Best Value for Frozen Four Futures
Favorites
The first step in betting on Frozen Four Futures is to evaluate he favorites in terms of their betting odds. Minnesota (+500), Denver (+700), and St. Cloud State (+750) are the top 3 favorites. Minnesota and Denver are trying to make it back to the Frozen four for back-to-back years.
Denver
Denver is also trying to be the first repeat champions since University of Minnesota-Duluth did it in 2018-19. Not that going back-to-back is impossible in Men’s Ice Hockey as it has been done three times this millennium. (Minnesota 2002-03, Denver 2004-05, and UMD 2018-19)
However, Denver lost 4 of their top 5 scoring leaders from last season and played a lot of underclassmen which could spell trouble come tournament time. Coach David Carle showed great adjustments last year during the tournament and will need to again to repeat.
St. Cloud State
St. Cloud State was the 2021 runner up and after a disappointing first round exit last year are hungry for a chance at redemption. The Huskies are also 3-1 against Denver this year and 1-1 against Minnesota.
St. Cloud is also trying to break the stigma of under achievers in the big moments as the university has never won a national championship. The number 6 team in the country does have the third best odds however, so maybe Draftkings knows something the voters don’t.
Minnesota
The Minnesota Gophers are the consensus number one team in the country and have only lost once to a team outside the top 20. That game came on the second night of a back-to-back on the road to Arizona State 6-5 in OT.
The Gophers also have been dismantling teams by large margins all year long. 12 of their 20 wins have come by 3 or more goals including 8-0 and 6-3 wins over the number 15th ranked team in the country, Michigan State last weekend.
Worth the Odds?
Minnesota-Duluth
The University of Minnesota-Duluth currently sits at +4000 to win it all after dropping both games last weekend to Western Michigan at home. Currently sitting outside the top 20 the Bulldogs have a huge weekend against Denver this weekend as well as closing out the regular season against St. Cloud State.
For a team that has been one of the top programs over the last 12 years winning three national titles, runner up once, and five Frozen Four appearances you can never write them out. Even last year they lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champions Denver Pioneers.
Verdict: Not worth the money. For the Bulldogs to make the tournament they would need to sweep either Denver or St. Cloud both seem unlikely as both are on the road. A miracle conference tournament run is also a long shot, not to mention even if they made the tournament they would for sure be a both seed in their region.
Uconn
Uconn has never made the Frozen Four in the history of the program and have pretty much been an afterthought for their whole time playing division-1 hockey. However, they have played themselves to number 13 in the polls this week.
Draftkings have their odds at +4000 as they have beaten the teams they should beat, besides one weekend against Northeastern, and have surprised some of the teams expected to beat them. Compared to the rest of teams that will make the tournament the Huskies have far less NHL talent on their roster.
Verdict: Not worth the money. The Huskies just don’t have the talent or pedigree to risk any money on to win the whole thing. A cool story to see a non-traditional powerhouse making the tournament doesn’t mean that it will bring money to your pocket.
Overall
The boring choice here is the right one. The Minnesota Gophers have been the best team all year long at still getting them at plus money is a steal. At +500 the return is great for the amount of talent the team has compared to the rest of the country.
Sometimes the non-hot takes are the ones that make the money, and here that is the case. The smart bet is on the Golden Gophers to bring home the champions to the Twin Cities for the first time since 2003.
