March Madness may be over, but the postseason is just heating up in men's hockey. The 2023 Men's Frozen Four semifinal games kick off tonight at Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida with the national championship taking place on April 8th. The four regional champions who will be competing in this year's Frozen Four are: Boston University, Quinnipiac University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan.
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The first matchup of the night is between Boston University and Minnesota. Boston University is the 2023 Hockey East Champions and is the Manchester Regional Champions. Boston defeated Western Michigan in the NCAA first round before defeating Cornell in the regional final game.
Boston will be facing Minnesota who is a heavy favorite this year to win the national championship. Minnesota was the #1 seed entering the NCAA tournament and they continue to dominate after beating Canisius and St. Cloud State on their way to being the Fargo Regional Champions. Minnesota also has two of the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, Logan Cooley and Matthew Knies, that is awarded to the best NCAA men's hockey player each season. The teams square off at 5:00 ET.
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The second semifinal matchup is between Quinnipiac and Michigan. Quinnipiac is entering this matchup as the Bridgeport Regional champion after defeating Merrimack in the first round and Ohio State in the regional final. The Bobcats are entering this Frozen Four with a 32-4-3 record and were ranked as #2 in the nation for multiple weeks throughout the season.
Michigan is the 2023 Big Ten Conference Champions and the Wolverines are led by the NCAA leading scorer and Hobey Baker finalist, Adam Fantilli. Michigan is entering this match up with a 26-11-3 record. In the NCAA first round, Michigan defeated Colgate before facing and defeating Penn State in the regional final. This semifinal game starts at 8:00 ET.
The stage is set and these four teams will be competing to be crowned national champion later this week as the 2023 National Championship game will be taking place on April 8th at 8:00 ET between the two semifinal game winners.
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* Originally published on April 6, 2023, by Marissa Massaro