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The trip to the NCAA tournament for Wisconsin last season was short lived. The Badgers fell behind early against UMass-Lowell and never recovered, falling to the River Hawks, 6-1.
Things aren't going to be any easier for UW this time around, as Wisconsin was matched up against 4th-seeded North Dakota. A tough draw for the Badgers, especially given the fact they earned a No. 1 seed in the tournament.
"Getting matched up with North Dakota just tells me that the gauntlet starts right now," UW head coach Mike Eaves said. "There are four games to get to the top of the mountain, and the gauntlet is starting right now.
"Every team is going to be tough. We're starting with a foe that we have a history with, so it should be an awesome game."
North Dakota earned a berth in the tournament due in part to the Badgers defeating Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game last Saturday. While Wisconsin didn't have UND on the schedule this season due to conference realignment, these two teams are very familiar with each other.
"We've seen them over the last three years, we've played them quite a bit," senior center Jefferson Dahl said. "We know what they're going to bring, they know what we're going to bring. We're just looking forward to the opportunity."
What you need to know:
Who: No. 1 seed Wisconsin (24-10-2) vs. No. 4 seed North Dakota (23-13-3)
What: NCAA hockey tournament quarterfinal game
Where: U.S. Bank Arena (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Capacity: 14,453
Rink Dimensions: 200x85
Game Time: 7:00 p.m CT
Television: ESPNU -- Joe Beninati (Play-by-play), Darren Elliot (Analyst)
Streaming: WatchESPN.com
Live Stats: Link
Radio: WIBA 1310 -- Brian Posick (Play-by-play), Mike Cerniglia (Analyst)
Wisconsin line chart
Nic Kerdiles - Mark Zengerle - Tyler Barnes
Morgan Zulinick - Jefferson Dahl - Michael Mersch
Grant Besse - Joseph LaBate - Sean Little
Brad Navin - Keegan Meuer - Jedd Soleway
Kevin Schulze - Frankie Simonelli
Jake McCabe - Joe Faust
Eddie Wittchow - Chase Drake
Joel Rumpel
Landon Peterson
North Dakota line chart
Drake Cagguila - Mark MacMillan - Michael Parks
Stephane Pattyn - Rocco Grimaldi - Luke Johnson
Brendan O'Donnell - Connor Gaarder - Derek Rodwell
Bryn Chyzyk - Colton St. Clair - Andrew Panzarella
Dillon Simpson - Jordan Schmaltz
Nick Mattson - Paul LaDue
Keeton Thompson - Troy Stecher
Zane Gothberg
Clarke Saunders
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