Friday, March 15
No. 1 St. Thomas versus No. 4 Hamline
As the Tommies and Pipers get ready to faceoff for the fourth time this year, it’s hard not to look at the past few games as a factor of who will win this semifinal game. This tactic would be beneficial for St. Thomas, as they won two out of the three meetings, but not so much for Hamline. Nevertheless, the games between these two teams have proven to be extremely close time and time again, and this contest is expected to be nothing less. Hamline’s offensive strength has gotten them far in the national tournament. Unfortunately for the Pipers, I see the hosts of this tournament, St. Thomas, standing strong defensively and shutting the Pipers down. St. Thomas 3-2 (OT)
No. 5 Adrian versus No. 2 Plattsburgh
The Bulldogs and Cardinals will play each other for the third time this year. During the regular season, these two teams split with one win each. However, the interesting part about the prior two games was that they both shutout the other team to secure the win. This semifinal game is expected to be low in scoring, as well as a very back forth game with many scoring opportunities. This type of game favors Adrian, as they have had more experience with tight and intense games. Because of that, I am picking the Bulldogs to move on to the finals. Adrian 2-1
