Hockey season might be over for RIT, but the NCAA tournament has yet to begin. I never caught March Madness before but this year I figured I’d give it a go. My predicted results are below, followed by my reasoning for most of the first round picks.

Air Force represents the AHA and I would absolutely love to see them go long. However, I’ve seen their play and they simply don’t have the chops to derail Boston College. BC is, once again, dominating the league with a fifteen game win streak (not losing a game since January 21) and boasting a .738 win percentage (the best in the NCAA). Maine v. Minnesota-Duluth was a much harder pick, but MD brings a winning offensive pressure at the moment. I’m betting that Minnesota-Duluth will out-shoot, out-pace and out-score the Black Bears.

Perhaps my most far-fetched pick is placing Western Michigan in the Frozen Four. North Dakota is probably the smart choice; after all, they just shamed Denver with a 4-0 shutout to win the WCHA Championship. But Western Mich has that rare Cinderella momentum at their backs and is coming off of wins against Michigan and Miami, winning the CCHA Tournament. I’ll say this: whoever takes that game will win the West.

While Ferris State finished first in the CCHA, they have been stumbling in games they should have won. This is evidenced by their on-again off-again season, taking bad losses from teams like Bowling Green, Vermont and Alaska, not to mention being shutout by RIT in the Catamount Cup (not that I’m complaining). I say this lack of consistency will hurt them against Denver. Cornell has been doing well, but not stellar, and considering their relatively weak schedule Michigan is the safe bet between the two.

I don’t want to talk about the quarterfinals and Frozen Four in case I get all this wrong, but I am pretty positive Union will face Miami in the East. While Miami is considered the favorite, their schedule hasn’t been much harder than Union’s and I feel that Union will carry more momentum after the first round than Miami. The significantly shorter bus ride doesn’t hurt their odds, either.