Inside College Hockey | Midwest Regional NCAA Tournament Capsules

1:30 p.m. ET: No. 1 North Dakota vs. No. 4 Rensselaer (Live on ESPN Syndication HD/ESPN3.com; Delay on ESPNU HD)

5 p.m. ET: No. 2 Denver vs. No. 3 Western Michigan (Live on ESPN Syndication/ESPN3.com; Delay on ESPNU HD)

Location: Grand Forks, N.D.
Record: 30-8-3 overall (21-6-1 WCHA, first)
Qualified: WCHA tournament champions
NCAA Championships: Seven (1959, 1963, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1997, 2000)
NCAA Appearance: 26th (most recent, 2010)
Head Coach: Dave Hakstol
Key Players: Matt Frattin, F, Sr. (35-22—57); Corban Knight, F, So. (13-29—42); Jason Gregoire, F, Jr. (24-17—41); Aaron Dell, G, So. (28-6-2, 1.88, .921)
What You Need to Know: They’re not the top overall seed nor are they the defending national champion, but the Fighting Sioux are the hottest team in the country right now, entering the NCAA Tournament on a 13-game (12-0-1) unbeaten streak.
How They'll Advance: When North Dakota is at its best, it plays in straight lines—getting the puck to the net, pressuring opponents with their speed and physical play, and generally keeping the other team on its collective heels. For all the talent in the Fighting Sioux lineup, they’re at their best when keeping things simple.
What Might Trip Them Up: The Sioux can certainly survive without injured forward Jason Gregoire, but they’re a much better club with him in the lineup. And while goaltender Aaron Dell has been outstanding after being thrust into the spotlight early this season, he’s in uncharted waters now—there’s no safety net in a one-and-done format like the NCAA Tournament.

Location: Denver, Colo.
Record: 24-11-5 overall (17-8-3 WCHA, second)
Qualified: At-large berth
NCAA Championships: Seven (1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 2004, 2005)
NCAA Appearance: 21st (most recent, 2010)
Head Coach: George Gwozdecky
Key Players: Drew Shore, F, So. (38 GP, 23-22—45); Jason Zucker, F, Fr. (38 GP, 21-20—41); Matt Donovan, D, So. (40 GP, 8-22—30); Sam Brittain, G, Fr. (18-8-5, 2.24, .923)
What You Need to Know: It’s been difficult to get a read on the Pioneers this season and that may be due to inexperience—DU has more freshmen and sophomores in key roles than perhaps any team in the country. Don’t confuse a lack of experience for a lack of talent, however.
How They'll Advance: Last year’s upset loss to RIT in the first round of the East Regional is still an open wound for the Pioneers, but they’re best served by just going out and playing. If you watched any of Saturday’s WCHA championship game against North Dakota, you saw that DU is as talented as any team in the nation.
What Might Trip Them Up: As one might expect from any young team, the Pioneers have been prone to turning in the occasional dud—a 9-2 loss at Colorado College in November and a 7-3 defeat at Minnesota last month come immediately to mind. They’ve also had a tendency to fall behind early, allowing the first goal in 22 of their 40 games this season and trailing after the first period in 15 of their 40 matches.

NO. 3 SEED WESTERN MICHIGAN BRONCOS

Location: Kalamazoo, Mich.
Record: 19-12-10 overall (10-9-9-5 CCHA, fourth)
Qualified: At-large berth
NCAA Championships: None
NCAA Appearance: Fourth (most recent, 1996)
Head Coach: Jeff Blashill
Key Players: Max Campbell, F, Sr. (41 GP, 18-17—35); Chase Balisy, F, Fr. (41 GP, 12-18—30); Matt Tennyson, D, So. (9-12—21); Jerry Kuhn, G, Sr. (12-7-6, 2.38, .913)
What You Need to Know: Western Michigan advanced to the CCHA Championship for the first time since 1986, and the Broncos acquitted themselves well against Michigan and Miami. First year coach Jeff Blashill has built a disciplined team that comes out to play every night and can give anyone it faces a tough game.
How They'll Advance: The Broncos showed that even when they’re down, they’re far from out, rallying back from a two-goal deficit before ultimately falling to Miami on Saturday. On top of that, they were equally level-headed while holding a lead over Michigan, and answered Michigan goals with markers of their own to keep control of the game. The Broncos will have to maintain this level of psychological and hockey consistency to advance in the NCAA Tournament.
What Might Trip Them Up: If Western Michigan gets away from its tightly-controlled game and lets opponents into their collective psyche, things could get ugly for the Broncos. Their game is predicated on a team mentality and accountability, and talented teams like Denver and North Dakota could put a game out of reach quickly if the Broncos slip up for even a short amount of time.

Most Recent Western Michigan Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
24-Shane Berschbach	16-Chase Balisy	23-Dane Walters	Leading point-scorer Max Campbell was held scoreless by both Michigan and Miami at the CCHA Championship.
21-Trevor Elias	8-Max Campbell	26-Greg Squires
22-Derek Roehl	2-Mike Leone	19-Kyle O'Kane
10-J.J. Crew	15-Ryan Watson	14-Ian Slater
Defense	Defense	Goalies
5-Dan DeKeyser	28-Luke Witkowski	35-Jerry Kuhn	Goaltender Jerry Kuhn stopped a combined 59-of-66 shots in the victory over Michigan and the loss to Miami.
11-Dennis Brown	7-Matt Tennyson	33-Nick Pisellini
3-Mike Levendusky	55-Ross Henry	1-Matthew Federico

NO. 4 SEED RENSSELAER ENGINEERS

Location: Troy, N.Y.
Record: 20-12-5 overall (11-9-2 ECAC Hockey, tied for fourth)
Qualified: At-large berth
NCAA Championships: Two (1954, 1985)
NCAA Appearance: Ninth (most recent, 1995)
Head Coach: Seth Appert
Key Players: Chase Polacek, F, Sr. (37 GP, 21-27—48); Tyler Helfrich, F, Sr. (37 GP, 14-24—38); Nick Bailen, D, So. (8-28—36); Allen York, G, Jr. (18-10-4, 2.05, .927)
What You Need to Know: Chase Polacek is one of the best players in the country and one of just two players to return as Hobey Baker top-10 finalists this year. After winning at Princeton on Feb. 5, the Engineers were 18-6-4. They finished with a 2-6-1 record over their last 11 games and were knocked out of the first round of the ECAC Hockey playoffs.
How They'll Advance: RPI is led by its best players, and a senior class that has revitalized the program. Polacek leads the way and gets a lot of help from the likes of Tyler Helfrich, Bryan Brutlag and solid leadership from John Kennedy. Goalie Allen York can be great, and considered pro offers during the last two weeks. It was worth waiting on the good news from the selection committee.
What Might Trip Them Up: We're curious as to just how much rust is there to shake off, and how the Engineers will fare in that endeavor against an excellent North Dakota team. Getting through the first period on close or level terms will be crucial.

Most Recent Rensselaer Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
23-Brock Higgs	21-Chase Polacek	22-C.J. Lee	CJ Lee brings energy every night and is a tough guy to play against.
24-Josh Rabbani	27-Marty O'Grady	15-Tyler Helfrich
18-Alex Angers-Goulet	13-Joel Malchuk	4-Bryan Brutlag
28-Matt Tinordi	12-Johnny Rogic	10-Scott Halpern
Defense	Defense	Goalies
8-Mike Bergin	7-Jeff Foss	30-Allen York	Nick Bailen is a playmaking defenseman and has 36 points.
29-Nick Bailen	5-John Kennedy	32-Bryce Merriam
2-Pat Koudys	11-Bo Dolan	35-Jeremy Coupal