Four out five dentists recommend sugarless gum for their patients who chew gum.
The acclaimed poet Meat Loaf famously noted that βtwo out of three ainβt bad.β
And now, in between those two, is a new one: Three out of four deserving college hockey teams from Michigan made the NCAA hockey tournament.
The University of Michigan is the top seed in its region, and Western Michigan and Michigan Tech also punched their tickets to the (ice) dance.
It all ends in Tampa ππ
β‘οΈ https://t.co/5YX3xzU1xH
#NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/APlRpitkSv— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 19, 2023
Left out in the cold? Michigan State, which finished 16th in the Pairwise rankings, two spots short of getting an at-large berth to the tourney, which starts Thursday.
Sportsbooks weigh in
As far as who has the best shot to win it all from the Mitten State? Sportsbooks say that would be the University of Michigan, with +400 odds at Caesars. This makes the Wolverines the second favorite, behind the No. 1 team in the nation, the University of Minnesota with its +260 odds.
As far as the first round of games, DraftKings is currently offering odds, and, as expected, the University of Michigan is the lone favorite of the three teams from Michigan.
The Wolverines are -375 favorites over Colgate in their first round game, set to begin at 8:30 p.m. Friday to close out the first round.
U of M is led by freshman Adam Fantilli, who is expected to be the second pick in the 2023 NHL draft.
Starting the tournament is Western Michigan, which is a narrow +100 underdog against -130 favorite Syracuse. They face off at 2 p.m. Thursday.Β
Michigan Tech, meanwhile, has a battle against Penn State at 5 p.m. Friday. The Huskies are +120 underdogs to Penn Stateβs -150 odds.
πππ'π πππππ! We earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row! See you soon in Allentown. #mtuhky #FollowTheHuskies
π https://t.co/xVblbhDEEp pic.twitter.com/YlXJIozfBB
— Michigan Tech Hockey (@mtuhky) March 19, 2023
There is a decent chance for each of the three Michigan teams to advance to the round of eight, including the potential for a battle between the University of Michigan and Michigan Tech in the second round.
In addition to Michigan State’s near-miss, Northern Michigan lost a heartbreaker in the CCHA conference final. It had a 2-0 lead with three minutes left, only to see Minnesota State score two late goals and the winner in overtime to advance to the NCAA tournament. A few breaks one way or another, and Michigan almost had five teams in the tournament. Wait ’til next year.
Photo: Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
