Wockey Pool 2018 - A Sappy Ending to a Terrific Tourney

Holy Jumping Maggot Cheese!  Was that an exciting Wockey or what?!

 

In what has almost become something of a trend in NCAA hockey, UMD went from becoming the last team to make the tournament to winning it all after topping Notre Dame 2-1 in St. Paul this past weekend.  That makes three times in the past six years (Providence 2015, Yale 2013) that the lowest seeded at-large team took home the trophy.  As inspiring as it was to see Loyola-Chicago make the basketball tournament Final Four, in hockey, those teams actually win it.  Also, apparently Catholic teams can’t close.  The truth hurts Sister Jean.

 

But back to hockey.  I can’t begin to accentuate the madness of this outcome enough.  Think about this:

 

-Coming into the NCAA title game, Notre Dame had won their five previous games -- all in the NCAA or Big Ten Tournaments -- by goals either in overtime or the last 27 seconds of regulation.

 

-After losing both of their games at the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, UMD needed six games to go exactly their way in order to make the NCAA Tournament.  With all six games doing so, they jumped Minnesota by .0001 -- one ten thousandth of a ratings point -- to sneak in as the last at-large team in the tournament.

 

-The last game they needed to go their way was one that went to overtime and had them sweating their chances.  It was the Big Ten Tournament title game between Ohio State and Notre Dame, which the Fighting Irish won putting UMD in the tournament.  And then on Saturday night, the Bulldogs beat Notre Dame to win the title.

 

How completely ridiculously crazy is that?!  This is what makes college hockey the best sport in the world.  Well, besides this one, of course.

 

The drama was not only rich on the ice, but in the world of Wockey as well.  Twelve-year-old John Goodman was trying to become just the second underaged Wockey Champion as well as the second consecutive member of the Goodman clan as well as the first ever Wockeyite named after a celebrity to win it all.  But with UMD’s win, Goodman’s dream was dashed, toes with nail polish were not collected, and a new champion was named...Nick Sapienza!

 

                                                    With his winnings, Nick plans to pay off his student loans, hit the craps table,

                                                 and cover his bail for stealing Katy Perry’s Super Bowl halftime dancer costume.

 

Nick has been a Wockeyite for some time now representing Wockey on the East Coast, specifically in Boston -- best known for Paul Revere, clam chowder, and heroic Disney princesses.  While Minnesota is the state of hockey, the best regular season tournament occurs in Boston.  The Beanpot -- which pits all four university teams located in Boston (Boston U., Boston College, Northeastern, and Harvard) against each other -- has been held annually since 1952!  How Nick managed to set aside his eastern allegiances and correctly predict the outcome of a Frozen Four which featured only western teams speaks to his overall college hockey acumen.  Nick also earns extra points for having his winning bracket, Chris Long’s Red Hair, nominated for the Wockey Bracket Name of the Year Award.

 

But perhaps the best thing about Nick winning is finding out how passionate a Wockey fan he is.  Upon realizing that Chris and Nick are friends, and knowing that there was a chance Nick would win, I reached out to Chris to get a little info about him.  This is part of what Chris had to say:

 

“Talks about the Wockey Pool all damn year.  It's his Christmas.  You have no idea how long I'm going to have to hear about him winning this thing.”

 

That’s just the best.  It’s his Christmas.  And getting to rub it in his friend’s face for winning?  Well, that’s what Wockey is all about.  Congrats Nick!  And Merry Christmas!!

 

While Nick’s was the best, his wasn’t the only impressive Wockey showing.  Finishing just one point back of Nick was Brooke Zilka whose bracket “Sunshine, rainbows and wockey” also was nominated for the Wockey Bracket Name of the Year Award.  Tied behind Brooke were Thomas Nikula and Chris Goodman.  Bulldog backer Thomas won the first tiebreaker over Puckhead-done-good Chris to take third place for the second straight year.  Just behind them, Jacques LePage and Maddison Zikmund finished tied with Jacques taking sixth based on the tiebreaker.  And the final two spots came down to a tiebreak between three Wockeyites.  Andy Tillman won it to finish seventh while Peter Markham took eighth.  Unfortunately, for Peter Eugene Simon, his guess of 20 Frozen Four goals was the furthest off among the three leaving him out of the money.   That’s bad luck Peter -- but it could be worse.

 

For their efforts, our winners will receive the following:

 

1st (50%) - Nick Sapienza $1725.54

2nd (15%) - Brooke Zilka $517.66

3rd (10%) - Thomas Nikula $345.11

4th (8%) - Chris Goodman $276.09

5th (7%) - Jacques LePage $241.58

6th (5%) - Maddison Zikmund $172.55

7th (3%) - Andy Tillman $103.53

8th (2%) - Peter Markham $69.01

 

And so we wrap up the 12th season of Wockey!  This one was filled with incredible highs (UMD winning, working my first Frozen Four for ESPN) and devastating lows.  Oh, and just because there was one last heartstring that hadn’t been ripped out, this.  Oh well.  It could have been worse.

 

Once again, much thanks go out to Wockey Webmaster Mike Varian for his work to keep the website running smoothly.  If it weren’t for his tech expertise, the site would invariably end up looking like this.  Also much thanks go to the first Woman of Wockey, Sarah, for continuing to put up with my insistence on running this pool -- although to be fair, it’s not my most disturbing habit.

 

But most of all, the thanks once again goes out to you, the ones who populate the world of Wockey.  Despite a slight dip in numbers this year, the pool remains strong and many of you continue to recruit friends and family into Wockey.  I always appreciate the heartfelt comments from those who enjoy participating and look forward to Wockey every year, even though participating in the pool costs them a great deal of dignity and self-respect.  I appreciate those who have joined the Facebook group and followed Wockey on Twitter.  It’s become an easier way for me to communicate all things Wockey as working on the games has got me busier during Wockey season.  And I’ve got some big ideas on doing an even better job of enhancing my presence on social media in the future.

 

So to wrap, congratulations to all our winners, especially our newest Champion Nick!  Shame on you Jody Norstedt for disgracing your profession as a professional sportscaster with your Puckhead finish.  And enjoy the offseason as best you can while dreaming of whimsical Wockey days ahead.

 

For the last time this season, I am…

 

Your Excitable, Exceptional, Excretable Wockey Commish,

 

Alex

 

P.S.  THIS.