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A Closer Look at the East Regional - Yale, Union, MN-Duluth, Air Force

March 23, 2011, 12:44 AM ET [ Comments]
Julie Robenhymer
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Yale
The Bulldogs have the most potent offense in the country averaging 4.25 goals per game and the fact that none of their players are in the top 20 nationally is a testament to their depth. With such a high-powered offense, it's no surprise that they are nearly 1 for 4 on the power play utilizing their skill and speed with the extra ice. The real difference-maker for the ECAC Champions this season has been senior goaltender Ryan Rondeau who has a nation's best 1.83 goals against average and helped them have one of the best defenses in the country. Rondeau is also on a shutout streak that spans more than 200 minutes.

As hot at Yale was to start the season they cooled off considerably toward the end, but seems to be back in top form. Can they keep it going and prove why they deserve the #1 overall seed despite recent struggles?

Union
The Dutchmen won the ECAC regular season title, but were ousted by Colgate in three games during the conference quarterfinals. Still, they were able to secure an at-large bid due to their incredible success throughout the course of the season and will head to the NCAA tournament for the first time at the DI level. They are a hard working team that goes to the dirty areas and wins puck battles. They simply wear you down, force you to make mistakes, draw penalties and make it count at a nearly 1 in 3 rate. It doesn't hurt that they too are backstopped by another fantastic goalie in sophomore Keith Kinkaid and his 1.98 goals against average.

Union was on fire heading into the playoffs going 14-1-1. Was their stumble against Colgate a blip on the radar? Or a sign of their playoff inexperience? They've had two weeks to figure it out.

Minnesota-Duluth
The Bulldogs are led by Hobey Baker finalist, Jack Connolly, and his 55 points in 38 games and senior Justin Fontaine - one of the most sought after college free agents - and his 52 points in 38 games. While they don't seem to have much trouble scoring goals, the same can't be said for stopping them. After a solid start to the season, Duluth has been severely inconsistent and seem to get frustrated easily when they get behind a goal or two, but it's a different story when they get the lead. If the opportunity presents itself, they know how to execute the step-on-their-throat-and-break-their-neck game plan. Question is will the potent offenses they are sure to face this weekend give them that opportunity?

Bounced out of the WCHA playoffs on Thursday, they've had some time to rest nagging injuries and hopefully do something about their awful dye jobs as the entire team - except one - had some fun with a bottle of peroxide at the start of the playoffs.

Air Force
The Falcons are the only team in the field that required the automatic bid from winning their conference championship (1-0 vs. RIT) to advance to the NCAA tournament. That said, they are the most experienced tournament team in this bracket having earned a bid three of the past four years and even knocked off #1 Michigan in their last outing in 2009 before losing the Regional Final to Vermont in overtime. They are always one of the most well prepared and disciplined teams who always knows their opponent.

Air Force handed Yale their first loss of the season. Will they be able to do it again to end their season and give the tournament its first upset?

Friday, March 25, 2011
Game 1: Union v. UM-Duluth - 3pm ET - Live on ESPNU/ESPN3.com
Game 2: Yale v. Air Force - 6:30pm ET - Live on ESPNU/ESPN3.com

Saturday, March 26, 2011
Regional Final - 6:30pm ET - Live on ESPNU/ESPN3.com


Julie

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