2021 Frozen Four Semi-Finals – Former Jacks Faceoff Against Duluth
If you haven’t been keeping up with this year’s NCAA Frozen Four Tournament, you’ve missed quite a bit. Records have been broken, teams have dropped out, and the semifinals are bound to be a wild ride. The semi-finals are set to kick off April 8th with the final going down on April 10th. How does the first pairing between Minnesota Duluth and University of Massachusetts (UMass) Minutemen shape up?
Minnesota Duluth Fourth Straight Frozen Four
Duluth had good odds entering this year’s Frozen Four, but the ever-looming Michigan University was just ahead of them in the standings. Due to an unfortunate series of events, the second-seeded Michigan University team had to drop out. Though disappointing for Michigan, it’s the opportunity Duluth needed to land the second-seed spot regional final by default. The appearance notches four consecutive for Duluth.
Minnesota faced North Dakota, who held an impressive 22-6-1 season record, in the first round. The players on both sides had faced incredible challenges through a stunning five-overtime game. The game became the longest NCAA tournament game in to date – and Minnesota claimed the honor of the win.
With fight like that, its evident that Minnesota isn’t going to pump the brakes anytime soon. They showed incredible spirit and tenacity. As did UND of course, but Duluth now has a point to prove. They’ll need to carry that momentum into the semi-finals where they’ll meet up with UMass Amherst.
UMass Minutemen on Championship Rampage
The Minutemen dominated in the regional round against Lake Superior State University in a commanding 5-1 victory. Junior goaltender, Filip Lindberg, stood on his head in the matchup while their star-studded team got to work.
Their victory came on the coattails of Carson Gicewicz netting his first career hat-trick. At 24-years old, this will be his last opportunity to take home the Frozen Four championship. He made the time count against LSSU and will definitely come out guns blazing against Duluth.
Though UMass packs an offensive punch, their solid goaltending in Lindberg and heavy-hitting defensive core featuring form Lumberjacks, Anthony and Marc Del Gaizo, and former captain, Olive MacDonald, will take them far. Lindberg has been outstanding for the Minutemen this season, posting 9 total career shutouts and a .94 SA%. The Minnesota Wild draftee has been making a strong case with UMass and it’s bound to get even better as the Frozen Four Semi-Finals kick-off.
After winning the East Regional Championship, the Minutemen are not going to be sitting on their haunches.
First Pairing Could be Anyone’s Game
The Minutemen are the favored team to win the first pairing however, Duluth has shown a lot of bite in their bark. Putting up an incredible effort against UND hasn’t gone unnoticed. In what appears to have been sheer chance, they’ve made the most of the time they got and proved a point so far. Over the last four seasons, they’ve proved consistently that they are strong contenders.
Evenly matched in terms of playstyle and competitive edge, the first semi-final pairing could really be anyone’s game. UMass plays an aggressive board style that Duluth will have to control early on but that won’t likely be an issue. By no means the underdog here, Duluth could be the wacky Cinderella-type story to come out of this Frozen Four Championship this season.
Up Next: 2021 NCAA Frozen Four Championship Breakdown – Minnesota State vs St. Cloud State
