TV/radio: FSN, all five games; 1500-AM for Gophers' games.
Tickets: Tournament packages for all games are $160 and $75. Single-game ticket prices for the lower concourse vary from $25 for the first quarterfinal on Thursday to $45 for the championship game on Saturday; all single-game upper level tickets are $20.
WCHA'S FINAL FIVE AT XCEL ENERGY CENTER, ST. PAUL
Thursday's quarterfinals
Michigan Tech (16-18-4, sixth seed) vs. Denver
(23-12-4, third), 2:07 p.m.
Huskies at a glance: With a home playoff spot in its grasp, Tech finished the regular season 1-6-1. The last two losses were at Colorado College 5-2 and 2-0. Ironically, the Huskies played CC in the playoffs, too, and won 3-1 and 4-3 in overtime. ... This is Tech's first Final Five since 2007. ... First-year coach Mel Pearson, who played high school hockey at Edina, was named the WCHA's coach of the year for reviving a struggling program. ... Michigan Tech beat Denver 7-2 and tied the Pioneers 2-2 on Oct. 28-29 in Houghton, Mich.
Pioneers at a glance: Denver beat Wisconsin 4-3 in overtime on Sunday in the third game of their best-of-three, first-round WCHA playoff series. Luke Salazar had the game-winner in that game and in the Pioneers' 3-1 victory the night before. ... After missing the first 25 games recovering from knee surgery, sophomore goalie Sam Brittain is 7-3, with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage. ... The leading goal-scorers are Drew Shore with 21 goals and 50 points and Wild prospect Jason Zucker with 20 goals and 44 points. ... Defenseman Joey LaLeggia has 37 points and was the WCHA's rookie of the year.
St. Cloud State (17-16-5, fifth) vs. North Dakota (22-12-3, fourth), 7:07 p.m.
Huskies at a glance: St. Cloud State swept Nebraska Omaha 4-0 and 3-1 in the first round of the playoffs. ... Junior goalie Mike Lee, who missed 20 games in midseason because of hip surgery, is playing with the precision of a concert pianist. He has a 1.68 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage in his past six games. ... Junior forward Ben Hanowski leads SCSU with 22 goals and 42 points. Former Little Falls teammate Jared Festler is next in scoring with 15 goals and 34 points. ... Since Feb. 3, the Huskies are 7-2-1. They are 2-2 versus North Dakota this season.
North Dakota at a glance: UND is making its 10th consecutive Final Five trip and hoping to win the Broadmoor Trophy for the third year in a row. ... UND swept Bemidji State in the first round of the WCHA playoffs. ... Coach Dave Hakstol has two proven postseason goalies. Junior Aaron Dell is 7-1 with a 1.07 goals-against average in March, and senior Brad Eidsness is 10-2 with a 1.76 GAA the past three years. Each played one game against the Beavers. ... The leading scorers are two 40-point forwards: Brock Nelson has 23 goals and Danny Kristos 17. ... UND is 18-5-2 since Nov. 25 despite an injury-plagued season.
FRIDAY'S SEMIFINALS
• Michigan Tech/Denver winner vs. Minnesota Duluth (24-8-6, second seed), 2:07 p.m.
• St. Cloud State/UND winner vs. Gophers (26-12-1, first), 7:07 p.m.
SATURDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP
Semifinal winners, 7:07 p.m.
ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ
