Frozen Four Links: Monday Edition

The long wait for the Frozen Four continues, but we're just three days away now. It won't be long before those of us making the trip are in sunny Florida. Let's continue the countdown with some reading from the weekend.

The Milford Daily News profiles hometown hero Teddy Doherty, who is "living out a dream" as a member of the BC hockey team. Have we mentioned lately how much we love Teddy Doherty?

When he was a kid, Doherty's dad, Ed, would often take Teddy to the Beanpot at the TD Garden. "If I couldn't go, I'd watch it on TV," said Teddy.

He had a favorite team from the get-go. BC. "It was my dream school. It's a special place. I watched my uncle play there." Marty Hughes was a defenseman on the Eagles' 2001 national championship team.

Eagle defenseman Steve Santini was interviewed for the Boston Herald this weekend. Santini's lockdown skills will be key against Quinnipiac's offense.

"I think I've grown a lot as a player. I think, with the puck, I'm a lot more confident," Santini, an assistant captain, said. "I'm making more plays. I want the puck on my stick and I want to move it to my teammates. I'm not just a spectator out there. I just think my confidence and maturity as a player over the past three years have come a long way.

Tampa may seem like an odd place to be hosting its second Frozen Four in five seasons, but TampaBay.com says hockey is putting in strong roots in Florida, as it is in many of the places it expanded to a generation ago.

Eakins had to leave Florida as an 8-year-old to get the hockey development he needed for a career in the sport. Quinnipiac freshman Chase Priskie, who will take the ice at Amalie Arena on Thursday for an NCAA semifinal against Boston College, says he's fortunate he didn't have to do the same.

The (Waterbury) Republican-American takes a look at the construction of Quinnipiac's roster, and how they've been able to build a great team with just 2 NHL draft picks, as opposed to the 10+ picks on blue-blood programs like the ones they're facing in Tampa.

The disparity in potential NHL talent between the traditional powers and Quinnipiac isn't necessarily surprising, considering the school's relatively new status as a top hockey program. But Bobcats coach Rand Pecknold has crafted a way to boost his program among the nation's elite without elite recruits.

"A big part of our program is development," Pecknold said. "You want to get the most talented kids you can get, and we'll never take a kid without high character. We have a lot of really good players, but we also have a lot of players who literally nobody else wanted. Can we keep doing that? I think we can, but it's difficult."

The Frozen Four gets underway on Thursday. Did you read any interesting BC hockey stories over the weekend?