The 2019 NCAA Division I men's hockey Frozen Four comes to Buffalo a week from Thursday on April 11th and after this weekend, we now know who will play at KeyBank Center later this month.
UMass, Denver, Providence and Minnesota Duluth are the four teams left standing in this year's tournament and there are some Buffalo connections.
Providence defenseman and captain, Jacob Bryson, is the Sabres' only prospect playing in the Frozen Four. The Sabres selected Bryson in the fourth-round of the 2017 NHL draft. He had an assist on the Friars' first goal in a 4-0 shutout win over Cornell to advance to the Frozen Four.
Another Buffalo connection with Providence is former Sabres' head coach, Ron Rolston is the associate head coach of the Friars. After his time with Buffalo, Rolston was the head coach of the Springfield Falcons, the former AHL affiliate of the Arizona Coyotes. He was also an assistant coach with Team USA at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.
One more tie to Buffalo with Providence is Sabres' forward, Tage Thompson's brother, Tyce, is on the team.
They'll face Minnesota Duluth on April 11th after the Bulldogs beat Quinnipiac, 3-1 on Sunday to punch their ticket to the Frozen Four.
UMass shutout Notre Dame, 4-0 on Saturday and will now face Denver in the Frozen Four. Denver is also coming off a shutout win as the Pioneers beat American International, 3-0 to end their "Cinderella Story" after taking down top-seeded St. Cloud State.
The Frozen Four is April 11th and the national championship game is on April 13th. All three games are at KeyBank Center.
