Western Collegiate Hockey Association

HEADLINES

Laura Fast of St. Cloud State, Andrew Thomas of Denver Named Recipients of WCHA Post-Graduate Scholarships for 2008-09

2007-08 WCHA WOMEN'S SEASON-IN-REVIEW

SCHULER TO JOIN BULLDOG WOMEN'S HOCKEY STAFF

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WCHA Champion Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota, Wisconsin Gear Up for National Tournament

Bulldogs, Golden Gophers, Badgers Look to Defend WCHA's Record Streak of Eight Consecutive National Championships, Seven Straight Frozen Four Crowns; UMD to Host Mercyhurst; Minnesota to Host Wisconsin; OSU's Bonhomme, UMD's Martin, UM's Marvin Among 10 finalists for Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award; OSU's Bonhomme Heads Up 2008 WCHA Award Winners as Both Player of Year, Defensive Player of Year

March 11, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

MADISON, Wis. - Three Western Collegiate Hockey Association-member teams - Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota and Wisconsin - who together have captured all eight previous women's national championships and seven consecutive NCAA Women's Frozen Four titles, are gearing up this week for their upcoming national tournament games.

The No. 3-ranked UMD Bulldogs, the WCHA's regular season and 2008 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF (playoff) champion, was awarded the second seed and will host Mercyhurst in the quarterfinals of the women's National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament on Saturday, March 15.

The Bulldogs are one of three WCHA teams to reach the eight-team NCAA field. League runner-up Minnesota and two-time defending national champion Wisconsin also were selected by the NCAA Ice Hockey Committee Sunday night.

Minnesota Duluth (31-4-1) will play No. 7-ranked Mercyhurst (26-7-3), a member of College Hockey America, at 2:00 pm CT at the DECC (Duluth Entertainment & Convention Center). The No. 4/5-ranked Golden Gophers (27-6-4) will host the No. 4/5-ranked Badgers (27-8-3) on Saturday, March 15, at 7:00 pm CT at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis. The winners of those two games advance to NCAA Women's Frozen Four, to be held at the DECC in Duluth March 20-22.

Minnesota Duluth and Mercyhurst have a three-game history. In last year's NCAA quarterfinals, the Bulldogs beat the Lakers of Erie, Pa., 3-2 in overtime. This season, the Lakers gave the host Bulldogs their only tie Oct. 20, a 1-1 overtime draw, before UMD came back for a 3-1 victory Oct. 21.

In head-to-head competition between Minnesota and Wisconsin this season, the Badgers hold an edge at 3-1-1, and they have not lost at Ridder Arena this year. The Badgers won the first meeting of the season, a 3-0 decision at the Kohl Center in Madison on Nov. 2. The Gophers responded with a 3-2 victory on Nov. 3 in the second game of that series. Wisconsin took the third meeting, winning 5-1 at Ridder Arena on Feb. 23. On Feb. 24, the Gophers managed a 2-2 overtime tie in the final game of the regular season. In the most recent meeting, Wisconsin edged Minnesota in the 2008 WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF in Duluth last Saturday (March 8), winning a 4-3 decision to advance to the title game.

The Badgers fell, 5-4, in overtime to Minnesota Duluth in the championship game of the WCHA FINAL FACE-OFF at the DECC on Sunday (March 9). That earned UMD its fourth playoff championship and the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The last time the Bulldogs won both WCHA titles was five years ago, when they finished the season with the 2003 national title. In another similarity to the 2002-03 season, Sunday's victory was the team's 31st - tying the program record.

In the rest of the NCAA tournament bracket, ECAC Hockey-member Harvard (31-1-0) got the top seed and will host league rival Dartmouth (18-8-6), while No. 3 seed and Hockey East Association-member New Hampshire (32-3-0) hosts St. Lawrence (28-9-1) of ECAC Hockey. The winners of the single-elimination first round match-ups will advance to the NCAA Frozen Four, hosted by Minnesota Duluth on March 20 and 22 at the DECC.

In this week's (March 11) two women's Div. 1 national polls - the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll and the USCHO.com/CSTV Poll (final), the WCHA again had three of it's member teams ranked among the top 10. Minnesota Duluth is No. 3, Minnesota is No. 4 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and No. 5 in the USCHO.com/CSTV poll, and Wisconsin is No. 4 in the USCHO.com/CSTV poll and No. 5 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine ranking.

This Week in the WCHA

2008 NCAA Women's Div. 1 Championship Tournament
Quarterfinal Games for Saturday, March 15: St. Lawrence at New Hampshire, 1:00 pm ET
Dartmouth at Harvard, 2:00 pm ET
Mercyhurst at Minnesota Duluth, 2:00 pm CT (nc)
Wisconsin at Minnesota, 7:00 pm CT.

2008 NCAA Women's Frozen Four • DECC • Duluth, MN
Thursday, March 20: Semi-Final #1, TBA pm CT
Semi-Final #2, TBA pm CT
Saturday, March 22: National Championship Game, TBA pm CT