The brackets are set for the NCAA Tournament field, with the University of Minnesota ranked No. 1 overall.
The Gophers will host Robert Morris, St. Cloud State and Notre Dame next weekend in the West Regional at Xcel Energy Center. The first game is Saturday at 4:30 p.m. with the No. 1 Gophers against No. 16 Robert Morris. St. Cloud State and Notre Dame are scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday.
The Gophers, who haven’t won a national championship since 2003, have never faced Robert Morris, which upset its way through the Atlantic Hockey Association conference championship to advance, the Pioneer Press says.
“We’ve got great respect for them and how they won their way into the tournament with a conference championship,” Gophers coach Don Lucia told ESPNU on Sunday morning, the Pioneer Press says. “I think we’re excited to be there. We’ve played great all season long. We’re as healthy as we’ve been this season and we can’t wait to get started this weekend.”
The winners of each game will play Sunday evening for a chance to go to the 2014 NCAA Frozen Four, which is being held April 10-12 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
As for other Midwest programs: Wisconsin is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional in Cincinnati, Ohio and will play North Dakota in the first round. The Badgers won the inaugural Big Ten tournament championship on Saturday. Minnesota State Mankato will play Massachusetts Lowell in the Northeast Regional in Worcester, Massachusetts.
