>Click to view the CCHA tournament bracket:

– As day one action of “College Hockey at the Joe” has wrapped up, the quest for the Mason Cup is now down to two teams: Notre Dame and Michigan. The Irish played the early game on Thursday’s docket, beating Northern Michigan 2-1 with one minute left in regulation. And yes, Wildcat goaltender Brian Stewart was very good-again. For those wondering, next year will be his senior season at NMU.

In the night cap, Michigan faced a tough test in the Alaska Nanooks, the same Nanooks that claim both the CCHA Coach of the Year, Dallas Ferguson and the CCHA Player of the Year, Chad Johnson. On this night, even the Justice League wouldn’t have helped UAF, as Michigan added two power play goals and an empty net goal to seal the 3-1 victory.

With the Wolverines’ advancement to the finals, Northern Michigan will take on Alaska today at 3:35pm, in the third place/cohsolation game. U of M and Notre Dame will meet in the finals for the second time in three years, at 7:30pm.

– All of this is occurring just hours before the NCAA hockey selection committee announces their field of 16 teams to compete in the 2009 Frozen Four tourney. As of right now, all scenarios seem to include the RedHawks in the field of 16. Let’s hope there are no “burst bubbles” come Sunday at noon-time. The Selection Show will air on ESPN2, on Sunday morning at 11:30am, with a bracket to follow on this web page.

– Finally tonight, some Ryan Jones news. He was listed at number 41 on TSN’s ranking of the top 100 NHL rookies. Here’s what they had to say about the former Miami captain:

Hard-working winger who was acquired in the Marek Zidlicky deal and spent some time in the AHL this season. Willingness to go to the net could make him a 20-goal scorer.

Jones currently has seven goals and nine assists in his rookie season. You can view the rest of the list by clicking this link..