UMD Draws Gophers

NSO – NEWS RELEASE

For the fourth time in seven seasons, the University of Minnesota Duluth has secured a berth in the NCAA Tournament and this Friday (March 27) the Bulldogs will pay a visit to the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, N.H., where they’ll renew their intrastate rivalry with the University of Minnesota.

No. 2-seed UMD (20-15-3 overall) and the No. 3 Gophers (23-12-3) will meet in one Northeast Region semifinal at 5:30 p.m. (ET) with No. 1 Boston University (25-7-5) and No. 4 Yale University (18-9-5) colliding at 2 p.m. The  championship game is set for Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and the entire Northeast Regional will be carried on live on ESPNU/Watch ESPN. Minnesota (Big Ten) and Boston University (Hockey East) captured both the regular season and playoff titles in their respective conferences this past season.

The Bulldogs have faced off against Minnesota more times than any other opponent in its 71-year history — 227 — but only once in the NCAA Tournament. That came on March 28, 2004 when UMD skated off with a 3-1 victory over the two-time defending national champions in the Midwest Regional championship in Grand Rapids, Minn. The Bulldogs went 3-1-0 against Minnesota in 2014-15, posting three straight victories (3-0 in Minneapolis on Nov. 14, 2-1 at AMSOIL Arena on Nov. 15 and 2-1 at the North Star College Cup in St. Paul on Jan. 24) after dropping a 4-3 decision in the season-opening Ice Breaker Tournament in South Bend, Ind., on Oct. 10.

The NCAA Tournament berth is the ninth ever for UMD and marks the first time any Bulldog club has made four national appearances in a seven-year stretch.  UMD qualified for NCAA postseason play in 2012-13 (advanced to the quarterfinal round), 2010-11 (captured the school’s first NCAA championship), 2008-09 (quarterfinal round) and 2003-04 (Frozen Four semifinals) under current head coach Scott Sandelin as well as in 1992-93 (quarterfinal round), 1984-85 (Frozen Four third place), 1983-84 (Frozen Four runnerup) and 1982-83 (quarterfinal round). UMD has compiled a 14-9-0 lifetime record in the NCAA Tournament and an 8-3-0 mark since Sandelin’s arrival.

The 2015 NCAA Frozen Four is set for April 9 and 11 in Boston, Mass. When UMD defeated Minnesota in the lone NCAA postseason meeting ever between the two clubs (Midwest Region title game in 2004) the Bulldogs advanced to the Frozen Four in Boston — the last time that city hosted the national event.