Minnesota State Poised for Third Appearance in NCAA Division I Men's Hockey Tournament After Claiming 2014 WCHA Final Five Championship; Face #5 River Hawks in First Round of Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass., Saturday
    •    Mavericks Enter NCAA Post-Season Riding 13-Game Unbeaten Streak
    •    Huggins Earns WCHA Final Five Tourney MVP Honors; Blueger, Stern & Gervais Garner Final Five All-Tourney Recognition

TELEVISION:
Live on ESPN 3 (Watch Live)
Talent: Joe Davis (Play-by-Play); Billy Jaffe (Analyst)

Radio: KTOE AM 1420 (Listen live online)
Talent: Mike Sullivan (Play-by-Play); Paul Allan (Analyst)

Off The Hop:  11th-rated Minnesota State (26-13-1 overall) faces #5 UMass Lowell (25-19-4) Saturday at the Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass. The Mavericks and the River Hawks face-off at 6:30 p.m. CST at DCU Center (14,800).

About the Regional:   Hosted by Holy Cross, the NCAA Division Northeast Region is scheduled for March 29-30 at DCU Center (14,800) in Worcester.  Besides Minnesota State and UMass Lowell, the other first round game features #2 Boston College (26-7-4) vs. #17 Denver (20-15-6).  The Eagles and Pioneers play at 3:00 p.m. CST Saturday and the two first-round winners will vie for the regional championship Sunday at 4:00 p.m.

Winners of the four regional championships will advance to the NCAA Men's Hockey Frozen Four, which is slated for April 10 and 12 in Philadelphia, Pa. See page 15 for the complete NCAA tournament bracket.

MSU in NCAA Division I Tournament Action:    This is Minnesota's third visit to the DI postseason tournament. The Mavericks played in the 2003 East Regional in Providence , R.I., (5-2 loss to Cornell) and the 2013 Midwest Regional in Toledo, Ohio (4-0 loss to Miami).

The Mavericks, who played as members of Division II and Division three from 1969-96 before reaffiliating to Division I, have played in a total of 13 NCAA postseason men's hockey tournaments (twice as members of Division I). MSU won a NCAA Division II in 1979-80.

MSU Most Recently:  Unbeaten in its last 13 games, Minnesota State (26-13-1) downed Bowling Green last Friday to advance to the WCHA Final Five championship game where the Mavericks posted a 4-1 victory over Ferris State.

The win for the Mavericks marks the first WCHA Final Five championship for the program and gives Minnesota State the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament.

About the Series With UMass Lowell:  Saturday's game vs UML will mark the eighth meeting between the two schools. The River Hawks own a 4-3-0 advantage in the all-time series.

1977-78    UML 6, MSU 4 (DII Championship game)
1979-80    MSU 8, UML 1 (NCAA DII Semis)
1980-81    UML 8, MSU 7 ot (NCAA DII Semis)
2010-11    MSU 8, @ UML 3 (nonconference)
2010-11    MSU 3, @ UML 2 (nonconference)
2011-12    UML 4, @ MSU 1 (nonconference)
2011-12    UML 4, @ MSU 1 (nonconference)

The River Hawks Report:  UMass Lowell captured its second consecutive Hockey East title with a pair of 4-0 wins over Notre Dame and New Hampshire last weekend and enter the Northeast Regional having gone 10-3-2 in its last 15 games. Senior forward Joseph Pendenza has 13-16--29 in 39 games as UML's top scorer, while sophomore forward Adam Chapie has contributed 12-11--23. Sophomore Connor Hellebuyck (17-8-2, 1.73, .943), a finalist for the Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in the nation this year, has started 27 of his team's 39 games. Head coach Norm Bazin (UMass Lowell '94)  is in his third season behind the UML bench and enters the weekend with a 77-34-7 coaching record with the River Hawks.

Please click HERE for the complete 14-page release as a pdf.