Frozen Four Recap: If you’re a hockey fan living in Boston, the most exciting time of the year ends just as the Bruins’ NHL playoff games begin. Boston College captured its fourth national championship on Saturday, defeating the Wisconsin Badgers, 5-0. It was B.C.’s second championship in three years and fourth visit to the championship game in five years. With Boston University’s 2009 victory, the win also ensured the championship trophy would stay in Beantown. B.C. avenged its 2006 loss to Wisconsin in the deciding game, when it hit the post with 1.6 seconds remaining. Of course, that year Wisconsin entered the game on the heels of a 1-0 regional final victory over Cornell in triple overtime –– a game in which David McKee ’06 made 59 saves.

Unlike the women’s tournament, the men’s Frozen Four was not meant for close games, nail-biters down to the final whistle or overtime thrillers. Instead, the winning team in each game won by an average of six goals. Though B.C. led only 1-0 going into the third period, the lack of competitiveness in each game, coupled with a terrible venue choice, made for an entirely uneventful Frozen Four. A sore subject amongst Badger fans should probably be playing a hockey game on Ford Field (a football field) in Detroit. Down 1-0, Wisconsin’s Michael Davies missed a breakaway opportunity because the puck bounced off his stick due to soft ice.

Most disappointed must be Miami (Ohio), the runner-up in 2009, who had high hopes entering the tournament after losing to B.U. in overtime last year. In that game, Miami led by two goals with under a minute remaining only to see that lead disappear in epic fashion. This season, Miami barely escaped Michigan in 2OT in the regional finals, but advanced no further when B.C. destroyed the team, 7-1. Miami was also playing for Brendan Burke, son of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke, a team manger who died suddenly in a car crash in early February. Burke was praised as a pioneer in the game for becoming the first openly gay member of a hockey team.

Though blown out, 8-1, by Wisconsin in the semi-finals, Rochester Institute of Technology had to be pleased with its incredible accomplishments. RIT arrived as a true Cinderella story, defeating the No. 2 overall seed, Denver. Unfortunately, much like Butler and Cornell in basketball, the dream had to end somewhere. RIT’s magic finally ran out in a drubbing by the Badgers.

Above all ironies, however, lay the misfortune of beating Cornell. Consider this: New Hampshire beat Cornell, 6-2, and then lost to RIT, 6-2. RIT then lost to Wisconsin, 8-1, before Wisconsin lost, 5-0, to B.C. Talk about a Big Red curse.

Player Updates:

Although Cornell’s season is over, many of the team’s individual members have continued to make news. Senior defenseman Brendon Nash was the first member of this year’s season class to formally make the jump to the pros. Nash, who was not drafted, signed a two-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens, which means he will likely spend some time in Hamilton, Ontario, playing for the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate.

Nash and senior goalie Ben Scrivens were named first-team All-Americans from the east region. Scrivens is the fourth Cornell goalie to be named an All-American this decade; he joins Matt Underhill in 2002, Dave LeNeveu in 2003 and Dave McKee in 2005. The selection of Scrivens was no surprise; Ben was widely considered one of the two best goalies in the nation this season (Denver’s Marc Cheverie was named to the All-America first-team from the west).

Meanwhile, senior forward Colin Greening won the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, which honors four-year student-athletes for “great achievement during competition and in their community while staying in school.” Cornell lacrosse star Max Sebiald ’09 won the same award last year.

In addition to Brendon Nash, several other members of the graduating class are expected to sign professional contracts. Krueger and Greening were drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes and Ottawa Senators, respectively, and will likely sign with those teams. Krueger recently tried out for the German national team in hopes of participating in the World Championships. Forward Joe Scali, who has dual citizenship with Italy, may travel there to play. Darren Dreger of TSN (Canada’s ESPN) has reported that the Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs are interested in signing Scrivens; Ben also attended the Rangers’ development camp last summer. Forward Blake Gallagher was not drafted, but may sign a minor league contract or move to Europe and continue to play professionally.

Nash’s younger brother, Riley, has also been the subject of much speculation. Riley was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the 2007 draft, and many observers expected Riley to leave Cornell once his older brother finished his senior season.

However, the Oilers management has publically criticized Riley’s decision to stay at Cornell for three full seasons, and Nash did not sign with Edmonton after Cornell lost in the NCAA tournament. Although Nash has said he will wait until the summer to make a decision, and he continues to speak positively about the Oilers, he may choose to stay at Cornell for a fourth season. If he does that, and does not sign with the Oilers before August 15, 2011, he will become an unrestricted free agent and can entertain offers from other NHL teams. Your guess is as good as ours as to what Nash will do next.