The Gophers men's hockey team has secured home-ice advantage for the first round of the Big Ten tournament, and will play host to a best-of-three Big Ten quarterfinal series March 8-10 at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
The Gophers are 11-10-3 in the Big Ten, in second place behind Ohio State. They finish the regular season with a home series Friday and Saturday vs. Arizona State.
Minnesota won't know its quarterfinal opponent until this weekend. The March 8 game will start at 6 p.m., with the March 9 game at 4 p.m., and the March 10 game at 4:30, if necessary.
MEGAN RYAN
Division III pairings
The 64-team Division III men's and women's basketball tournament fields were announced Monday.
MIAC men's tournament champion St. John's will play host to one of 16 regionals. On Friday, the Johnnies will face Upper Midwest champion Northwestern (St. Paul). The other first-round game at St. John's will feature WIAC champion Wisconsin-Oshkosh against Lake Forest.
MIAC regular-season champion St. Thomas will travel to Lincoln, Neb., to take on UW-La Crosse in a first-round game Friday. Host Nebraska Wesleyan will face Eureka in the other game.
The St. Thomas women also will host a regional, and will face Ripon on Friday. The other fgame at UST will feature Illinois Wesleyan and Wisconsin Lutheran.
Bethany Lutheran, which won the UMAC tournament for its first berth ever in the 64-team field, will travel to Waverly, Iowa, to play host Wartburg.
JOEL RIPPEL
