. Miami of Ohio vs. Boston College will take place at 8 PM ET while Wisconsin vs. RIT will take place at 5 PM ET on Thursday, April 8. If you’ve never had the chance to watch college hockey, you should definitely give it a chance. Besides, you might see the next Martin St. Louis or Paul Kariya or Marty Turco.