Saturday's regional semifinals
Rensselaer vs. North Dakota, 12:30 p.m., ESPN3.com
RPI (20-12-5) is coached by Seth Appert, formerly a goalie for Park of Cottage Grove and a Denver assistant. Senior forward Chase Polacek of Edina, a two-time Hobey Baker Award finalist, leads RPI in scoring (21 goals, 27 assists, 48 points). ... North Dakota (30-8-3) won the WCHA regular-season and tournament titles and is the No. 2 overall seed. The Sioux's seven seniors have 197 points, paced by Matt Frattin (35-22--57). UND has won nine games in a row and is 12-0-1 in its past 13.
Denver vs. Western Michigan, 4 p.m., ESPN3.com
Denver (24-11-5) is coming off a 3-2 loss to North Dakota in the WCHA Final Five title game. Top scorers are Drew Shore (23-22--45) and Jason Zucker (21-20--40). Freshman Sam Brittain has the most victories (20) among rookie goalies and the third best goals-against average (2.24). ...Western Michigan (19-12-10) was picked to finish 10th in the CCHA in the preseason. The Broncos finished fourth and lost to Miami (Ohio) in the CCHA title game. Senior center Max Campbell (16-13--29) is the team's scoring leader.
NORTHEAST REGIONAL
New Hampshire vs. Miami (Ohio), 3 p.m., ESPNU
New Hampshire (21-10-6) split its season-opening series at Miami. Senior forward Paul Thompson (28-24--52) was the Hockey East player of the year and is a Hobey Baker Award finalist. Top Wildcats defenseman is junior Blake Kessel, younger brother of ex-Gopher Phil. ... For Miami (23-9-6), seniors Andy Miele (24-47--71) and Carter Camper (19-37--56) are both Hobey Baker finalists, but sophomore Reilly Smith leads the team in goals with 28.
Merrimack vs. Notre Dame, 6:30 p.m., ESPN3.com
Merrimack (25-9-4) is a small Catholic school of 2,000 in North Andover, Mass., 30 miles from Manchester, N.H. Sophomore forward Stephane Da Costa (14-30--44) is the leading scorer; he is from Paris. The Warriors are 4-0 in overtime games, 12-3 in one-goal games. ... Notre Dame (23-13-5) is making its fourth NCAA trip in five years. T.J. Tynan (22-30--52) is first and Edina's Anders Lee (22-19--41) is tied for second among freshmen in scoring nationally. Notre Dame finished second in the CCHA.
Nolan Winter, J’Vonne Hadley and Will Tschetter are among the other Minnesota natives who could be impact players in this year's tournament.