Second semifinal: Minnesota Duluth vs. Massachusetts
8 p.m. Thursday • PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh • ESPN2
UMD win streak in NCAAs at 10
Bulldogs at a glance
Record: 15-10-2, third place in NCHC regular season, lost in NCHC tournament semifinals.
How they got here: At-large selection, No. 3 seed in Midwest Regional. Didn't play No. 2 seed Michigan because of COVID-19 issues, beat No. 1 seed North Dakota 3-2 in five overtimes.
Key facts and figures: The Bulldogs are playing in their fourth consecutive Frozen Four and have won the past two, 2-1 over Notre Dame in 2018 and 3-0 over Massachusetts in 2019. UMD has a 10-game winning streak in NCAA tournament play and is 13-1 in its past four appearances. … Nick Swaney (13-14-27) and Jackson Cates (11-16-27) lead a balanced scoring group for UMD, which also has Kobe Roth (13-10-23), Cole Koepke (14-8-22) and Koby Bender (7-13-20) with 20 points or more. … The Bulldogs have used two goalies lately, with freshman Zach Stejskal (4-3, 1.75 GAA, .934 save percentage) getting the start against North Dakota before having to leave the game because of cramps in the fourth overtime. Sophomore Ryan Fanti (11-7-2, 2.36, .907) made six saves the rest of the way.
Minutemen at a glance
Record: 18-5-4, third place Hockey East, won conference tournament.
How they got here: Hockey East tournament champion, No. 2 seed in East Regional. Defeated No. 3 seed Lake Superior State 5-1 and Bemidji State 4-0.
Key facts and figures: UMass received bad news Tuesday morning: Leading goal-scorer Carson Gicewicz and starting goalie Filip Lindberg, plus two other players, will miss the semifinal against Minnesota Duluth because of COVID-19 contact tracing protocols. Gicewicz has 17 goals and 24 points this season and had a hat trick against the Beavers. Lindberg is a big reason the Minutemen are on a 12-game unbeaten streak (9-0-3) and in that span has four shutouts and five games with one goal allowed. … UMass will rely on points leaders Bobby Trivigno (10-21-31) and Oliver Chau (5-20-25) and high-scoring defensemen Zac Jones (8-15-23) and Matthew Kessel (9-12-21). In goal, the Minutemen will turn to senior Matt Murray, who is 9-4 with a 2.01 GAA and .913 save percentage but hasn't played since Jan. 18.
Randy Johnson
