Made It!

Well after two very early morning flights and cab rides, I have finally arrived at the Courtyard Marriott in Grand Rapids. The hotel seems to be a buzz, with representatives from all four teams hanging out and getting ready for the games.

SO happy I was not on the NU bus, which got in after midnight last night. A 17 hour ride.

As for the games, we are 4 hours away!

Here are some players to watch and X-factors when looking at the Cornell-NU game.

For the Huskies:

#39 - Goalie - Brad Thiessen- Hobey Baker Finalist, Hockey East Player of the Year, one of the top goaltender's in the nation. Brad will need to be at his best today as he has been all year for the Huskies.

#3 - Forward - Ryan Ginand- Leading goal scorer for the Huskies with 20 goals. Ginand is a playmaker on skates, he has the ability to create scoring by himself and no matter whether he shoots or passes, he is a catalyst for the team. If he can get things going out there today, the offense will come for NU. They have been struggling for goals as of late and he is essential to the offense.

X-Factor- #22 - Forward - Greg Costa- Not the most likely choice for an x-factor I know. Thiessen may be the real x-factor but I wanted to get creative. COSTA NEEDS TO BE IN THE LINEUP. This season his scoring line is 8-8-16 in 38 games played. But even more than his scoring, his forechecking and ability to create turnovers is so essential to the Huskies game. If the Big Red hear him coming, they might not worry about the puck as much and that's where NU has lived for a large part of the second half of the season.

For the Big Red:

#30 - Goalie - Ben Scrivens- Much like Thiessen he has been the key to Cornell's success all season. With a 1.76 GAA, it's tough to get one by him. Cornell as a whole will probably try to keep this one tight checking and low scoring.

#14 - Forward - Riley Nash- Leading the team in scoring, this kid can fly. He has 34 points on the season and like Ginand for the Huskies, is the key for the Big Red's offense. If he gets going, Cornell might be able to open up a lead.

X-Factor- #3 - Defense - Jared Seminoff- Playing every game this season for Cornell, Seminoff is going to be integral to their defensive play. One of the smaller guys on the team at 5'10'', he has to make sure that NU's big forwards like Joe Vitale, Steve Quailer, and Dennis McCauley don't get past him too easily.


That's all for now. I'll post another update when I get to the arena shortly..