Blowouts the Order of the Day

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The Frozen Four is down to the two finalists after a pair of lopsided semi-finals kicked off NCAA hockey's marquee event. The Wisconsin Badgers laid a 8-1 beating on the RIT Tigers and a couple hours later the Boston College Eagles stunned the Miami RedHawks to the tune of 7-1.

While most expected RIT to be outmatched, and they were, the late game was supposed to be a much closer affair. In the end we'll get to see a rematch of the 2006 National Championship game as the Badgers will tackle the Eagles.

Our friends at USCHO.com have a plethora of staff on hand at Ford Field and so instead of me writing a game story after watching online, just do yourself a favor and check this link out.

All I'm going to say about the Wisconsin domination of RIT is that it was from start to finish. The Tigers managed just 14 shots in the entire game and seemingly fell behind before the applause after the anthem was done. RIT wasn't in this game at all and without having the benefit of seeing how on Earth they got by Denver and New Hampshire, it's hard to imagine a worse Frozen Four appearance.

Derek Stepan (NYR) had two goals and two assists and Brendan Smith (DET) five helpers on the night for Wisconsin.

Boston College had multi-point games from a number of players including Ben Smith and Joe Whitney. Netminder John Muse was very strong between the pipes even though he only face 18 shots on the night.

The RedHawks just couldn't seem to get any offence going until the third period when they did carry the play for about six or seven minutes, scored, to make it 3-1 but couldn't take it to the next level.

This marks the 4th time in 5 years that Boston College is playing in the final game, that would be dynasty territory except for the fact that they've only won the big game once in that span.

The Badgers' last appearance in the title game was in 2006 against this very same opponent - well, the sweaters and the coaches are the same but that's about it. Still, these are two perennial powers going at it and it should make for a great game. It gets underway on Saturday at 7PM Eastern time and is available on ESPN in the States, not sure it's going to be available on Canadian TV (but you might be able to find an online feed like I did tonight).

Anyway, I tried to find some highlights from the 2006 game but this is the best I could come up with. You'll hear lots of familiar names, guys who are now in the NHL or on the way up.