NCAA D-III Tournament: First Round Action

The 2012 NCAA D-III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament begins tonight with three first round match-ups. In the West, defending national champion St. Norbert will host at-large contender St. Thomas and MICA champion Gustavus Adolphus will host MCHA champion Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). Then in the East, MASCAC champion Plymouth State will host ECAC Northeast champion Wentworth. All games will take place at 7:00pm. Here's a quick look at all the teams playing tonight and our picks.

St. Thomas at St. Norbert:
St. Norbert Green Knights
Overall Record: 17-5-5
NCAA History: 13th Appearance (2008 & 2011 National Champions)
Scoring Offense: 3.81 gpg
Scoring Defense: 2.22 gpg
Power Play: 22.8%
Penalty Kill: 88.8%
Penalties: 15.96 min per gameKey Player: F-Johan Ryd (36 Pts)
Key Player: G-David Jacobson (.931 SV% & 1.64 GAA)

St. Thomas Tommies
Power Play: 19.8%
Overall Record: 18-5-2
NCAA History: 15th Appearance
Scoring Offense: 3.40 gpg
Scoring Defense: 2.28 gpg
Power Play: 24.6%
Penalty Kill: 88.3%
Penalties 12.64 mins per game
Key Player: F-Riley Horgan (32 Pts)
Key Player: G-Drew Fielding (.921 SV% & 1.99 GAA)

Our Pick: This is clearly the most competitive game of the night. It should be close but we think St. Norbert's leadership and goaltending will give them a one or two goal edge.

MSOE at Gustavus Adolphus:
Gustavus Adolphus Gusties
Overall Record: 16-6-5
NCAA History: 6th Appearance
Scoring Offense: 3.11 gpg
Scoring Defense: 2.30 gpg
Penalty Kill: 80.2%
Penalties: 12.81 min per game
Key Player: F-Ross Ring-Jarvi (29 Pts)
Key Player: G-John McLean (.924 SV% & 2.12 GAA)

Milwaukee School of Engineering Raiders
Overall Record: 22-6-1
NCAA History: First Appearance
Scoring Offense: 4.24 gpg
Scoring Defense: 2.14 gpg
Power Play: 20.3%
Penalty Kill: 85.2%
Penalties: 19.28 min per game
Key Player: F-Jordan Keizer (45 Pts)
Key Player: G-Connor Toomey (.926 SV% & 1.98 GAA)

Our Pick: This game could go either way but the Gusties have been here before and know how to win a big game. MSOE has some impressive scorers but they take alot of penalties and don't have great special teams. We like Gustavus.

Wentworth at Plymouth State:
Plymouth State Panthers
Overall Record: 17-6-3
NCAA History: First Appearance
Scoring Offense: 3.38 gpg
Scoring Defense: 2.38 gpg
Power Play: 21.5%
Penalty Kill: 85.6%
Penalties: 18.42 min per game
Key Player: F-Kyle Greco (36 Pts)
Key Player: G-Jack Astedt (.914 SV% & 2.29 GAA)

Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards
Overall Record: 20-6-1
NCAA History: 6th Appearance
Scoring Offense: 3.85 gpg
Scoring Defense: 2.52 gpg
Power Play: 23.1%
Penalty Kill: 83.7%
Penalties: 15.7 min per game
Key Player: F-Mike Domsodi (34 Pts)
Key Player: G-Alex Peck (.919 SV% & 2.03 GAA)

Our Pick: This is by far the worst game of the entire tournament featuring the weakest two teams in the field. Wentworth has already beaten Plymouth twice this season at Plymouth. We expect Wentworth to win easy and move on to be Norwich's punching bag next week.