Burnaby/Chilliwack/Langley – The field is set for the NCAA Div. I men’s hockey tournament which starts Friday and there are big numbers of BCHL graduates competing.
Of the 16 NCAA teams entering the tournament, 15 have at least one former BCHL player on the roster and six of the teams have five league grads or more. In all, there are 60 BCHL graduates about to take part in the run to the Frozen Four.
Each of the 17 BCHL teams has a former player competing in the tournament. There are four BCHL alums that are captains, indicated in italics below. There are also six former BCHL players that are NHL draft picks.
CLICK HERE for the complete tournament bracket. The 2018 Frozen Four is April 5 to 7 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
Here is a listing of the opening-round matchups and the league alums on each team (BCHL team in brackets/NHL DRAFT PICK).
First No. 1 seed St. Cloud State Huskies vs. Air Force Falcons – Friday, 1 p.m. PST, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Huskies – Jeff Smith (Powell River), Patrick Newell (Penticton), Easton Brodzinski (Penticton)
Falcons – Billy Christopoulos (Alberni Valley), Matthew Serratore (Penticton)
Minnesota State Mavericks vs. Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs – Friday, 4:30 p.m PST, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Mavericks – Brad McClure, (Penticton), Connor LaCouvee (Alberni Valley), Steen Cooper (Cowichan/Penticton), Edwin Hookenson (Nanaimo)
Bulldogs – Jarod Hilderman (Penticton)
Second No. 1 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Michigan Tech Huskies – Friday, Noon PST, Bridgeport, Conn.
Fighting Irish – Tony Bretzman (Langley), Bo Brauer (Nanaimo), Luke Ripley (Powell River)
Huskies – Brent Baltus, (Trail), Alex Gillies (Salmon Arm), Mason Blacklock (Langley/Nanaimo/Surrey/Vernon), Evan Anderson (Salmon Arm), Devin Kero (Merritt), Dane Birks (Merritt/PITTSBURGH), Jake Jackson (Nanaimo/SAN JOSE), Jake Lucchini (Trail), Gavin Gould (Merritt), Mitch Meek (Victoria/Vernon/Cowichan Valley/Penticton), Tyler Rockwell (Wenatchee), Cooper Watson (Vernon)
Providence Friars vs. Clarkson Golden Knights – Friday, 3:30 p.m. PST, Bridgeport, Conn.
Friars – Vincent Desharnais (Chilliwack/EDMONTON), Scott Conway (Penticton), Brandon Duhaime (Merritt/MINNESOTA), Vimal Sukumaran (Chilliwack), Chase Zieky (Salmon Arm)
Golden Knights – Ben Dalpe (Penticton), Nic Pierog, (Surrey/Penticton), Devin Brosseau (Nanaimo), Sheldon Rempal (Nanaimo), Jordan Schneider (Langley), Connor McCarthy (Chilliwack)
Third No. 1 seed Cornell Big Red vs. Boston University Terriers – Saturday, 10 a.m. PST, Worcester, Mass.
Big Red – Corey Hoffman (Prince George/Cowichan Valley), Yanni Kaldis (Nanaimo), Cam Donaldson (Powell River), Tristan Mullin (Powell River), Matt Cairns (Powell River/EDMONTON), Matt Galajda (Victoria)
Terriers – Dante Fabbro (Penticton/NASHVILLE), Ty Amonte (Penticton)
Michigan Wolverines vs. Northeastern Huskies – Saturday, 1:30 p.m. PST, Worcester, Mass.
Wolverines – Dexter Dancs (Penticton/Vernon), Dakota Raabe (Wenatchee)
Huskies – No BCHL alumni
Fourth No. 1 seed Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Princeton Tigers – Saturday, 12:30 p.m. PST, Allentown, Pa.
Buckeyes – Matt Joyaux (Powell River)
Tigers – Max Becker (Salmon Arm), Josh Teves (Merritt), Jackson Cressey (Coquitlam), Jeremy Germain (Chilliwack), Reid Yochim (Langley)
Denver Pioneers vs. Penn State Nittany Lions – Saturday, 4 p.m. PST, Allentown, Pa.
Pioneers – Adam Plant (West Kelowna), Jarid Lukosevicius (Powell River), Liam Finlay (Penticton/Vernon), Kohen Olischefski (Chilliwack), Griffin Mendel (Penticton), Ryan Barrow (Langley), Devin Cooley (Wenatchee)
Nittany Lions – James Robinson, (Langley)
