Let the title defense begin. Boston College, a No. 1 seed in the West Region of the 2011 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship, begins its quest for a second-straight national championship Friday night, when it takes to the ice against Colorado College in St. Louis, MO, at 9 p.m. ET (ESPNU).
The Eagles are the No. 1 seed in the West Regional, where they're joined by Michigan (the No. 2 seed) and Nebraska-Omaha, which meet Friday at 5:30 p.m. The winners from the two first round games meet in the West Regional Final Saturday night, with a spot in the Frozen Four on the line.
Unsurprisingly, Brian at BC Interruption has high hopes for BC:
I'm a self-proclaimed Yale hater, so I've got Union continuing its dream season and winning the East Regional over Yale. In the Northeast, I have Miami over Merrimack. Other than those two Regionals, I agree with your picks. In the Frozen Four, I'm going with BC over Denver and Miami over Union.
BC enters the game 30-7-1, and ranked No. 2 in the country; Colorado College is 22-18-3 overall. Dating back to the 1968-69 season, the Eagles own a 10-game undefeated streak (9-0-1) against the Tigers, and are 12-4-1 all-time against CC.
2011 NCAA Hockey Championship, First and Second Rounds (March 25-27)
Friday, March 25
3 p.m., East Region: Minnesota-Duluth vs. Union (Bridgeport, CT), ESPNU
5:30 p.m., West Region: Michigan vs. Nebraska-Omaha (St. Louis, MO), ESPN3
6:30 p.m., East Region: No. 1 Yale vs. Air Force (Bridgeport, CT), ESPNU
9 p.m., West Region: No. 1 Boston College vs. Colorado College (St. Louis, MO), ESPNU
Saturday, March 26
1:30 p.m., Midwest Region: No.1 North Dakota vs. Rensselaer (Green Bay, WI), ESPN3
4 p.m., Northeast Region: No. 1 Miami vs. New Hampshire (Manchester, NH), ESPNU
5 p.m., Midwest Region: Denver vs. Western Michigan (Green Bay, WI), ESPN3
7:30 p.m., Northeast Region: Merrimack vs. Notre Dame (Manchester, NH), ESPN3
6:30 p.m. East Regional Final (Teams TBD), ESPNU
9 p.m. West Regional Final (Teams TBD), ESPNU
Sunday, March 27, 2011
5:30 p.m. Midwest Regional Final (Teams TBD), ESPNU
8 p.m. Northeast Regional Final (Teams TBD), ESPNU
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For more on the 2011 NCAA Hockey Championship, visit the StoryStreams at both SB Nation and SBN Boston as well as our Boston College blog, BC Interruption.