Location: Grand Forks, N.D.
Record: 25-12-3 overall (16-11-1 WCHA, fourth)
Qualified: WCHA tournament champions
NCAA Championships: Seven (1959, 1963, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1997, 2000)
NCAA Appearance: 27th (most recent, 2011)
Head Coach: Dave Hakstol
Key Players: Brock Nelson, F, So. (40 GP, 27-17—44); Danny Kristo, F, Jr. (40 GP, 18-25—43); Corban Knight, F, Jr. (37 GP, 15-24—39); Aaron Dell, G, Jr. (17-9-2, 2.64, .901)

What You Need to Know: After literally decades of controversy and distraction about the Fighting Sioux nickname, it will be gone this weekend. In accordance with NCAA rules, North Dakota will wear sweaters without the logo and nickname on them, despite the fact that by North Dakota state law, it is still officially their athletic nickname.

How They'll Advance: In sharp contrast to the North Dakota teams that won with names like Parise, Toews, and Oshie moving the puck, the shorter bench and lack of offensive depth has led to a puck possession game that limits opponents’ opportunities. That said, they did score 14 goals in three games last weekend in St. Paul.

What Might Trip Them Up: The lack of depth means the Sioux often rely too heavily on the top line of Corban Knight, Danny Kristo, and Brock Nelson to move pucks and generate chances down low. If an opponent can frustrate that trio and force hulking defensemen like Ben Blood and Derek Forbort into taking penalties (as Minnesota did early last weekend) you’ve effectively removed the heart of their offense and their defense.

Most Recent North Dakota Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
29-Brock Nelson	10-Corban Knight	7-Danny Kristo	Injuries have decimated North Dakota, which moved Gleason from defense and hasn't dressed a full lineup in a month.
16-Mark MacMillan	27-Carter Rowney	15-Michael Parks
28-Stephane Pattyn	9-Mario Lamoureux	20-Joe Gleason
8-Dan Senkbeil	13-Connor Gaarder
Defense	Defense	Goalies
4-Derek Forbort	24-Ben Blood	32-Aaron Dell	Sophomores Forbort and Simpson have shown marked improvement in the second half.
2-Andrew MacWilliam	5-Nick Mattson	31-Brad Eidsness
18-Dillon Simpson	22-Andrew Panzarella	35-Tate Maris

NO. 2 SEED MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS

Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Record: 26-13-1 (20-8-0 WCHA, first)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: Five (1974, 1976, 1979, 2002, 2003)
NCAA Appearance: 33rd (most recent, 2008)
Head Coach: Don Lucia
Key Players: Erik Haula, F, So. (40 GP, 19-27—46); Nick Bjugstad, F, So. (37 GP, 24-16—40); Nate Schmidt, D, So. (40 GP, 3-35—38); Kent Patterson, G, Sr. (26-13-1, 2.22, .910)

What You Need to Know: As you may have learned in this Sporcle quiz we created last week, 29 of the 58-ish Division I teams have qualified for the NCAA Tournament since the Golden Gophers’ last appearance in 2008.

How They’ll Advance: If you saw Friday’s WCHA semifinal against North Dakota, you know the Gophers thrive on momentum; they’re at their absolute best when guys like Haula and Kyle Rau are flying up and down the ice, Bjugstad is dangling, Zach Budish is crashing the net, the band is blaring, and the crowd is roaring. Let them control the flow of the game and you’re toast.

What Might Trip Them Up: Watch Minnesota in games in which it doesn’t control the tempo and has a hard time moving the puck; it’s like they’ve never played together before. The Golden Gophers are creative, but not particularly adept at making something out of nothing—the garbage goal off a rebound, for example. And as you may have seen on Friday, once you get the Gophers on their collective heels, they really struggle to bounce back. Just like that Range Finder game on “The Price is Right”, once you hit the stop button, it takes a while for the machine to restart.

Location: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Record: 21-13-6 overall (14-10-4-4 CCHA, tied for second)
Qualified: CCHA tournament champions
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: Fifth (most recent, 2011)
Head Coach: Andy Murray
Key Players: Chase Balisy, F, So. (40 GP, 13-24—37); Shane Berschbach, F, So. (36 GP, 10-22—32); Matt Tennyson, D, Jr. (40 GP, 11-13—23); Frank Slubowski, G, Fr. (17-10-4, 2.03, .910)

What You Need to Know: The Broncos completed their ascension from CCHA also-ran to the top of the heap with their 3-2 victory over Michigan in the CCHA championship game Saturday. It was the first playoff championship for Western Michigan since 1986.

How They'll Advance: Western Michigan doesn’t boast a dynamic offense, but its physicality and defensive responsibility can stifle opponents’ creativity and set the tone for the game. With freshman Frank Slubowski playing like a wily veteran in net and their top playmakers—Chase Balisy and Dane Walters—playing well in the CCHA tournament, they’ve got the pieces at both ends to give top teams fits.

What Might Trip Them Up: The Broncos are coming off an extreme high in winning the CCHA tournament for the first time in more than 25 years, and they need to make sure they move past that quickly if they want to make progress in the national tournament. Excitement and optimism from a conference title is great and can help build momentum; a measure of content could spell doom for a team that, at its best, could be a real player in this tournament.

Most Recent Western Michigan Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
21-Trevor Elias	10-J.J. Crew	14-Ian Slater	12 different players have scored at least one power-play goal for the Broncos this year.
24-Shane Berschbach	16-Chase Balisy	23-Dane Walters
22-Derek Roehl	17-Justin Kovacs	19-Kyle O'Kane
29-Will Kessel	2-Mike Leone	26-Greg Squires
Defense	Defense	Goalies
5-Dan DeKeyser	28-Luke Witkowski	1-Frank Slubowski	This might be the best defense corps in the nation, led by DeKeyser.
4-Garrett Haar	7-Matt Tennyson	33-Nick Pisellini
15-Jordan Oesterle	11-Dennis Brown	35-Kris Moore