For the last two years, Capitals fans have flocked to the Verizon Center and rocked the red. Last night, the arena was packed with hockey fans of a different breed, as Washington played host to the Frozen Four, the NCAA’s Division I men’s college hockey championship. Nevertheless, teams and fans are largely sporting the same colors. Boston University and Miami (Ohio) fit right in with their red school colors, though both teams were wearing their home white last night. The University of Vermont and Bemidji State, both in different shades of green, rounded out the field.

Last night’s early action pitted two teams from newer conferences against each other for a chance to play for the title. Little Bemidji State couldn’t reignite the spark that helped them crush a powerful Notre Dame and best Cornell in the Regionals. Miami used a big second period, notching 3 goals in a 7 minute window, to punch their ticket to Saturday’s final. Boston University, the top seed overall, had their hands full with Vermont. With a 2-0 lead and what was shaping up to be an easy night for the Terriers, UVM scored three unanswered goals before BU tied it and then lost the lead again. The equalizer and game winning goal for Boston came just over one minute apart, and BU held the puck for the final 3 minutes of play, preventing UVM from even getting a chance to pull their goaltender.

The city is swarming with college hockey jerseys, as opposed to Ovechkin ones. Expect it to stay that way through Saturday evening. The puck drops for the championship game featuring Miami (of Ohio) vs. Boston University at 7 p.m. on Saturday. While the game is sold out, tickets are easily acquired through Craigslist, especially since semifinal losers often sell their tickets off for pennies on the dollar.