Why The Games Are Played

The first round of Yahoo! Fantasy Hockey is ending tonight, and I'm happy to say that unless something seriously wrong happens to the space-time continuum, I'll be advancing on to the second round against The Anze Fever. However, it's not like this round was secured by Wednesday or anything. No, the Temple of Poetry put up a good fight, and had me a little worried as we entered the weekend. After a strong showing on Saturday, Mascots-R-Us had a 10-0-2 advantage with big gaps between the totals for the two teams, so I need to bear down and get ready for Round Two.

Let's take a look at some of the other news from around the hockey world:

• The Wisconsin Badgers won its third NCAA Women's Hockey Championship in four years today with a 5-0 win over Mercyhurst. Wisconsin goaltender Jessie Vetter made 37 saves for her record-setting 14th shutout of the season. The NCAA Championship adds to Vetter's phenomenal season as she was announced as the Patty Kazmeier Trophy winner on Saturday as the best women's player at the collegiate level, and was named as the Frozen Four's most outstanding player for the second year in a row. Vetter, who owns a career mark of 89 victories and 38 shutouts, won her third title along with teammates Angie Keseley and Erika Lawler. Congratulations go out to the Badgers for their Championship win!
• The Men's Frozen Four Tournament starts Friday at regional sites, and the seeds were unveiled today. Boston University, at 31-6-4, was named as the #1 seed for the tournament. Notre Dame, at 31-5-3, was given the #2 seed. Denver, at 23-11-5, qualified as the #3 seed. Michigan, at 29-11-0, was slotted as the #4 seed. Yale qualifed as #5, Minnesota-Duluth qualified as #6, Northeastern as #7, North Dakota as #8, New Hampshire as #9, Cornell as #10, Princeton as #11, Vermont as #12, Air Force as #13, Miami-Ohio as #14, Bemidji State as #15, and Ohio State came in as #16 to round out the first-round matchups.
• The KHL's Gagarin Cup Playoffs are still running as well. Last night saw Lokomotiv Yaroslavl hammer Metallurg Magnitogorsk 6-1 to even their series at one game apiece. After splitting the first two games, Ak Bars Kazan jumped back on top with a 1-0 victory over Dynamo Moscow today. More updates this week as we near the Gagarin Cup Final.
• The Boston Bruins wrapped up one of the top three seeds today with their win over the New Jersey Devils. The Bruins will most likely be slotted as the #1 seed for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference if they can turn this solid win into a string of wins. As it stands now, Detroit, San Jose and Boston have all qualified for the "big dance".
• As I had suggested yesterday, Evgeni Malkin's wallet felt a little lighter today as he was fined for his headshot on Wayne Simmonds. Perhaps that was the problem as the Penguins lost to the Philadelphia Flyers today, falling into sole possession of fifth in the Eastern Conference. With the win, the Flyers are now two points ahead of their state rivals.

Ok, I haven't been feeling all that swell today. It's probably due to the one hour of sleep I've had in the last 48 hours. For some reason, I've developed an acute case of insomnia. In any case, I'm calling it quits here because I really don't feel all that great. Take it easy, kids!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!