It’s the final round at the Frozen Four in Lake Placid and the all-West showdown between Wisconsin-Stevens Point and St. Norbert is an epic and worthy final. One game left to decide the national championship between two very familiar opponents.
Friday night’s semifinal round NCAA picks went 0-2-0 (.000) as my Eastern title hopes were dashed by strong play and a bit of puck luck from the West. Kudos to my writing partner Brian Lester for picking both correctly and setting the stage for a Wisconsin backyard brawl The season record now stands at 74-41-10 (.632) and with just tonight’s game remaining, I can only hope to finish the season on a one-game winning streak.
Here are the championship game picks:
Tim Costello
If there was ever a team on a mission, it is the Pointers, who are in their third consecutive title game looking to win the elusive championship. The team showed off its relentless speed and team defense in shutting down a high-powered Geneseo offense in the semifinal and now has the opportunity to avenge an early season loss against the Green Knights, who played late into the night going double overtime with UMass-Boston. There is no being tired for the final and this game may need extra time to decide and complete the mission.
Wisconsin-Stevens Point 3, St. Norbert 2.
It is a great venue for college championship hockey in Lake Placid and one team culminates a long season by skating off with a hard earned NCAA title tonight — drop the puck!
Brian Lester
We’ve reached the end of the road of the Division III hockey season, with Stevens Point and St. Norbert the only two teams still standing.
Stevens Point is on a mission and after dominating Geneseo on Friday, the Pointers made it clear they want this season to end with a championship trophy in their hands.
The Pointers, winners of four in a row, feature one of the top offenses in the country, punching in 140 goals. They will go up against a St. Norbert team that has been nearly as effective on the offensive end of the ice as the Green Knights have tallied 128 goals on the year.
The last time these two teams met for the championship, St. Norbert skated away with a 3-1 win in 2014. The two teams played in the regular season this year as well and the Green Knights dominated that game en route to a 5-2 victory.
Stevens Point is due for a win and I expect the Pointers to get it, avoiding the outcome of being the national runner-up for a third consecutive year.
Stevens Point, 5-3.
