Curious about the tournament? Check out the other first-round match-ups in the NCAA women's field of eight.
Providence vs. Minnesota
The No. 8 Providence Friars (14-4-2 Hockey East, 21-10-5 overall) earned their first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament by winning Sunday's Hockey East Tournament championship game. Unfortunately for Providence, their efforts are rewarded with a trip to Minneapolis to face the defending champs and No. 1 Minnesota Golden Gophers (33-2-2, 25-1-2 WCHA) at Ridder Arena.
Simply put, the Friars are going to have to be near-perfect to have a chance to upset the Gophers. Minnesota is number one in the nation in scoring (4.86 goals per game), number two in defense (1.30 gpg) and, most importantly, the Gophers were 14-0-1 at Ridder Arena this season.
The Friars will also be forced to deal with the nation's leading scorer ??-junior forward Natalie Darwitz (2.76 points per game)??-and one of the nation's top goalies, senior Jody Horak (1.39 goals allowed average).
The Friars still may be able to advance if senior goalie Amy Thomas (2.43 gaa) plays like an octopus in a broom closet and if their top scoring line provides an exceptional amount of offensive pressure.
St. Lawrence vs. Minnesota-Duluth
The No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (22-4-2 WCHA, 24-4-2) enter their first round match-up against the No. 6 St. Lawrence Saints (14-3-3 Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference, 26-7-5) looking to win their fourth title in five years. The Saints will have history working against them, as the Bulldogs are perfect in NCAA post-season play (6-0-0) and hold a 7-1-0 advantage in the all-time series.
If St. Lawrence is going to advance to the Frozen Four they are going to have to have a much more effective power play and are going to have to play better in the first period, where they have been out-shot 422-311 thus far in the season. The Saints will also have to find a way to solve UMD sophomore goalie Riitta Schaublin (1.36 gaa) and shut down senior forward Caroline Ouellette (58 points). If the Bulldogs want to keep their NCAA record unblemished they will have to continue to play stellar defense .
Mercyhurst vs. Harvard
The No. 4 Harvard Crimson (17-1-2 ECAC, 24-6-3) and the No. 7 Mercyhurst Lakers (11-0-1 CHA, 28-6-2) both enter Saturday's quarterfinal after winning their respective conference tournaments. While Harvard's 4-1 victory over Dartmouth in the ECAC Tournament final gave them home-ice advantage for this weekend's contest, Mercyhurst's 4-1 victory over Niagara gave them their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth. Because both teams have a lot of momentum going into this contest they will probably try to advance by simply doing what they do.
The Lakers will try to advance by playing suffocating defense (1.1 gpg) and will look to get more solid play from senior goalie Desirae Clark (1.14 gaa). Meanwhile the Crimson will look to light up the scoreboard (4.45 gpg) and get typical contributions from senior forward Nicole Corriero (54 goals, 29 assists) and junior forward Julie Chu (12 g, 49 a).
