Everyone’s focused on the March Madness this time of year, but let’s not forget there are other NCAA championships going on, too.
Air Force senior forward Paul Weisgarber (10), shown scoring a goal against Army in January 2011, is one of the Falcons' top players. (Mike Kaplan / Air Force photo)
One of those tournaments is pretty underrated: the NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey tournament. It’s typically filled with overtime games, a smattering of upsets (though not necessarily on par with its cousin on the hardwood) and thrilling play.
Air Force is making its fifth NCAA tournament appearance this year, and the Falcons have drawn a tough road: They’ll face the tournament’s top overall seed, Boston College, at 4 p.m. EDT Saturday at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., an hour or so west of BC’s campus.
The Denver Post notes that the Falcons (21-10-7) are 0-3 this season against teams that made the 16-team NCAA field, losing narrowly to North Dakota and Michigan State before being routed by Denver University.
Air Force earned its bid by winning the Atlantic Hockey championship, no small feat for a school located about 2,000 miles away from its closest conference foe. The Falcons beat Rochester Institute of Technology last weekend in Rochester, N.Y., for the right to enter the NCAA tourney.
You can read more about the postseason-bound Falcons here.
2 Comments
I didn’t know the military had hockey teams. I usually only ever heard about their football teams every now and then. I wonder if they ever take up alternative sports such as scuba diving with an oceanic dive computer. That will be sweet!
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