The Western Michigan and Michigan men’s hockey teams both learned today that they will both be playing in this year’s NCAA Men’s Hockey Division I Championships.
Michigan will play Nebraska-Omaha on Friday at 5:30PM ET from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis Missouri. Western Michigan will open up on Saturday at 5PM ET against Denver from the Resch Center in Green Bay Wisconsin. Both of these games will be syndicated on ESPN so make sure you check your local listings.
During the CCHA regular season Michigan came out on top in the conference 20-7-1 while overall they were 26-10-4. Western Michigan finished fourth in the CCHA with a 10-9-9 conference record and a 19-12-10 overall record.
In the CCHA Tournament Western Michigan pretty much locked up a Tournament bid after their 5-2 victory over Michigan in the semifinals Friday. Western Michigan however went on to lose to Miami (OH) 5-2 in the CCHA Championship Game Saturday while Michigan beat Notre Dame in the third place game 4-2.
This is Western Michigan’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1996.
“It feels good,” WMU coach Jeff Blashill said as players exited University Roadhouse after a team gathering to watch the selection show. “I think it’s a great moment for our program. It’s a great moment for the guys who have put in so much work throughout a great period of time to put themselves in this position as one of 16 teams playing to win four games to have a chance to win a championship.
“I’m extremely excited for our guys and extremely excited for Western Michigan that we’re in this position.”
Source: Kalamazoo Gazette, CCHA.com, NCAA.com
