5 Bulldog Teams to Compete in National Tournaments
League playoffs have officially ended as of this past weekend and the Bulldogs took home one playoff title after 5 of 6 teams won regular season playoff titles. All 5 of the teams who captured regular season titles will be competing in their respective national tournaments starting this Friday, so let’s take a look at the match ups.
Men’s Varsity:
vs. Wisconsin Stevens Point 3/18/17 TBD @ Wisconsin Stevens Point (NCAA Quarterfinals)
The Men’s Varsity team received a bye for the first round of the tournament despite dropping the Harris Cup Final game last weekend. The Bulldogs and Pointers will meet for the fourth time this season and the seventh time in the past two seasons. The Bulldogs have beaten, tied and lost to the Pointers this season and went 1-2 against them last season as the Pointers ended the season for the Bulldogs last year in the NCAA Quarterfinals. Winner of the game moves on to the Frozen Four in Utica, NY the next weekend.
W. Varsity:
vs. Elmira 3/11/17 7:00 pm Arrington Ice Arena (NCAA Quarterfinals)
The NCHA regular season and playoff champions will host the Women’s NCAA Quarterfinals this coming Saturday against a familiar opponent, the Elmira Eagles. The Bulldogs faced the Eagles in the 2016 NCAA Quarterfinals, where they lost 3-1 in a heartbreaker to end their season. The two teams would meet again in the East/West Classic this season, this time with the Bulldogs coming out on top 5-3. The Eagles come to Arrington off of a loss in the ECAC West playoffs. The Eagles are currently ranked #5 while the Bulldogs are holding steady at #2. With a win, the W. Varsity team can move on to the Frozen Four for the first time in program history.
MD1:
vs. Syracuse/Midland 3/10/17 5:30 pm Columbus, OH
Coming in at the #2 seed in the nation, the MD1 team will face the winner of the Syracuse vs. Midland game the day prior. The Bulldogs have not faced Syracuse yet, however, the Bulldogs went 4-0 against the Midland Warriors this season, including an overtime thriller at Arrington Ice Arena on ESPN 3 a few weeks ago. The Bulldogs bested the Warriors by scores of 10-1, 4-2, 4-3, and 4-1 this season. Keep following here on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for further schedule updates on MD1 and the National Tournament as the MD1 tournament is a win or go home style tournament and schedules will vary.
WACHA:
vs. MSU 3/15/17 5:00 pm Columbus, OH (Best of Three Quarterfinal Series)
WACHA faces familiar foe Michigan State in the new best of three format for the National Tournament. The Bulldogs and Spartans played the final series of the regular season against each other where the Bulldogs came out on top both times. The Spartans would best the Bulldogs for the first time since the 2012-13 season in the CCWHA League Semifinal game the next weekend to halt the quest for the playoff title for the Bulldogs. WACHA comes into the tournament with the best record in the country (24-3) and the #2 team in the nation. MSU comes to Columbus with a 12-13 record and #7 in the country. The two teams will compete in a best of three series and the winner will head to the National Semifinals. If the Bulldogs advance, they will most likely face the second lowest seed remaining unless Minnesota pulls off an upset against #1 Liberty.
MD3 Gold:
MD3 Gold vs. Florida Gulf Coast 3/14/17 5:00 pm Columbus, OH (Pool Play Game #1)
The Gold Squad is back in the National Tournament this year after failing to make it out of the regional tournament for the past three years after winning three consecutive National Titles. The Bulldogs begin pool play on Tuesday the 14th against Florida Gulf Coast. There aren’t accurate old schedules available on the school’s website and the ACHA website is only goes back to 2014-15, so I can’t accurately say if the Bulldogs have faced Florida Gulf Coast before. I can say though that, as someone who’s watched every National Tournament game for the Gold Squad, I’m pretty sure the Bulldogs and Eagles have met in past National Tournaments and the Bulldogs are undefeated in regulation (with only one overtime loss in pool play) at the National Tournament. FGCU is coming in as the #1 seed in the South Region, however, the south is one of the weakest regions in the league and the Gold Squad has made it out of the toughest region in the country to make it to the tournament and the southern teams do not typically give us that much of a hard time. This will be the fourth National Tournament appearance for the Gold Squad and they have come back from their last three trips to the big dance with the only National Titles in Adrian College Athletics history.
MD3 Gold vs. Marquette 3/15/17 2:00 pm Columbus, OH (Pool Play Game #2)
The Gold Squad will play three pool play games at Nationals for the round robin stage of the tourney. Their second games is against Marquette, who I have no memory of the Gold team facing off against before this year. Marquette comes in as the #2 seed in the Pacific Region with a 19-6 record overall, identical to the Gold Squad’s.
MD3 Gold vs. Southern Connecticut State 3/16/17 2:00 pm Columbus, OH (Pool Play Game #3)
The Bulldogs face the third seed in the Atlantic for their final pool play game of the tournament. Southern Connecticut comes to the tourney with a 19-6 record as well. If the Bulldogs win their pool, they will play the winner of Pool C (Colorado State University, Farmingdale State College, Calvin College and University of South Florida) in the National Semifinals.
It all begins Friday as Men’s D1 takes on a TBD opponent and you can catch all the updates on all 5 of the teams right here on my blog on Facebook and Twitter and periodic updates on Instagram as well.
