North Dakota, Denver, Minnesota, Wisconsin Open National Tournament Play Saturday

Two of WCHA's Record Six NCAA Tourney Entries Suffer Losses in Regional Action on Friday as CC Falls at Home to Michigan State, SCSU Upended by Clarkson

Peter Mannino Leads DU into the Midwest Regional

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March 29, 2008

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MADISON, Wisc. - North Dakota, Denver, Minnesota and Wisconsin are all set to begin their quests for a trip to the 2008 NCAA Men's Frozen Four on Saturday (March 29) when they open regional play in Madison and Worcester, Mass.

The Fighting Sioux (26-10-4), the top seed in the Midwest Regional and marking their 23rd national tournament appearance overall and sixth straight, will face-off against No. 4 seed Princeton (21-13-0) at 2:00 pm CT. UND is 38-17-0 in NCAA tourney play. The Pioneers (26-13-1), who captured the Broadmoor Trophy at last weekend's 2008 Red Baron^TM WCHA Final Five and are making their 18th NCAA tournament appearance overall, will go up against the Badgers (15-16-7) at 5:30 pm CT. Wisconsin marks its 22nd national tournament appearance overall. DU is 25-13-0 in previous NCAA tournament games while the UW is 33-18-0. The championship game of the Midwest Regional will then be played on Sunday at 6:00 pm CT.

Minnesota (19-16-9), who finished second in last week's Red Baron^TM WCHA Final Five, is the No. 3 seed at the Northeast Regional, being contested March 29-30 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass. The Golden Gophers, who are marking a record 32nd appearance in the national tournament, including their eighth straight, will face-off against No. 2 seeded Boston College (21-11-8) at 7:30 pm ET on Saturday. Minnesota is 50-32-0 in previous NCAA tourney play. The first semi-final there will match No. 1 regional seed Miami (32-7-1) against No. 4 seed Air Force Academy (21-11-6) at 4:00 pm ET. The Northeast Regional championship game will be played on Sunday at 4:30 pm ET.

Two of the WCHA's record six NCAA tournament entries - Colorado College and St. Cloud State - suffered defeats on the opening night of regional play on Friday. The Tigers (28-12-1), champions of the regular season and winners of the MacNaughton Cup, were defeated 3-1 by defending national champion Michigan State at the West Regional at Colorado Springs World Arena. For CC, left winger Derek Patrosso had the team's lone goal at 12:07 of the third period and Richard Bachman had 20 saves in nets. MSU was led by left winger Tim Kennedy, who had a goal and an assist, defenseman Jeff Dunne, who had the game-winner on a power-play at 18:03 of the second, and goaltender Jeff Lerg, who had 41 saves. The Huskies (19-16-5), meanwhile, dropped a 2-1 decision to Clarkson at the East Regional in Albany, N.Y. SCSU had a 1-0 lead in the second period following defenseman Garrett Raboin's goal at 4:08 while Jase Weslosky had 38 saves. For CU, right winger Shea Guthrie scored the winner at 4:58 of the third while David Leggio made 24 saves. On Saturday night, Michigan State and Notre Dame will play in the West Regional championship game while Michigan and Clarkson will face-off in the East Regional title contest.

The four regional winners will then earn a trip to the 2008 NCAA Men's Frozen Four, set for Thursday, April 10 through Saturday, April 12 at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. The host institution for this season's Frozen Four is the University of Denver. The WCHA is home to a record 36 national championship teams since the league's founding in 1951, including five of the past six. Through games of March 28, the WCHA's 2007-08 non-conference mark stands at 48-20-10 for a .679 winning percentage.

This Week in the WCHA • NCAA Div. 1 Men's Ice Hockey Regionals

Results of Friday, March 28: *Clarkson 2 vs St. Cloud State 1 @ East Regional
#Michigan State 3 at Colorado College 1 @ West Regional.

Games for Saturday, March 29: * Princeton vs North Dakota, 2:00 pm CT
# Air Force vs Miami, 4:00 pm ET
* Wisconsin vs Denver, 5:30 pm CT
& Clarkson vs Michigan, 7:00 pm ET
# Minnesota vs Boston College, 7:30 pm ET
% Notre Dame vs Michigan State, 8:00 pm MT. (* NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal @ Madison, WI
# NCAA Northeast Regional Semifinal @ Worcester, MA
& NCAA East Regional Final @ Albany, NY
% NCAA West Regional Final @ Colorado Springs, CO)

Games for Sunday, March 30: * Air Force vs Minnesota, 4:30 pm ET
* Air Force vs Boston College, 4:30 pm ET
* Minnesota vs Miami, 4:30 pm ET
* Boston College vs Miami, 4:30 pm ET
# Princeton at Wisconsin, 6:00 pm CT
# Princeton vs Denver, 6:00 pm CT
# Wisconsin vs North Dakota, 6:00 pm CT
# Denver vs North Dakota, 6:00 pm CT. (* NCAA Northeast Regional Final @ Worcester, MA
# NCAA Midwest Regional Final @ Madison, WI)