The Road to The Frozen Four with Mike McMahon

Mike McMahon of Inside College Hockey joins College Sports Scene Today to preview the road to The Frozen Four with a look at the Big Ten Conference.

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SPEAKER_01 0:10

Everybody, welcome to college four team today. Let's start our conversation with the Big Ten tournament and help us do that. Let's bring in Mike McMahon from inside college hockey to break it all down. Hey Mike, how are you? Thanks for the time today. I know this is like a Christmas in March for you as we get down to this time of the year. Let's start with the Big Ten. And uh we were talking about the tournament and the change in the tournament. Why do you think things went a little differently this year where they're gonna go single elimination and kind of expedite things, Mike?

SPEAKER_00 0:46

Yeah, I think the biggest thing was trying to avoid big gaps in the schedule. The way that it was before with best of three series, you've got a seven-team league, right? So it's a little difficult. Uh, but when you you get you eliminate those gaps in the schedule, it allows teams to be a little more active, which there's good and bad to it. You can heal up from some injuries and stuff like that if you've got bye weeks, but I think ultimately the coaches didn't like having so much inactivity at this time of year when you're really trying to ramp up and play the most intense games you're going to play all season.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Well, let's start with the number one seed, and that's Michigan State, and then we'll get to the games that are going to come up of the seven teams that are in the tournament. Spartans have been good, as we all know, for the last few years. What's different or what's the same, Mike, about this Spartan team this year?

SPEAKER_00 1:28

I I think it's a lot of what's the same. Yeah, they're just they're built through their depth. Trey Augustine, for my money, is the best goalie in the country. And I think what it really comes down to to me is just their depth. No one is as deep as them. No one can go uh as deep into their lineup as they can in critical situations. They're not, I mean, they are somewhat top heavy as most teams are in terms of they've got a couple of guys that kind of dominate things from a scoring standpoint. Uh Porter Martone has been excellent, Charlie Strammel's been excellent, but you look at that roster, like you got to go six or seven players deep uh in terms of double-digit goal scores, 20-point scores, including a couple of guys from the back end uh that have been able to contribute offensively as well. And I don't think any team in the country has a better decor. From one through six, they are just so difficult to play against, and they can chip in offensively.

SPEAKER_01 2:14

So we'll talk about the other teams that have a chance to play them in the next round. So I'll just ask you from the other side, is there an Achilles heel? Is there something that another team can exploit from the Spartan team, or is it really just that rock solid there?

SPEAKER_00 2:26

I I think it's that rock solid, really. I mean, even if you look at some of the games, they they haven't lost many games this year. They've only lost seven. But even in the games that they've lost, you look and you're like, you know what? They kind of had the better of the play in a lot of those losses. Even in games where they where they couldn't find ways to get over the hump. Like they lost to Michigan back in December. At worst, their losses have been 50-50 games. They could have gone either way. I I'm not sure that they've really been outplayed in many games this year. Maybe maybe a couple. Maybe that second Michigan loss, I think that they were outplayed a little bit there. I think they lost that game in overtime. But with the exception of that, like they really have either outplayed or at worst been uh in a 50-50 game almost every single night.

SPEAKER_01 3:09

All right, let's look at the other uh three teams in the matchups, and we'll just kind of code through them one for one and have you give us a little thumbnail. Uh Wisconsin and uh Ohio State's first up here. Let's talk about the Badgers and what we've seen this year in Madison, Mike.

SPEAKER_00 3:22

Ups and downs, right? They had a pretty tough stretch there through January and February, but they got the train back on the tracks, and now they're in a spot where they've essentially locked up an NCAA tournament bid. I mean, it's really close. Uh they'd have to have something catastrophic happen, I think, at this point to keep them out. So uh it's been a good year for them. They've really come through, I think, in the biggest games. They've put together a run here at the end of the season, which is what big teams uh or teams that tend to go do well in the tournament tend to do. Uh the the teams that limp into the tournament are typically the ones that that struggle a little bit. But you look at what Wisconsin has done since February. They swept Notre Dame and uh since then, you know, I think they've only got two losses. They're six and two in their last eight. That followed up a string of six straight losses. So you get that middle to end of January was a rough patch. But really, uh outside of that, they were really good at the beginning of the year. They've been really good down the stretch. Uh I think they've been playing some of their best hockey since the beginning of February, which is what ultimately they're aiming to do.

SPEAKER_01 4:18

All right, so they go up against the Buck guys tonight. So just give us a little take on Ohio State and then give us the matchup. Which of the two do you think might have the edge, Mike?

SPEAKER_00 4:26

Yeah, Ohio State, I mean, they they've had some good performances this year. They were one of those teams that beat Michigan State, right? So uh I think, especially in a single elimination set situation, anybody can beat anybody. Like that's kind of the beauty of the single elimination tournament. It does really feel like it's wide open that anybody can win it. Uh, if if Ohio State had to go to Wisconsin and win two out of three, I think that's a pretty tall task. I'm not sure that they would have been able to pull that off. Could they go there and win one game? Yeah, I think anybody can win one game. Uh, I think it's, you know, they've been a little more inconsistent, Ohio State has over the course of the year. I know that's one thing they'd like to see corrected moving forward. I don't know if you can correct it this quickly going into the tournament, but certainly going into next year. Uh Notre Dame, which has struggled this year, we'll talk about them, picked up a couple of wins against Ohio State just last week. Both of those were in overtime, so those losses stung a little bit. Uh, so that's why going into this, uh, it feels to me like Wisconsin's the favorite. I think Wisconsin's wins wins the game, but you know, like I said, we're in this single elimination setting where it nothing would really surprise me. It does kind of feel like anybody can beat anybody uh one when it's just one game.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

All right, you mentioned Notre Dame. Let's go with them. The Fighting Irish play Michigan. And as you mentioned, they've had a struggle this season, but have gotten hot now. What's going on right now in South Bend heading into this game tonight?

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Yeah, I think it's it's something where they've got a new coaching staff and they've got a lot of new players, and you saw inconsistency at the beginning of the year because of that. Now they they beat some teams, but they were beating St. Lawrence, they were beating Robert Morris. Once it got into uh the Big Ten schedule, they struggled until the middle of February, right? I mean, they they had a really good weekend against Penn State, they had a really good weekend against Ohio State. Everybody says you want to be playing your best hockey going into the playoffs. I think you look at Notre Dame's season, there's no doubt that they've played their best hockey going into the playoffs. So that's a definite plus. Uh, but that being said, like this is the one matchup maybe in all the single elimination games, because Hockey East has a few tonight as well. Uh, Michigan Notre Dame is the one where I feel like, you know what, if if Notre Dame finds a way to win that game, that would be a huge surprise. All of the other games, it some would be more so you have maybe a little bit more surprising results than others, but none would be a huge shock. This one would be a huge shock to me just because of how powerful that Michigan team is.

SPEAKER_01 6:39

All right, go into that Michigan team because I agree with you. They're very powerful here. What's working there for them?

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Uh everything. Yeah, everything. Uh they can score, they can score, they can score, they can score. Uh, and the biggest thing too is like they've got the goaltender now. They've got Jack Ivankovic, who's been great all year. That was, you look back at even those Michigan teams that went to the frozen four over the last couple of years. That that spot, I mean, they had good goaltending. They didn't they never had great goaltending. Uh, now they've got great goaltending, and that to me can be a bit a difference maker. Uh, does that get them over the hump to winning the national championship? Like, hey, it might. It really might, because uh in the past, that's been kind of their Achilles heel. It's never been bad. I want to preface like it. Like, their goaltending has never been bad. It's always just been good or good enough. Not anymore. Like, Ivan Kovic's the real deal and has been that way all year. So as powerful as they are offensively, with a bunch of guys that have scored double-digit goals, Will Korhawk, Will Horckopf has 22. GJ Hughes almost has 50 points. Uh, they are they are dynamic offensively. I think their most important player is Ivan Kovic. We kind of saw that earlier in the year when he went down, too. They were different a team when uh when he wasn't out there for those few weeks. So uh he's he's the biggest difference maker.

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Mike McBenn's with us from inside college hockey. Okay, last but not least, the Penn State Minnesota matchup. I find this one a little more intriguing. How do you see these two going at it tonight?

SPEAKER_00 8:03

I find it really intriguing too, because if you look at Penn State, they had a great weekend against Ohio State, middle of February. They had that 11-4 win. Uh that was a memorable night because of the goal scoring. But those are their only two wins since January 30th. Like they're two, five, and two going into the playoffs. They are kind of limping in here a little bit, which is not typically what you want to see. Now, are they able to snap uh back and kind of erase that end of the regular season and and go into the playoffs with some momentum? I think they can because the talent is certainly there. There's no question about it. Uh, it's just, you know, can they can they kind of snap back mentally to where they were up up until the end of January? Because up until the end of January, they were one of the best teams in the country. If you look at their whole season, they're still one of the best teams in the country. I mean, let's be honest. They're they're easily a top 10 team. I think you could make the argument that they're a top seven team, uh, even still, even with how this the rest of the season wrapped up for them. So uh it's they are younger to a certain extent, right? I mean, there's uh a lot of their leading players are freshmen or sophomores. I know it's a big sophomore class, but and everyone has so much attention on on McKenna, uh, but JJ Wybush plays a big role. Charlie Serrado's been hurt, but he plays a big role. Uh it's really no seniors there uh that that are playing big, big roles. Some juniors, DeMarcico, Fink, Reese Lauback, guys like that, but uh they they need to find a way to kind of just mentally snap back to where they were at the beginning of the year. The question is, can they do it? Because like now you're in a situation where it's it's a one and done. Not necessarily for them. They're gonna make the tournament regardless, the NCAA tournament regardless. But uh, I think for them to feel good going into the NCAA tournament, they need some momentum and they and they need to win tonight.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

So, of course, the $64,000 question for as good as we both think Michigan State is can any of these teams knock them up? I guess, you know, anything can happen, a puck could drop uh and bounce a different way. How do you see that maybe playing out here for a champion from the league?

SPEAKER_00 9:57

Yeah, I I I mean I gotta have I have to believe we're gonna see Michigan and Michigan State meeting that championship game. Uh, if there's one team that could clip one of those teams on the road to get there, it's Penn State if they're playing their best hockey. Uh or Wisconsin if they're playing their best hockey. So I do believe it's probably the two Michigan teams that end up in the final, but uh, if Michigan or Wisconsin play their best game, like I said, anybody can win one game. So especially those two teams, if they play their best game, they can end up there as well. My pick would still be Michigan State. I know that's not necessarily uh uh going out an edge here, picking the number one seed, but it I I it does feel like we're gonna see one versus two in that final.

SPEAKER_01 10:36

Yeah, listen, the idea is to pick who you think's gonna win. It doesn't matter, and I agree with you.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

I know that's what I tell people all the time. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Mike McMahon from inside college hockey getting us ready for the Big Ten tournament. It looks like it's Michigan State tournament to lose, we'll see. And we'll see who goes from the Big Ten to the NCAA tournament and works our way down to the frozen four coming up the first weekend of April.