March 23, 2008
NCAA Tournament
Midwest Regional Capsules | Madison, Wis.

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Kohl Center
Saturday, March 29

3 p.m. ET: No. 1 North Dakota vs. No. 4 Princeton

6:30 p.m. ET: No. 2 Denver vs. No. 3 Wisconsin

Sunday, March 30

7 p.m. ET: Regional Final

NO. 1 SEED NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING SIOUX

Location: Grand Forks, N.D.
Record: 26-10-4 (18-7-3 WCHA, second)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: Seven (1959, 1963, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1997, 2000)
NCAA Appearance: 23rd (most recent, 2007)
Head Coach: Dave Hakstol
Key Players: T.J. Oshie, F, Jr. (39 GP, 18-23—41); Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, G, Sr. (25-10-4, 1.65, .934); Ryan Duncan, F, Jr. (40 GP, 14-22—36); Chay Genoway, D, So. (35 GP, 7-19—26)
What You Need to Know: There may be bad memories of Madison to contend with among some of the army of North Dakota fans who are sure to make the trip to this regional. In 1999 the Fighting Sioux entered the NCAAs ranked No. 1 in the nation, needing just one win (versus Boston College, at the West Regional in Madison) for a trip to the Frozen Four. The Eagles won 3-1, making for a quiet trip back to Grand Forks.
How They'll Advance: The "glass is half-empty" set will point out that the Sioux are 2-2-0 in their last four games. The optimist will counter with North Dakota's 17-2-3 run since Jan. 4. With two Hobey finalists (one on offense, one in goal) and the defending Hobey winner on the squad, North Dakota is the most individually talented team in the field. But the recent play by defenseman Taylor Chorney, not only guarding the blue line, but firing away from long range to set up tip-ins and put-backs, may be the most important thing the Sioux have going for them as they look for a fourth consecutive Frozen Four trip.
What Might Trip Them Up: Those two recent losses that the Sioux have suffered have come thanks to hot goaltending (by Michael-Lee Teslak and Peter Mannino) that has withstood early barrages by the North Dakota snipers, and hung around until the third period, staying within striking distance. That means that upstart Princeton and its hot goalie Zane Kalemba, who has allowed one goal (total) in his last three starts, could be trouble in round one. If North Dakota wins that one, a home-standing Wisconsin team, or an inspired Denver team trying to get home for the Frozen Four, could be even more trouble in round two.

Most Recent North Dakota Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
16-R. Duncan	7-T.J. Oshie	14-B. Miller	Duncan has two of North Dakota's three short-handed goals on the year.
20-M. Watkins	29-C. VandeVelde	17-R. Kaip
10-A. Kozek	8-R. Martens	22-B. Malone
26-K. Radke	11-D. Zajac	21-M. Frattin
Defense	Defense	Goalies
4-T. Chorney	28-R. Bina	1-J-P Lamoureux	Sioux d-men have scored 102 points, best in the nation.
2-J. Finley	5-C. Genoway	30-A. Walski
6-Z. Jones	25-J. Marto

NO. 2 SEED DENVER PIONEERS

Location: Denver, Colo.
Record: 26-13-1 (16-11-1 WCHA, third)
Qualified: WCHA tournament champions
NCAA Championships: Seven (1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 2004, 2005)
NCAA Appearance: 19th (most recent, 2005)
Head Coach: George Gwozdecky
Key Players: Tyler Bozak, F, Fr. (40 GP, 18-16—34); Peter Mannino, G, Sr. (25-13-1, 2.19, .920); Rhett Rakhshani, F, So. (36 GP, 14-14—28); Patrick Mullen, D, Jr. (39 GP, 4-18—22)
What You Need to Know: Freshman forward Tyler Bozak leads the Pioneers in scoring with 18 goals and 16 assists in 40 games. It's the fifth consecutive season an underclassman has led DU in points. The last time a senior paced the Pioneers in scoring was 2002-03, when Kevin Doell had 25-26—51 in 41 games.
How They'll Advance: The Pioneers have undergone an extreme makeover of sorts since the January departure of forward Brock Trotter, changing from a more aggressive offensive style to a grittier, physical approach. The process wasn't easy – DU ended the regular season by going 4-7-1 over its last 12 games – but proof that it was the right move is evidenced by winning the WCHA playoff title last weekend. In its current configuration, the Pioneers are more apt to spread the wealth offensively – just look at recent contributions by freshman forwards Dustin Jackson, Anthony Maiani, Jesse Martin, and senior forward Tom May as proof. Timely scoring, an underrated defensive corps led by junior Chris Butler, and clutch goaltending from playoff-tested netminder Peter Mannino is DU's recipe for success.
What Might Trip Them Up: Even though Denver has found more offense lately, goals still come at a premium for the WCHA playoff champions. Should the Pioneers fall behind early, they'll be forced to abandon the more rugged, conservative philosophy that has served them so well recently. DU's power play is also a cause for concern – among NCAA tournament teams, only Clarkson and Minnesota have converted at a worse rate than the Pioneers' 14.1 percent (28-199). And if Mannino falters, the Pioneers' stay in Madison will be short lived.

Most Recent Denver Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
17-M. Glasser	15-T. Ruegsegger	8-D. Jackson	DU's penalty kill ranks fourth nationally; Bozak has five of the team’s 10 SHGs.
19-K. Ostrow	21-T. Bozak	9-R. Rakhshani
16-A. Maiani	12-J. Martin	14-T.May
10-S. Cunningham	27-B. Vossberg	26-J. Marcuzzi
Defense	Defense	Goalies
4-C. Butler	25-C. Brookwell	29-P. Mannino	Mannino is DU's all-time leader in shutouts, with 15 for his career, six of them this season.
11-J.P. Testwuide	7-P. Mullen	1-M. Cheverie
6-C. Nutini	5-A. Thomas	30-E. Guinn

NO. 3 SEED WISCONSIN BADGERS

Location: Madison, Wis.
Record: 15-16-7 (11-12-5 WCHA, sixth)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: Six (1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1990, 2006)
NCAA Appearance: 22nd (most recent, 2006)
Head Coach: Mike Eaves
Key Players: Kyle Turris, F, Fr. (34 GP, 11-22—33); Jamie McBain, D, So. (33 GP, 3-18—21); Ben Street, F, Jr. (38 GP, 13-16—29); Kyle Klubertanz, D, Sr. (38 GP, 4-15—19); Shane Connelly, G, Jr. (14-15-5, 2.44, .912)
What You Need to Know: Despite unexpectedly getting into the tournament, and despite the inherent advantage of playing in their home rink, history says the Badgers could hardly have drawn a worse opening-round opponent. Wisconsin has dropped the last five meetings against Denver at the Kohl Center and is 1-11-2 against the Pioneers in the building since it opened in 1998.
How They'll Advance: Home cooking should help, although it's appropriate that thanks to the NCAA, the Badgers have a team hotel in Madison, since their last game at the Kohl Center was on Feb. 16. It's widely rumored that Kyle Turris will sign a pro contract when the Badgers are done for the season, so fans on the isthmus should savor another chance to see him play in the fire-engine red of Wisconsin (as opposed to the brick red of the Phoenix Coyotes). His offense, and Jamie McBain's puck-moving mastery when the Badgers have a man-advantage, are the keys.
What Might Trip Them Up: There's a legend in Madison about the "Backdoor Badgers" of 1981, who (let us know if this sounds familiar), despite losing in the opening round of the WCHA playoffs, got a controversial invite to the eight-team NCAA tournament, and three wins later were the national champs. All of that good karma aside, the only sub-.500 team that's still playing was a modest 7-6-1 at home this season and will enter the NCAA playoffs on a 2-5-1 streak. Both opening-game goalies own NCAA championship rings, but Denver's Peter Mannino has a Frozen Four MVP nod to go along with the jewelry, and enters the tournament on a four-game winning streak.

Most Recent Wisconsin Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
24-J. Mitchell	16-S. Dolan	14-B. Grotting	Street (Jr.) and Ford (Sr.) are the only two upperclassmen among this group of 12.
18-M. Ford	22-B. Street	10-P. Johnson
5-B. Geoffrion	19-K. Turris	9-M. Davies
11-A. Bohmbach	13-A. Bendrickson	8-P. Turnbull
Defense	Defense	Goalies
4-D. Drewiske	20-K. Klubertanz	35-S. Connelly	Klubertanz and Engel played in the 2006 NCAA title win.
17-R. McDonagh	2-J. McBain	1-S. Gudmandson
6-J. Engel	27-C. Goloubef

NO. 4 SEED PRINCETON TIGERS

Location: Princeton, N.J.
Record: 21-13-0 (14-8-0 ECAC Hockey, second)
Qualified: ECAC Hockey tournament champions
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: Second (most recent, 1998)
Head Coach: Guy Gadowsky
Key Players: Lee Jubinville, F, Jr. (33 GP, 12-26–38); Zane Kalemba, G, So. (19-10-0, 2.36, .918); Brett Wilson, F, Jr. (33 GP, 15-20–35); Mike Moore, D, Sr. (33 GP, 7-10–17).
What You Need To Know: The Tigers are having their best season in school history with a second-place finish in ECAC Hockey and the second ECAC Hockey championship in school history. Goaltender Zane Kalemba has been outstanding in the postseason with three shutouts among his four wins and Princeton is getting contributions from everyone in the lineup, not just the highly-touted top line featuring Hobey finalist Lee Jubinville and leading goal-scorer Brett Wilson.
How They’ll Advance: A hot goalie is the top ingredient to playoff success and nobody in the nation is hotter than Kalemba. If he continues to provide that in the defensive end, the Tigers' aggressive style of play can produce enough goals at the other end of the rink to be dangerous.
What Might Trip Them Up: Despite showing no signs of faltering in Albany en route to winning the ECAC Hockey title, this is still a young team that lacks experience. Of the 19 players in the lineup, 12 are either freshmen or sophomores. They'll be a low seed and will have to re-adjust to the role of underdogs after facing three teams that were below them in the standings during the league tournament.

Most Recent Princeton Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
25-K. Hagel	17-K. Kaiser	19-B. Kushniruk	Landis Stankievich is a Rhodes Scholar, and scored the GWG in the ECAC Hockey final.
16-B. Wilson	6-L. Jubinville	22-M. Kramer
26-M. Arhontas	14-M. Magnowski	27-C. MacIntyre
12-K. Lohry	10-L. Stankievich	23-K. Shattenkirk
Defense	Defense	Goalies
21-M. Moore	4-T. Fedun	32-Z. Kalemba	Captain Mike Moore was First Team All-ECAC and All-Ivy.
3-J. Pederson	28-K. Crane	30-T. Sychterz
2-B. Schroeder	15-M. Godlewski	34-A. Reynolds