FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MINNESOTA STATE AND BOWLING GREEN TO REPRESENT WCHA IN 2019 NCAA TOURNAMENT Mavericks earn No. 1 seed in East and will face No. 4 Providence; Falcons seeded fourth in the Midwest and will square off with No. 1 seed Minnesota Duluth

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – March 24, 2019 – The Western Collegiate Hockey Association will be represented by regular season and postseason champion Minnesota State and postseason runner-up Bowling Green in the 2019 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship.

Minnesota State (32-7-2 overall/22-5-1-1 WCHA), which leads the nation in wins with 32 victories this season and clinched the WCHA postseason title with a thrilling 3-2 overtime win over Bowling Green on Saturday night, is the tournament’s No. 3 overall seed and the top seed in the East Regional, which will be played March 30-31 at the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, R.I. The Mavericks will face No. 4 regional seed Providence at noon CT on Saturday, March 30. The MSU-Providence game will air live on ESPNews. Joining Mavericks and Friars in the East Regional are No. 2 seed Northeastern and No. 3 seed Cornell.

Bowling Green (25-10-5 overall/16-8-4-3 WCHA) advances to the NCAA Championship for the first time in 29 years as the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Regional at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pa., which will also take place March 30-31. The Falcons are seeded fourth in the Midwest and will meet No. 2 overall seed and defending national champion Minnesota Duluth at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday afternoon, March 30. The BGSU- UMD game will air live on ESPNU. The winner of that matchup will meet the winner of the game between No. 2 seed Quinnipiac and No. 3 seed Arizona State in Sunday’s regional final.

“On behalf of the WCHA, I want to applaud Minnesota State and Bowling Green for advancing to the 2019 NCAA tournament,” WCHA President and Men’s League Commissioner Bill Robertson said. “Minnesota State has won more games than any team in the country, while Bowling Green has been at its best in the postseason this season. Our congratulations to Mike Hastings, Chris Bergeron and the student-athletes, staff, administrators and fans of both schools. We all look forward to them carrying the WCHA banner in the NCAA Championship.”

Minnesota State is making its sixth NCAA tournament appearance, including its fifth in seven seasons under 2018-19 WCHA Coach of the Year Mike Hastings. In addition to leading the country in wins, the Mavericks lead the nation in goals against average (1.71), goal margin (+74) and power play goals scored (44). MSU also ranks third in goals scored (144) and goals against (70) entering NCAA play.

Bowling Green is making its sixth NCAA appearance but its first since 1990. The Falcons finished third in the WCHA standings during the regular season but advanced to the WCHA Championship Game with sweeps of No. 7 Alaska and No. 2 Northern Michigan, both of which included double-overtime victories. The championship game appearance was the second in the last three seasons for BGSU. The Falcons’ NCAA history includes the 1983-84 national championship.

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The winners of the four regionals will advance to the NCAA Frozen Four, April 11-13, at the Key Bank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.

NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship West Regional, Scheels Arena, Fargo, N.D. (March 29-30) Friday, March 29 No. 1 St. Cloud State vs. No. 4 American International, 6:30 p.m. CT (ESPN3/WatchESPN) No. 2 Denver vs. No. 3 Ohio State 3 p.m. CT (ESPNU/WatchESPN)

Saturday, March 30 Semifinal winners, 8 p.m. CT (ESPNU/WatchESPN)

Northeast Regional, SNHU Arena, Manchester, N.H. (March 29-30) Friday, March 29 No. 1 Massachusetts vs. No. 4 Harvard, 2 p.m. CT (ESPN2/WatchESPN) No. 2 Clarkson vs. No. 3 Notre Dame, 5:30 p.m. CT (ESPNU/WatchESPN)

Saturday, March 30 Semifinal winners, 5:30 p.m. CT (ESPNU/WatchESPN)

East Regional, Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, R.I. (March 30-31) Saturday. March 30 No. 1 Minnesota State vs. No. 4 Providence, Noon CT (ESPNews/WatchESPN) No. 2 Northeastern vs. No. 3 Cornell, 3:30 p.m. CT (ESPNews/WatchESPN)

Sunday, March 31 Semifinal winners, 3 p.m. CT (ESPN2/WatchESPN)

Midwest Regional, PPL Center, Allentown, Pa. (March 30-31) Saturday, March 30 No. 1 Minnesota Duluth vs. No. 4 Bowling Green, 3 p.m. CT (ESPNU/WatchESPN) No. 2 Quinnipiac vs. No. 3 Arizona State, 6:30 p.m. CT (ESPN3/WatchESPN)

Sunday, March 31 Semifinal winners, 5:30 p.m. CT (ESPN2/WatchESPN)

Interactive Bracket: https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/icehockey-men/d1/2019 Printable Bracket: https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/print/icehockey-men/d1/2019

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About the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Men’s League The Western Collegiate Hockey Association, among the most historic, tradition-rich and successful conferences in all of collegiate athletics, will proudly mark its 67th season of men’s competition in 2018-19. 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 Fairbanks (Nanooks), Bemidji State University (Beavers), Bowling Green State University (Falcons), Ferris State University (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 Todd Bell Website: wcha.com Marketing & Communications Manager Twitter: @wcha_mhockey E: [email protected] Instagram: @wcha_mhockey O: 952.681.7668 Facebook:

M: 972.825.6686 facebook.com/wchamenshockey Watch the WCHA on

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