No. 12 Western Michigan at No. 5 Alaska

Western Michigan: 8-18-8 (4-17-7, 2 SOW CCHA)

Alaska: 16-9-9 (11-9-8, 4 SOW CCHA)

Season Series: Western Michigan won 1-0-1, Alaska won shootout

Broncos Fact: Western Michigan goaltender Riley Gill has 10 career playoff games under his belt and has made 35 or more saves in six of those 10 contests.

Nanooks Fact: Not counting a pair of shootout defeats, Alaska went undefeated in the month of February, finishing the regular season on a 6-0-2 run to give them the nation’s second longest unbeaten streak and to narrowly miss out on a first-round bye.

How Western Michigan Wins: The Broncos will have to hope for a little puck luck in Fairbanks, and they must bury the chances that they get, as well as continuing to benefit from strong play by Riley Gill.

How Alaska Wins: The nation’s least penalized team needs to continue stay out of the penalty box and will count on solid goaltending from Scott Greenham and some offensive spark from Andy Taranto and Dion Knelsen – both of whom have been point-per-game scorers in conference play.

No. 11 Bowling Green at No. 6 Nebraska-Omaha

Bowling Green: 5-23-6 (4-17-7, 2 SOW CCHA)

Nebraska-Omaha: 18-14-6 (13-12-3, 2 SOW CCHA)

Season Series: Nebraska-Omaha won 1-0-1, Bowling Green won shootout

Falcons Fact: Bowling Green has won just two playoff series since the 2000-01 season, and both times, the deciding game has been won in overtime.

Mavericks Fact: The Mavericks’ 20-10-3 historical record against Bowling Green yields a winning percentage that fits quite nicely into a three-game series. Even better, Nebraska-Omaha is 5-0 all-time in playoff meetings with the Falcons.

How Bowling Green Wins: The Falcons need to get off to stronger starts, while the defense has been consistent from period to period, Bowling Green scored only 12 first period goals in 28 conference games, while scoring 23 each in the second and third periods.

How Nebraska-Omaha Wins: The Mavericks need to continue to ride the offensive wave they have created recently, averaging 3.85 goals for per game in over their last 13 games after scoring less than two per game in their seven games prior to that. If Nebraska-Omaha can maintain or increase that goal-scoring pace, the Falcons will be hard-pressed to stay in games.

No. 10 Lake Superior at No. 7 Michigan

Lake Superior State: 15-16-5 (10-15-3, 2 SOW CCHA)

Michigan: 19-17-1 (14-13-1, 0 SOW CCHA)

Season Series: Michigan leads 2-0-0

Lakers Fact: Lake Superior State experienced a February to forget, playing three of four series on the road and losing seven of its final eight games, including its last five in a row.

Wolverines Fact: Michigan has won nine in a row against Lake Superior State and 13 of 15 since the turn of the century. One of the Wovlerines’ two losses came during a 2002 CCHA Tournament Series.

How Lake Superior State Wins: Lake Superior State needs to play strong defensively in the early stages of games to prevent Michigan from gaining momentum and to provide its forwards with the opportunity to bury the chances it gets.

How Michigan Wins: Michigan’s success in this series rides on two things: whether the forwards bury their chances, and how the team responds to the absence of Bryan Hogan for Friday and most likely the whole weekend. The team looked tentative at times in front of Shawn Hunwick, who performed admirably in almost two games of action against Notre Dame, but needs to be able to rely on his defense to help carry him.

No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 8 Ohio State

Notre Dame: 13-15-8 (9-12-7, 2 SOW CCHA)

Ohio State: 12-16-6 (10-12-6, 4 SOW CCHA)

Season Series: Notre Dame leads 1-0-1, Ohio State won shootout

Fighting Irish Fact: After floundering in the first half with just six points in 20 games, captain Ryan Thang has bounced back nicely in the second half, notching a 6-10-16 line in 16 games, but in seven career games against Ohio State, the senior has yet to notch a point.

Buckeyes Fact: Ohio State has won both of the two previous playoff meetings between these two teams, beating the Irish in the conference quarterfinals at Joe Louis Arena in both 2003 and 2004.

How Notre Dame Wins: The Irish must stay out of the penalty box to avoid falling victim to a potentially dangerous Ohio State power play, and must put home any chance they get offensively, as they missed out on a few close calls last week against Michigan.

How Ohio State Wins: As has been the key for Ohio State over the past few years, the goaltending and team defense will be a major factor in deciding this series. Dustin Carlson gets the start Friday night for the Buckeyes and needs to play well and get some help from his defense to be a catalyst for what can be one of the league’s most dynamic offenses.