GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team will open the NCAA tournament with a first-round game against Niagara on Friday.
 
     UND is the No. 2 seed in the West Regional at Grand Rapids, Mich. The winner of Friday’s game will face either Yale or Minnesota for a trip to the Frozen Four at Pittsburgh in mid-April.
 
     It is UND’s 11th straight appearance in the NCAA playoffs – the longest active streak in the nation. UND is seeking an eighth national title.

Reported previously…

From the WCHA Final Five, St. Paul, Mn:  Saturday March 23, 2013 Red Baron Final Five Championship – The University of Wisconsin Badgers skated past the Colorado College Tigers Saturday evening at the Xcel Energy Center,  3-2, to claim the WCHA tournament championship title.

Next season,  Wisconsin & Minnesota leave the WCHA to join the Big Ten Hockey Conference.    This was the last WCHA appearance for Colorado College, St Cloud State,  and UND.

Friday Semi-Final:   The Wisconsin Badgers defeated St Cloud State 4-1 and Colorado College again defied conventional wisdom and took down the Minnesota Gophers,  2-0.   The Gopher fans could not believe what they saw.

Thursday Action:  Without question, the crowd was mostly a sea of green.  The band played, the fans cheered.  Traditional old-school gear was everywhere.  Through 3 periods of play, they fought to a 3-3 tie.tion:  WCHA hockey fans – 17,038 –  packed the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St.Paul to watch Colorado College battle UND in the Thursday evening contest.   The winner would move on the meet the Gophers.

Overtime had the fans on their feet.  Then the unthinkable, a Tiger slid a puck past UND goaltender.    Silence followed by groans.  Then the long wait as the play was reviewed.   say it ain’t so…   The stunned fans quietly left the Xcel Center.   A young UND fan was seen sobbing in his dad’s arms.     Not the way they wanted to leave the WCHA,.

In earlier Thursday play, the Wisconsin Badgers throttled the MSU Mavericks  7-2,  to advance to meet St. Cloud State Friday afternoon.

Next season will see Minnesota and Wisconsin moving to the new Big 10 Hockey League, while UND and a host of other former WCHA teams move to the new super-conference, including:   Colorado College, the University of Denver, Miami University, the University of Minnesota Duluth, the University of Nebraska Omaha,  the University of North Dakota, St Cloud State, and Western Michigan University, to be called the NCHC.