RIT started its impressive run by upending Denver in a nail-biter, then dominating New Hampshire this past weekend, becoming just the fourth 4-seed to make it to the Frozen Four. Guess how students and supporters celebrated at a Rochester watering hole while watching the upsets? By eating free chicken wings.

So which D-I newcomer is the bigger Frozen Four surprise? On Monday we asked the local resident college hockey expert, the Capitals’ Nate Ewell, who is a founding member of the Inside College Hockey team.

“I think RIT’s a bigger surprise. The thing that struck me was that they hadn’t beaten a team outside their conference all year. I think their conference combined only had seven wins outside of the conference.

“Bemidji had at least played with some of the big boys — or at least big conferences. They had beaten St. Cloud State and UMass, lost to North Dakota in OT. RIT is much more out of nowhere,” Ewell noted.

“But one thing that’s consistent between the two is that they are both proud hockey schools, at Division II or III levels, that have tremendous support on campus.”

RIT announced its decision to go D-I in December of 2004 and joined the fledgling American Hockey Association. They won national titles at both the D-II and III levels, and so brought a rich hockey tradition to the transition, as Ewell noted. The school first became eligible for the AHA postseason — and the NCAAs — in the 2007-08 season. Just two seasons later the Tigers are in the Frozen Four.

Bemidji transitioned to D-I little more than a decade ago and is a mover and shaker among D-I programs today. They’ll christen a brand new, 4,000-seat rink on Lake Bemidji next season — and also join what many believe is college hockey’s best conference, the WCHA. The Beavers qualified for the NCAAs again this year and lost to Michigan in the first round over the weekend. Still, that’s a remarkable two-year run for the relative newcomer to D-I.

For schools like the Naval Academy and Penn State, who’ve toyed and flirted with the idea of  moving up to D-I, the stories of Bemidji and RIT ought to be powerful inducements to getting on with it at long last, and at last giving the Mid-Atlantic region some opportunity to witness college hockey at its highest level. It’s expensive as heck making that jump, but the experiences of these two Cinderella schools the past two Frozen Fours proves that there can be big payoffs for making it.

Our DC Sports Chick had a brother who went to RIT in the early ’90s and has lived in Rochester ever since.  We asked him for his thoughts on RIT making it to the Frozen Four:

“Well, let’s hope Cinderella gets back to Tigersville before midnight.

Ranked #15 in the 16-team field and yet made it this far!!! First AHA league team to make it to the Frozen Four. Win or lose, they’ve already done an incredible job and turned quite a few heads outside the area.  Their magical march through March sure got hotter thanks to their 12-game winning streak, peaking at the precisely right time. I’m just hoping their peak keeps up another two games. The goalie has been hot, standing on his head lately. I just hope the long wait between last and next game doesn’t get to them; mind games can be bad.

ESPN put it so well: “RIT? Yes, and thanks to these Tigers, it also stands for Really Interesting Tournament.”  Right on! Well, we’ll see . . . they’re up against some respectable opponents. Win or lose, the Tigers have exceeded already-high expectations and done a great job.

P.S. A funny joke around here, even if on the puerile side, is that since RIT is technically in the south part of Henrietta (the town) and is an institute of technology, shouldn’t they be South Henrietta Institute of Technology?  But I think that joke is taking a backseat for now; Tiger mania has definitely taken hold, biiiiiig time. The newspaper said this is the only Division I program at any of Rochester area’s colleges/universities.  RIT’s known for being a hockey school with a strong fan base. I’ve seen it up close since 1992, so I concur.”

It was interesting to see how many picked Bemidji State.  But then again, who doesn’t love an underdog?

Thanks to all for participating, and congrats to Dan!  (We’ll be in touch with you.)

Well, until we sat down for the second game.

Our seats were in Row G of Section 423 for the tourney and, other than our fellow Caps-season-ticketholder neighbors Angie and Jason to the right, the entire section was filled with Boston University fans. Honest, I’m not exaggerating — everyone we could see, from the front of the section to about 6 rows from the back at least, wore the red and white of BU. And were they ever vocal!

We knew we were in for a fun game when Wes was announcing Vermont’s starting lineup, as witnessed in the following video as BU fans “welcomed” each Vermont player:

Any fan in the section who shouted something inevitably led to loud chanting pretty much immediately. And we were swept up in the excitement.

The evening’s college-hockey-themed entertainment ranged from the traditional “[shout player's name here, repeat], you suck!” to lots of BU-related chants to shouting “Yipyipyip!” every time BU player Brandon Yip had the puck. They also sang along with the marching band. Singalongs included “Livin’ on a Prayer”, “Don’t Stop Believin” and “Never Gonna Give You Up” — not so sure the Rick Astley was a good choice… given the age of most of our fellow fans, they might have been conceived to that song.

Perhaps my favorite moment of the night was when our section started a seemingly impromptu meta-chant: “WE are CHANting!” *clap*clap*clapclapclap*

Frankly, we had very little idea whether the rest of the arena was mostly silent or not — we were truly surrounded by the loudest fans in the Phone Booth. It was actually shocking the first time Vermont scored, when Catamount (and likely Miami) fans voiced their approval… it was the first time we’d heard anything outside our section.

The game itself was a barn-burner, but being among such devoted fans made the night that much better. The only time their passion presented a problem was when Security went row to row and made everyone sit down. As you can image, fans who usually stand for entire games were not particularly happy with these instructions, leading to the only bad-vibe moments of the night.

The fans’ best response to this sit-or-leave demand was to point at the Vermont section in the 100-level — a section filled with green and yellow, all standing — and chant “DOUBle STANdard!” I felt bad for the usher (who was only doing his job), but perhaps the better solution would have been to relocate the couple fans at the back who were complaining when 99% of the section wanted to stand.

Despite this blip, the energy level of the section never wavered. One of the best chants: within seconds after each Vermont goal, the BU fans started an enthusiastic “Go B U” chant. No extended wailing or gnashing of teeth in this group… just a shout of dismay, then pick yourself back up and support your team.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock for BU’s 5-4 comeback victory, there was much hugging and high-fiving in Section 423. Am I looking forward to Saturday night’s game? You bet I am.

The Marriott (12th & H) where Miami & Bemidji State are staying is buzzing with anticipation. The lobby was filled with supporters of both teams clad in their respective school’s gear. One of the teams was boarding a bus to go to the Phone Booth during my visit.

Of note for fans: a Frozen Four sales stand is operating in the hotel lobby. Thursday & Saturday they’re open from 8:00 a.m. until after the games end. On Friday, merchandise will be available from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., and Sunday morning as well.

I’ve no idea how the lobby’s prices compare to the arena, but I can guarantee the lines will be shorter at the hotel. For reference, I picked up a nice Frozen Four puck for 10 bucks. They have a wide variety of shirts ($22-$24), hats, pins, and other goodies. Merchandise was plentiful this afternoon, though so were customers. I still regret not spending more rubles in Moscow early in the IIHF championship when they had more items in stock… so if there’s something you know you want, don’t delay!

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From Pucksandbooks:

All NCAA events take place under a prohibition of alcohol sales. That means that hockey fans attending tonight’s two hockey games may not enjoy the games as God intended. There may be some merit to this policy for events at which thousands of undergraduate students attend, such as autumn Saturday football games, but this obviously isn’t that.

However well intentioned, it is not a policy I support.

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From Pucksandbooks:

Count me as one who was gravely concerned about Verizon’s ice quality for this event, given what the building has provided the Caps this season. But the puck stayed pretty flat in the first period, and there was a good bit of snow on it near period’s end. But guess what – it’s not warm in here, not by a long shot. It’s a new sheet, too, installed right after the Caps’ last home game on Sunday.

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From Pucksandbooks:

Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts is in the house, which is cool, as we saw him up close at the Caps’ outdoor skate at Chevy Chase CC a few months back. But for my money the most impressive celeb sighting thus far – happily in my section – is 1980 Olympics hero Mike Eruzione. Folks in my section are all over him to pose for pics. He was a BU guy, if you didn’t know.