Contact: Todd Bell, Marketing & Communications Manager /O: 952-681-7668 / C: 972-825-6686 / Email: [email protected] Web: wcha.com / Twitter: @wcha_mhockey / IG: @wcha_mhockey / FB: facebook.com/wchamenshockey / Watch on FloHockey.tv

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WCHA LANDS THREE IN NCAA MEN’S CHAMPIONSHIP Minnesota State, Lake Superior State and Bemidji State will play for the WCHA’s 38th national title

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – March 21, 2021 –The Men’s League of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association landed three teams in the 2021 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship – WCHA postseason champion Lake Superior State, MacNaughton Cup champion Minnesota State and Bemidji State. The trio are part of a 16-team field announced Sunday evening by the NCAA I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee. The Lakers, Mavericks and Beavers will be seeking the WCHA’s 38th NCAA title.

“I want to congratulate Lake Superior State, Minnesota State and Bemidji State on their NCAA bids,” WCHA Men’s League Commissioner Bill Robertson said. “As the only league to play its full regular season schedule this season, we felt we were worthy of qualifying three teams for the national championship. The players, coaches and support staffs of all three schools worked diligently to get to this point in the season and earn this opportunity. I’m excited for them and look forward to watching them battle for the WCHA’s 38th national championship.”

The 2021 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship will open with regionals at four sites – Fargo, N.D., Loveland, Colo., Albany, N.Y. and Bridgeport, Conn., March 26-28. The regional winners will advance to the 2021 Frozen Four, April 8-10, at PPG Paints Arena in .

Minnesota State won its fourth-consecutive WCHA regular season championship this season, becoming the first team in WCHA history to achieve that feat, en route to a 20-4-1 record (13-1-0 WCHA). The Mavericks earned the No. 2 seed in the West Regional in Loveland, Colo., and will face third-seeded Quinnipiac out of the ECAC in the first round on Saturday, March 27. Big Ten champion and No. 1 seed Minnesota will face No. 4 seed Omaha out of the NCHC in the other semifinal. This will be Minnesota State’s seventh NCAA Division I tournament appearance.

Lake Superior State captured its first WCHA postseason championship on Saturday with a 6-3 win over Northern Michigan to take home the Jeff Sauer Trophy. The Lakers are 19-6-3 (9-5-0 WCHA) on the season and enter the NCAA tournament on a 13-3-0 run over their last 16 games. Lake Superior State will play as the No. 3 seed in the East Regional in Bridgeport, Conn., and will meet second-seeded champion in the first round on Friday, March 26. This will be Lake Superior State’s 11th NCAA Division I tournament appearance and its first since 1996.

Bemidji State finished fourth in the WCHA this season and enters the postseason with a 15-9-3 (8-5-1 WCHA) mark on the season. The Beavers faced 17 ranked opponents in their 27 contests in 2020-21 (63 percent of their schedule) and finished 9-6-2 in those match-ups. Bemidji State will join the Lakers in Bridgeport as the No. 4 seed and will play No. 1 seed Wisconsin out of the Big Ten in Friday’s first round. This is the Beavers’ fifth NCAA Division I tournament appearance and their first as a WCHA member.

- MORE –

West Regional – Loveland, Colo. March 27 – First Round 3 p.m. CT- No. 2 Minnesota State (20-4-1) vs. No. 3 Quinnipiac (17-7-4) (ESPN3) 8 p.m. CT – No. 1 Minnesota (23-6-0) vs. No. 4 Omaha (14-10-1) (ESPNU)

March 28 – Regional Championship 7 p.m. CT – Semifinal winners (ESPN2)

East Regional Webster Bank Arena – Bridgeport, Conn. March 26 – First Round Noon CT – No. 1 Wisconsin (20-9-1) vs. No. 4 Bemidji State (15-9-3) (ESPN2) 5:30 p.m. CT – No. 2 Massachusetts (16-5-4) vs. No. 3 Lake Superior State (19-6-3) (ESPNU)

March 27 – Regional Championship 3 p.m. CT – Semifinal winners (ESPNU)

Midwest Regional Scheels Arena- Fargo, N.D. March 26 – First Round 3 p.m. CT – No. 2 Minnesota Duluth (14-10-2) vs. No. 3 Michigan (15-10-1) (ESPNU) 8:30 p.m. CT – No. 1 North Dakota (21-5-1) vs. No. 4 American International (15-3-0) (ESPN3)

March 27 – Regional Championship 5:30 p.m. CT – Semifinal winners (ESPNU)

Northeast Regional – Albany, N.Y. March 27 – First Round Noon CT – No. 1 College (17-5-1) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (14-13-2) (ESPNews) 5:30 p.m. CT – No. 2 St. Cloud State (17-10-0) vs. No. 3 (10-4-1) (ESPNews)

March 28 – Regional Championship 4:30 p.m. CT – Semifinal winners (ESPN2)

About the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Men’s League The Western Collegiate Hockey Association, among the most historic, tradition-rich and successful conferences in all of collegiate athletics, is marking its 69th season of men’s competition in 2020-21. The 10-team NCAA Division I conference consists of the 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.

- WCHA –