FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FIELD IS SET FOR 2018 WCHA POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT Three-week, eight-team WCHA Playoffs and WCHA Championship to be held on campus March 2-17

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Feb. 25, 2018 – It’s time once again for on-campus, playoff hockey! The participants and seeds have been set for the 2018 men’s Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Postseason Tournament, which begins March 2-4 with the top four teams hosting a best-of-three, quarterfinal round series of the WCHA Playoffs. From there, the two highest remaining seeds will host a best-of-three WCHA Playoffs semifinal series the weekend of March 9-11. The tournament concludes with the single-game, 2018 WCHA Championship, held at the home venue of the top remaining seed Saturday, March 17.

The winner of the 2018 WCHA Postseason Tournament receives the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship.

Pairings, locations and start times for the Friday-Sunday, March 2-4 best-of-three, quarterfinal round of the 2018 WCHA Playoffs (* denotes if necessary):

No. 8 Alaska at No. 1 Minnesota State (Verizon Center; Mankato, Minn.) • Game 1 (Friday, March 2): 7:07 p.m. CT • Game 2 (Saturday, March 3): 7:07 p.m. CT • *Game 3 (Sunday, March 4): 7:07 p.m. CT

No. 7 Alabama Huntsville at No. 2 Northern (; Marquette, Mich.) • Game 1 (Friday, March 2): 7:07 p.m. ET • Game 2 (Saturday, March 3): 7:07 p.m. ET • *Game 3 (Sunday, March 4): 7:07 p.m. ET

No. 6 Ferris State at No. 3 Bowling Green (; Bowling Green, Ohio) • Game 1 (Friday, March 2): 8:07 p.m. ET • Game 2 (Saturday, March 3): 7:07 p.m. ET • *Game 3 (Sunday, March 4): 7:07 p.m. ET

No. 5 Michigan Tech at No. 4 Bemidji State (; Bemidji, Minn.) • Game 1 (Friday, March 2): 7:07 p.m. CT • Game 2 (Saturday, March 3): 7:07 p.m. CT • *Game 3 (Sunday, March 4): 5:07 p.m. CT

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Nationally fourth-ranked Minnesota State (26-7-1 overall / 22-5-1-0 WCHA, 67 points), which won the MacNaughton Cup as 2017-18 WCHA regular season champions and leads the country with 26 wins overall, will be the tournament’s top seed (MSU, in fact, has six-straight 20-win seasons for the first time in program history). The Mavericks will host No. 8 seed Alaska (11-20-3 / 9-17-2-1, 30 pts.). The Nanooks handed Minnesota State their last loss, 5-0 in Fairbanks on Jan. 12. The Mavericks won the series finale, 5-1, the next night and finished the regular season unbeaten in their final 11 games (10-0-1).

Under first-year head coach , No. 2 seed Northern Michigan is enjoying its first 20-win season since 2009-10 and, at 21-12-3 overall, have its most victories since the 2005-06 campaign (22-16- 2). The Wildcats (19-7-2-2, 61 points WCHA) will host No. 6 seed Alabama Huntsville (11-21-2 / 10-16-2- 1, 33 pts.), which is back in the WCHA postseason for the first time since 2013-14 on the strength of its most wins since the 2009-10 season. The Chargers and NMU each won twice during their four-game regular season series, with splits Dec. 1-2 in Marquette and Feb. 3-4 in Huntsville.

Bowling Green, which has won a postseason series for an NCAA-best seven-straight seasons and advanced to the 2017 WCHA Championship, returns as the tournament’s No. 3 seed. The Falcons (20- 10-6 / 17-6-5-2 WCHA, 58 points), amid their fourth-consecutive 20-win season, will face No. 6 seed Ferris State (14-21-1 / 11-16-1-0, 34 pts), which swept Lake Superior State to advance into the postseason. The series will be a rematch of a 2017 quarterfinal-round match-up, which BGSU swept. The Falcons also swept the lone 2017-18 regular season series, winning both games Jan. 6-7 in Big Rapids.

Bemidji State (16-12-8 / 13-9-6-4 WCHA, 49 pts) is the No. 4 seed and will host fifth-seeded Michigan Tech (17-15-5 / 12-11-5-2, 43 pts.) in a quarterfinal-round matchup of the 2017 MacNaughton Cup and winners. The teams met once in the regular season, splitting Feb. 9-10 in Houghton.

The 2018 WCHA Postseason Tournament is brought to you in part by supporting sponsors Anderson’s Pure Maple Syrup, SPIRE Credit Union and UNRL.

About the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) The Western Collegiate Hockey Association, among the most historic, tradition-rich and successful conferences in all of collegiate athletics, will proudly mark its 66th season of men’s competition in 2017- 18. The 10-team Division 1 conference consists of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (Chargers), the University of Alaska Anchorage (Seawolves), the University of Alaska (Nanooks), (Beavers), Bowling Green State University (Falcons), (Bulldogs), Lake Superior State University (Lakers), Michigan Technological University (Huskies), Minnesota State University (Mavericks) and Northern Michigan University (Wildcats). For more information, visit wcha.com.

MEDIA CONTACT MORE INFORMATION Matt Hodson Website: wcha.com Associate Commissioner, Marketing & Communications Twitter: @wcha_mhockey E: [email protected] Facebook: facebook.com/wchahockey O: 952.681.7668 Instagram: @wcha_mhockey M: 612.801.2808 WCHA.tv: portal.stretchinternet.com/wcha – WCHA –

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