NCHC Frozen Faceoff Preview
Conference semi-finals, finals (Xcel Energy Center)
Friday semifinals: No. 4 seed Nebraska Omaha vs. No. 1 seed North Dakota, 4 p.m. No. 3 St. Cloud State vs. No. 2 Denver, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday's final: Semi-final winners, 7:30 p.m.
tv set: All games on CBS Sports Network
Randy Johnson Preview:
Summary of the first semi-final: Regular season champion North Dakota State (26-10-2) defeated Miami (Ohio) in the quarterfinals, taking nine of the 12 regular season points to the fighting Nebraska-Omaha School (22). Aiming for revenge against the team (wins, 11 losses, 4 draws). Hawks. Hobey Baker Award Top 10 finalist Jackson Blake (21 goals, 36 assists, 57 points) ranks second nationally in scoring for UND. Goalkeeper Ludwig Persson has started 33 of the 38 games, but his status was unclear as of midweek. …The Mavericks finished the regular season undefeated in seven games and defeated the University of Colorado in three games in the quarterfinals. Brothers Tanner (11-17-28) and Griffin Lutke (4-20-24) are two of five Mavericks with at least 20 points.
Summary of the second semi-final: Denver (26-9-3) is 7-1-1 since Feb. 1, including defeating Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State (17-15-5) in the quarterfinals. It has become. The Pioneers average the highest per game in the nation, led by Hobey Baker Top 10 finalist Jack Devine (27-27-54) and defenseman Zeev Bouium (9-35-44). He has a 4.87 goals against average. … St. Cloud State lost its final four games of the regular season before defeating Western Michigan in three games in the quarterfinals. Forward Viti Mietinen (20-15-35) led the Huskies in scoring, while Dylan Anhorn (6-26-32) provided points from the blue line.
NCAA tournament predictions: North Dakota State, ranked No. 3 in pairwise ratings, and Denver State, ranked No. 4, have qualified for the NCAA Tournament and will look to secure the No. 1 seed. Nebraska-Omaha qualified safely and will host the Sioux Falls Regional Tournament. St. Cloud State needs to beat Denver to have a chance at an NCAA bid. The tournament winner automatically receives his NCAA bid.
