UMD Men's Hockey Earns No. 1 Seed in NCAA West Regional Tournament

Let’s dance! For the fourth consecutive season, the 25-6-7 University of Minnesota Duluth men’s hockey team dances into the National Collegiate Athletic Association regional tournament.

Heading to Fargo, North Dakota as a No. 1 seed, the Bulldogs top off a West Region that features fourth seeded Ohio State who they will meet this Friday. The early game of the region features a familiar foe in the University of North Dakota. The third seeded Fighting Hawks will take on the second seeded Boston University.

The Bulldogs face an Ohio State team that went 21-11-6 in the regular season with notable wins coming against Denver University, Penn State and the University of Minnesota.

The Buckeyes have a 1-2-1 record in neutral site games while UMD boasts an 4-0 record. A kay to the game for the Bulldogs will be to stay out of the penalty box. Ohio State flaunts the nation’s best power play percentage capitalizing on 32% of its man advantages.

One scenario that is on most people’s minds in this west regional is the possibility for UMD and UND to meet for the sixth time this season if both teams are victorious in their first games. The Bulldogs made team history this year with their fourth straight victory over the Fighting Hawks following a sweep of North Dakota at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks back in January.

UMD had never defeated the Fighting Hawks four consecutive times in a season before this year. The Bulldogs extended that winning streak to five after last weekend’s 4-3 NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship victory over the conference rival in a game that will not soon be forgotten.

UMD and Ohio State this Friday night with a 5 o’ clock p.m. puck drop. The Bulldogs look to advance to their fourth consecutive regional championship game.