Friday-Saturday • Denny Sanford Premier Center, Sioux Falls
FRIDAY'S SEMIFINALS
3 p.m.: No. 4 seed Air Force vs. No. 1 St. Cloud State, ESPNU
Falcons at a glance: Air Force (22-14-5) won the Atlantic Hockey tournament to earn an NCAA bid for the seventh time in the past 12 years. The Falcons are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games and have allowed two or fewer goals in seven of those games. Air Force has five players with 20 or more points, led by F Erik Baskin's 27 (16 goals, 11 assists). G Billy Christopoulos is 22-14-5 with a 2.09 goals-against average and .920 save percentage.
Huskies at a glance: St. Cloud State (25-8-6) is the No. 1 overall seed and is seeking its second Frozen Four berth in school history. F's Robby Jackson (15-27—42) and Mikey Eyssimont (17-22—39) pace a Huskies attack that also gets help from D Jimmy Schuldt (10-28—38). G David Hrenak (14-5-2, 2.12, .919) was a Mike Richter Award semifinalist.
6:30 p.m.: No. 3 Minnesota Duluth vs. No. 2 Minnesota State Mankato, ESPN3 stream
Bulldogs at a glance: Minnesota Duluth (21-16-3) was the last at-large team to make it in the NCAA field. The Bulldogs, last year's national runner-up, split two games with MSU Mankato this season, winning 3-1 at home on Nov. 25 but losing 1-0 in Mankato on Jan. 23. Freshman D Scott Perunovich (11-24—35) leads the Bulldogs in scoring. G Hunter Shepard, a Richter semifinalist, is 21-14-1 with a 1.98 GAA and .924 save percentage.
Mavericks at a glance: MSU Mankato (29-9-1) won the WCHA regular-season championship and is making its fourth NCAA trip in the past six seasons. C.J. Suess leads the Mavericks with 43 points (22 goals, 21 assists), and fellow senior F Zeb Knutson, a Sioux Falls native, has 42 (14 goals, 28 assists). G Connor LaCouvee is 23-5-1 with a 1.76 GAA and .196 save percentage.
SATURDAY'S CHAMPIONSHIP
Semifinal winners, 8 p.m., ESPN2
