WEST REGIONAL AT XCEL ENERGY CENTER, ST. PAUL
Tickets: $94 for two-day package; $57 for single-session.
No. 4 seed Western Michigan (21-13-6) vs. No. 1 seed North Dakota (25-12-3), 12:30 p.m. Saturday
TV: FSN
Western Michigan at a glance: The Broncos won their second CCHA tournament by ending Ferris State's 14-game unbeaten streak in the quarterfinals, breaking Miami's eight-game winning streak in the semifinals and beating Michigan 3-2 in the title game. ... Freshman goalie Frank Slubowski was the tournament MVP. ... First-year coach Andy Murray was an NHL coach for 10 years for Los Angeles and St. Louis and a one-time assistant with the North Stars. ... The lone Minnesotan on the roster is junior forward Dane Walters, a St. Paul Como Park product who leads the team with 16 goals and is third with 29 points.
North Dakota at a glance: UND is on a seven-game winning streak, including victories over St. Cloud State, the Gophers and Denver last week for its third consecutive Final Five championship at Xcel. ... The team's top three scorers -- Brock Nelson (27-17-44), Danny Kristo (18-25-43) and Corban Knight (15-24-39) -- play on the same line and have nearly half of North Dakota's goals. ... Goalie Aaron Dell, the MVP of the Final Five, has a 2.64 goals-against average and a .901 save percentage. ... This is UND's 27th NCAA trip; the team lost in the Frozen Four semifinals last year.
No. 3 seed Boston University (23-14-1) vs. No. 2 seed Gophers (26-13-1), 4 p.m. Saturday
TV/radio: FSN-plus, 1500-AM
Boston University at a glance: This is BU's 32nd NCAA trip but the first since they won their fifth NCAA title in 2009. ... The Terriers are a blue-collar team with three 40-point forwards in Alex Chiasson (15-29-44), Matt Nieto (16-26-42) and Chris Connolly (9-31-40). Connolly, a Duluth native, is the team captain and older brother of Minnesota Duluth's Jack Connolly. ... Goalie Kieran Millan is a four-year starter. He was national rookie of the year when the Terriers were national champions. In the recent Hockey East quarterfinals, he set a tournament record with 68 saves in a two-overtime victory over New Hampshire. ... Jack Parker, a three-time national coach of the year, has a 876-455-113 career record.
Gophers at a glance: The WCHA regular-season champions had won seven of eight games before losing to North Dakota 6-3 in the Final Five semifinals. ... This is the Gophers' 33rd NCAA appearance but first since losing 5-2 to eventual national champion Boston College in 2008 ... Erik Haula (19-27-46) leads the Gophers in scoring and has nine points in the past four games. Fellow sophomore Nick Bjugstad has a team-high 24 goals. ... Senior Kent Patterson has a 2.22 goals-against average.
ROMAN AUGUSTOVIZ
resize text 
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters