Upsetting Day in the NCAAs

Boston University and Notre Dame, be warned.

Heavy is the head that wears the crown, as three of the top four favorites playing in the opening day of the NCAA tournament found out.

The biggest shocker came in the opener at Bridgeport, Conn., as fourth-seeded Air Force blanked the East's top seed Michigan, as Andrew Volkening stopped all 43 Wolverine shots. The Falcons put just 13 shots on goal, but got two that counted. After killing a 5-on-3, Air Force got on the board with 4:42 left in the first with a nicely placed shot by Derrick Burnett to earn all they would need in a 2-0 win.

Not to be outdone, Miami (Ohio) had little trouble with the West's top seed Denver in Minneapolis, limiting the Pioneers to just 18 shots on goal and putting on 29 of their own in a 4-1 win. The RedHawks built a 3-0 lead by the middle of the second period, and controlled the play against the heavily favored Denver club.

In the nightcap in Connecticut, third-seeded Vermont took out the hosts of Yale University with relative ease in a 4-1 victory. The Hockey East club advances to a date with the Falcons, and giving the Catamounts a chance for their second-ever Frozen Four berth, with the last coming in 1996 - back when Vermont had a junior named Martin St. Louis on its squad.

The best game of the night was the only one that a higher seed won, as Minnesota-Duluth avoided a fourth straight upset in the tournament with an improbable 5-4 overtime victory. The Bulldogs were trailing by a pair of goals to Princeton into the final minute of regulation, but popped in a pair of goals in the final :39 seconds to force overtime. Once in the extra session, Mike Connolly completed the comeback to stun the Tigers, and send the Bulldogs to a meeting with the RedHawks for the West region title tomorrow.

Tomorrow in Manchester, New Hampshire will look to keep the upsets going when they effectively host the North Dakota Fighting Sioux at 2PM ET, while the Northeast's No. 1 seed and top seed overall Boston University will face Ohio State following that.

In Grand Rapids, the Midwest's top seed Notre Dame will try to hold off Bemidji State, which will follow the 4PM ET matchup of Northeastern and Cornell.

Air Force shoots for its first Frozen Four berth in the East final at 6:30PM ET, while Miami does the same out west against UMD at 9PM ET.

If it's anything like the first day, Saturday could be crazy as the favorites are getting derailed on the road to Washington.