When the 2016 NCAA Frozen Four begins today, six AJHL alumni will be one step closer in their pursuit of a National Championship. The semi-finals will open with Quinnipiac versus Boston College followed by the all NCHC match up of Denver and North Dakota.
The Quinnipiac roster includes Andrew Taverner (Sherwood Park Crusaders) and Tanner MacMaster (Camrose Kodiaks). The latter of the two semi-finals is stacked with three AJHL alumni on the Denver roster including Tanner Jaillet (Fort McMurray Oil Barons), Tariq Hammond (Okotoks Oilers) and Matt Marcinew (Lloydminster Bobcats / Olds Grizzlys) and alumnus Rhett Gardner (Okotoks Oilers) on the North Dakota side.
The 2016 NCAA Frozen Four features four powers in the sport – not just the best teams last weekend, but the best all season and in recent history. The four teams’ 116 combined wins are the most entering a Frozen Four in the 16-team era of the NCAA Tournament. It’s the first time that the Frozen Four has been comprised of all No. 1 or 2 seeds since the last visit to Tampa in 2012.
A total of 26 Canadians will compete in the 2016 NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa Bay, Florida. In 2015, seven CJHL alumni were members of the National Division I Champions, the Providence College Friars.
Watch Live: Quinnipiac vs. Boston College, 5 pm ET, ESPN2 / Denver vs. North Dakota, 8:30 pm ET, ESPN2