By Adam Wodon

MIDWEST REGIONAL

Jean-Philippe Lamoureux is among the nation's best goalies and the main reason North Dakota is expected to win the Midwest Regional. AP

1. North Dakota
2. Denver
3. Wisconsin
4. Princeton

Wisconsin snuck in the tournament despite being one game under .500, thanks to some serendipitous breaks during the conference championship weekend. As a result, it will be a No. 3 seed in its home regional.

Due to how the draw shook out, this Midwest Regional has three WCHA teams in it, usually taboo. But with six WCHA teams in the tournament, it was hard to avoid. North Dakota is here simply because it was the only regional left over after the other top seeds were placed. Princeton is here because, as the No. 14 overall seed, it matches correctly against the No. 3 overall (North Dakota). Wisconsin is here because it has to be, and there was going to be an all-WCHA first-round game somewhere, so it might as well have been here.

Perhaps it's poetic justice. In a game earlier this season against Denver, Wisconsin lost when a last-second goal was disallowed by the referee. Even after video review evidence showed it to be a good goal, the referee misread the video and disallowed it. The league later apologized to Wisconsin.

Had Wisconsin gotten a point in that game, it wouldn't have been sub-.500 and would easily have been in the tournament. However, you can argue that the Badgers were inspired by the snub. They trounced Denver the next night and went on a roll, only to =lose in the WCHA quarterfinals. After the loss, many on the team thought the season was over.

"Last year, our record was 19-18-4, and we had a pretty good team," said coach Mike Eaves. "We were on the bubble, and we didn't get in because of the system and the formula. This year, we're one game under .500 and because of the system and who we played and who lost, we get in. So, if you want to criticize something, you've got to criticize the formula. There's always going to be criticism, no matter what the formula is."

Denver has had its own struggles, losing top scorer Brock Trotter midseason due to discipline reasons and watching senior goalie Peter Mannino battle consistency problems. But the Pioneers lay well at the Kohl Center and regrouped in the last couple of weeks to win the WCHA tournament.

North Dakota has a bevy of talent and perhaps the best goalie in the country, Jean-Philippe Lamoureux. The Sioux were on a 19-game unbeaten streak -- a typical second-half steamroll for them -- until a playoff loss.

Princeton may appear to be a sacrificial lamb here, but the ECAC champs are led by Guy Gadowsky, who has done a remarkable job turning things around at the storied institution in his four years and the team plays a fun style of hockey -- not your typical button-downed ECAC kind of thing.

PREDICTION: North Dakota

WEST REGIONAL

1. New Hampshire
2. Colorado College
3. Michigan State
4. Notre Dame

Thanks to the luck of the draw, New Hampshire was sent to Colorado Springs where a second-round match against Colorado College looms. However it matches up against the home team in a possible second-round game. But first UNH has to get to the regional final.

Its first-round opponent, Notre Dame, struggled down the stretch of this season after a good start and was crippled by the loss of top forward Erik Condra in the CCHA quarterfinal series. The Irish lost a pair of games at the CCHA Final Four, although one was on a last-second miracle by Miami. New Hampshire has a strong team, top to bottom, but must get over the shock of a Hockey East semifinal loss and the stigma -- fair or not -- that it can't "win the big one." UNH has been to two finals in Dick Umile's era, so that's hardly fair to say, but still has never won a national title.

On the opposite end is defending national champion Michigan State, which faces a tough first-round matchup against Colorado College. The matchup between the Spartans' Hobey finalist Jeff Lerg and goalie Richard Bachman, the WCHA Player of the Year. Bachman is the only player other than long-time NHL goalie Curtis Joseph to win Rookie and Player of the Year in the WCHA.

The Spartans have been steady throughout the year, with tournament-tested vets like Justin Abdelkader, Tim Kennedy and Bryan Lerg leading the way.

"We'll do well if we make it a tight game if we play well defensively," MSU coach Rick Comley said. "And I think scoring has been so difficult for us all year at times this year, at times we've tried to force it, this a game we can't do that."

CC is another team that faced adversity this season, losing two players to discipline issues. One of them, Derek Patrosso, is back.

And Chad Rau, with 28 goals and a great two-way game, should be a Hobey finalist.

PREDICTION: Colorado College

Adam Wodon is the Managing Editor for College Hockey News. He has covered college hockey as a writer and broadcaster for 19 years.