In just a few hours, I'll be headed back to St. Cloud for the WCHA playoff series between Minnesota State and St. Cloud State. The Mavericks will put the same lineup on the ice that they put out in their two games against the Huskies last weekend.
The eighth-seeded Mavericks are hoping to advance to the Final Five for the first time since 2003. Every other WCHA team has played in the event since MSU's last appearance. But given last week's win and tie over third-seeded St. Cloud and a 7-1-1 record in their last nine games at the National Hockey Center, the Mavericks are going into the weekend with a lot of confidence. Read more about the series here.
Also, the Winona Daily News took some time with Mavericks freshman Eriah Hayes.
The St. Cloud Times' coverage includes a story on the Mavs' Jerad Stewart, who knows the Huskies arena well. Also, the Huskies have a few players who will be considered for WCHA postseason awards, including Ryan Lasch, who is closing in on the school's all-time scoring record.
Here's a look at the other first-round matchups:
10-Michigan Tech at 1-Denver: The No. 1-ranked Pioneers are not expecting an easy time against the Huskies, who played DU tough just three weeks ago. Tech hung with North Dakota last weekend, too, before getting swept.
9-Alaska-Anchorage at 2-Wisconsin: Going into the playoffs, the Badgers are led in scoring by senior winger Michael Davies, who is particular about his routine. Meanwhile, the Seawolves hope their goaltending heats up this weekend.
7-Minnesota at 4-North Dakota: The Gophers realize that they must win on the road this weekend in order to have a shot at the NCAA tournament. The Sioux know that won't be easy, as Minnesota has been knocked out of the first round of the WCHA tournament just once in the last 32 years. However, the Gophers haven't won in Grand Forks since 2007 and they've never won a playoff game there.
6-Colorado College at 5-Minnesota Duluth: The Bulldogs are playing their first home playoff games since 2004 (when they beat MSU in three games). Making them more special is the fact that they will be the final playoff games at the DECC. This is a rematch of last year's first-round series when Duluth went to Colorado and upset the Tigers. The Colorado Springs Gazette takes a look at speedy senior Bill Sweatt.
Here are some St. Cloud Times' capsules on the playoffs. Here are previews by INCH (plus its all-conference picks), USCHO and College Hockey News (which is done by the This is the WCHA blog).
Don't forget to come back to PucKato tonight (and all weekend) for the live blog from the MSU-SCSU game.
Finally, don't forget that the Gustavus Adolphus men's and women's hockey teams are playing in the NCAA quarterfinals on Saturday. The women's team will host Wisconsin-River Falls at 2 p.m. on Saturday at the Don Roberts Ice Rink. The winner will host the D-III Frozen Four next week. The men's team, which defeated St. Thomas on Wednesday, will go to St. Norbert (Wis.) with hopes of making its second straight trip to the national semifinals in Lake Placid, N.Y.
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