NCAA Midwest regional preview and picks

The Midwest regional will be held in Green Bay, WI this year and the Wisconsin Badgers have the top seed in the region and the overall top seed in the NCAA tournament. The Badgers probably have the easiest region with Cornell, Colorado College, and Bemidji State. The toughest test for the Badgers would be if they win Colorado College.

Lets breakdown the teams

#1 Wisconsin- Grabbed the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament with a win in the WCHA consolation game over Minnesota. After a mid-season slump, the Badgers have since played very strong with the return of goaltender Brian Elliott. Robbie Earl and Joe Pavelski both scored 20 or more goals this season. Tom Gilbert is an excellent offensive defensmen posting 29 points on 11 goals and 18 assists. Head Coach Mike Eaves has done a terrific job with this team who was picked to finish 5th in the WCHA this year. Overall Wisconsin has all the talent to make a run at the National Championship.

#2 Cornell- Lost the ECACHL final to Harvard and also lost a chance to stay in the East. Goaltender David McKee will need to improve from their 6-2 loss to Harvard as the Big Red will have a tough first round matchup against Colorado College who is the 9th best scoring offense in the country. Matt Moulson needs to have a breakout game while Sasha Pokulok and the defense will need to improve in order to stop this Colorado College offense.

#3 Colorado College- The most dangerous team to Wisconsin in this region. Cornell will be a tough test and if they can beat David McKee early then the Tigers should have no problem scoring their fair share of goals. Last year's Hobey Baker winner Marty Seritch and linemate Brett Sterling lead a very powerful Tiger offense. Also watch out for Joey Crabb and Chad Rau, they are known for coming up in the clutch.

#4 Bemidji State- The Beavers nearly pulled off the upset over Denver last year who went on to win the National Championship. If they do the same to Wisconsin then they can exploit the Badgers' weakness early and could pull off the upset or just warm Cornell or Colorado College up to pull of the upset.

Predictions:

Wisconsin over Bemidji State
Colorado College over Cornell

Regional Final

Wisconsin over Colorado College

Tommorrow the East regional will be previewed.