February 18, 2012

UW, UM, UND and UMD will host WCHA quarterfinal series next weekend

MADISON, Wis. – The first round of the women's Western Collegiate Hockey Association Playoffs, a best-of-three series format, get underway next Friday (Feb. 24) at No. 1 tournament seed Wisconsin, No. 2 seed Minnesota, No. 3 seed North Dakota and No. 4 seed Minnesota Duluth. Game two of each series will be played on Saturday (Feb. 25) while any game threes, if necessary, will be contested on Sunday (Feb. 26).

WCHA regular season champion Wisconsin (29-3-2) will host No. 8 seed Minnesota State (7-26-1) at Eagle's Nest in Verona, Wis., regular season runner-up Minnesota (27-5-2) will entertain No. 7 St. Cloud State (5-27-2) at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, North Dakota (20-10-3) will host No. 6 Bemidji State (17-15-3) at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, and Minnesota Duluth (18-13-1) will go up against No. 5 Ohio State (16-14-4) at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth.

Following next week's four first-round playoff series, the four winners will advance to the 2012 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF championship, set for March 2-3 at AMSOIL Arena.

Ticket packages for the 2012 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF championship, set for March 2-3 at AMSOIL Arena in Duluth, are on sale now. There will semi-finals on Friday at 4:37 pm and 7:37 pm CT with the championship game on Saturday at 7:07 pm CT.

Reserved seating packages, which include all three games, are $20 for Adults, $18 for Seniors (age 62+) and $18 for Youth (ages 3-college). General Admission seating packages are $18 for Adults/Seniors and $15 for Youth (ages 3-college). Single game tickets go on sale Feb. 28.

For information visit umdbulldogs.com or call the UMD Athletic Ticket Office at 218 726-8595.

Games for Friday, Feb. 24: No. 6 Bemidji State at No. 3 North Dakota (NC), 2:37 pm CT; No. 5 Ohio State at No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (NC), 3:07 pm CT; No. 7 St. Cloud State at No. 2 Minnesota (NC), 7:07 pm CT; *No. 8 Minnesota State at No. 1 Wisconsin (NC), 7:07 pm CT. *at Eagle's Nest, Verona, WI

Games for Saturday, Feb. 25: No. 6 Bemidji State at No. 3 North Dakota (NC), 2:37 pm CT; No. 5 Ohio State at No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (NC), 3:37 pm CT; No. 7 St. Cloud State at No. 2 Minnesota (NC), 4:07 pm CT; *No. 8 Minnesota State at No. 1 Wisconsin (NC), 7:07 pm CT. *at Eagle's Nest, Verona, WI

Games for Sunday, Feb. 26 (if necessary): No. 6 Bemidji State at No. 3 North Dakota (NC), 2:37 pm CT; No. 5 Ohio State at No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (NC), 3:07 pm CT; No. 7 St. Cloud State at No. 2 Minnesota (NC), 4:07 pm CT; *No. 8 Minnesota State at No. 1 Wisconsin (NC), 4:07 pm CT. *at Eagle's Nest, Verona, WI