MANCHESTER, N.H. | VERIZON WIRELESS CENTER
FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 27-28

Friday: Yale vs. Boston University, 2 p.m. ET (TV: ESPNU)
Friday: Minnesota vs. Minnesota Duluth, 5:30 p.m. ET (TV: ESPNU)
Saturday: Regional Final, 5:30 p.m. ET (TV: ESPN2)

NO. 1 SEED BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS

Location: Boston, Mass.
Record: 25-7-5 overall (14-5-3 Hockey East, first)
Qualified: Hockey East tournament champions
NCAA Championships: Five (1971, 1972, 1978, 1995, 2009)
NCAA Appearance: 33rd (most recent, 2012)
Head Coach: David Quinn
Key Players: Jack Eichel, F, Fr., 36 GP, 24-42–66; Evan Rodrigues, F, Sr., 37 GP, 18-39–57; Matt Grzelcyk, D, Jr., 37 GP, 10-26–36; Matt O’Connor, G, Jr., 31 GP, 22-3-4, 2.12 GAA, .928 save pct.

What You Need To Know: Since winning the school’s fifth national title in 2009, the Terriers have made just one NCAA tournament appearance. That was in 2012, when BU was bounced by Minnesota in the first round of the West Regional.

Burning Question: Can anyone stop Jack Eichel? The nation’s leading scorer averages 1.83 points per game and, remarkably, he’s been racking up points at an even better clip as the season has progressed—witness his 39 points in 20 games in 2015 and 26 points during his current 12-game scoring streak. But he’s managed just six points (all assists) in BU’s seven losses. Sure, the Terriers have dangerous players throughout the lineup—last year’s leading scorer, Robbie Baillargeon, is a third-line wing this season—but if you can’t corral Eichel, you can’t beat BU.

Most Recent Boston University Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
17-Evan Rodrigues	9-Jack Eichel	10-Danny O’Regan	Further evidence of the Eichel Effect: Terriers forward Evan Rodrigues entered his senior year with 60 career points in 105 career games. He’s got 57 points in 37 games this season as Eichel’s linemate.
26-A.J. Greer	7-Cason Hohmann	2-Ahti Oksanen
13-Nikolas Olsson	21-Matt Lane	19-Robbie Baillargeon
12-Chase Phelps	11-Mike Moran	15-Nick Roberto
Defense	Defense	Goalies	Team Statistics (NCAA Rank)
5-Matt Grzelcyk	16-John MacLeod	29-Matt O’Connor	Scoring offense: 3.89 GPG (1st) Scoring defense: 2.27 GPG (13th) Power play: 28.2% (2nd) Penalty kill: 83.3% (27th)
4-Brandon Hickey	25-Brandon Fortunato	30-Connor LaCouvee
27-Doyle Somerby	20-Brien Diffley	1-Anthony Moccia

NO. 2 MINNESOTA DULUTH BULLDOGS

Location: Duluth, Minn.
Record: 20-15-3 overall (12-9-3 NCHC, fifth)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: One (2011)
NCAA Appearance: Ninth (most recent, 2012)
Head Coach: Scott Sandelin
Key Players: Tony Cameranesi, F, Jr., 38 GP, 8-20–28; Dominic Toninato, F, So., 32 GP, 16-9–25; Andy Welinski, D, Jr., 38 GP, 9-11–20; Kasimir Kaskisuo, G, Fr., 34 GP, 17-13-3, 2.31 GAA, .915 save pct.

What You Need To Know: The Bulldogs were 18-10-1, their high-water mark of the season, after beating St. Cloud State in Duluth on Feb. 13, then proceeded to go 2-5-2 the rest of the way.

Burning Question: Can UMD score enough goals? The Bulldogs have averaged just 2.0 goals per game during their recent 2-5-2 stretch; since Valentine’s Day, the team ranks tied for 42nd in the country in scoring offense. In the 29 games prior to Valentine’s Day, UMD had the nation’s 13th best scoring offense, averaging 3.14 goals per game. A return to form for forward Dominic Toninato, the team’s best player who has struggled since missing five February games with an injury, would boost the Bulldogs’ fortunes.

Note: Tip of the hat to all the UMD fans who pointed out that sophomore forward Alex Iafallo, the team’s third-leading scorer who hasn’t played in more than a month due to illness, is expected to be back on the Bulldogs’ top line Friday.

Most Recent Minnesota Duluth Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
8-Kyle Osterberg	19-Dominic Toninato	26-Adam Krause	First-round foes UMD and Minnesota have played four games at four different sites this season: Notre Dame, Ind., in the Ice Breaker; Minneapolis; Duluth; and St. Paul, Minn., in the North Star College Cup.
11-Austin Farley	13-Tony Cameranesi	20-Karson Kuhlman
27-Cal Dekowski	22-Jared Thomas	25-Justin Crandall
24-Charlie Sampair	23-Austyn Young	3-Dan Molenaar
Defense	Defense	Goalies	Team Statistics (NCAA Rank)
6-Derik Johnson	7-Andy Welinski	33-Kasimir Kaskisuo	Scoring offense: 2.87 GPG (22nd) Scoring defense: 2.45 GPG (T-28th) Power play: 17.9% (27th) Penalty kill: 81.9% (35th)
21-Carson Soucy	15-Willie Raskob	36-Matt McNeely
5-Willie Corrin	10-Brenden Kotyk

NO. 3 SEED MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS

Location: Minneapolis, Minn.
Record: 23-12-3 overall (12-5-3 Big Ten, first)
Qualified: Big Ten tournament champions
NCAA Championships: Five (1974, 1976, 1979, 2002, 2003)
NCAA Appearance: 36th (most recent, 2014)
Head Coach: Don Lucia
Key Players: Mike Reilly, D, Jr., 38 GP, 6-36–42; Kyle Rau, F, Sr., 38 GP, 20-21–41; Travis Boyd, F, Sr., 31 GP, 19-21–40;  Adam Wilcox, G, Jr., 37 GP, 22-11-3, 2.38 GAA, .913 save pct.

What You Need To Know: The Gophers recovered from a 4-8-2 skid between Nov. 14 and Jan. 24 to post a 12-3-1 mark over its last 16 games.

Burning Question: Can the Gophs keep on keepin’ on? During its recent 16-game run that started with a Jan. 30 win at Wisconsin, Minnesota has averaged 4.06 goals per game, attempted an average of six more shots per game than its foes, has won more than 55 percent of its faceoff, and boasts a ridiculous power-play success rate of 32.1 percent. Figuring out the key to the Gophers’ success is almost too easy—they’re really, really good when they control the puck and, when they don’t, they’re not good.

Most Recent Minnesota Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
18-Leon Bristedt	7-Kyle Rau	24-Hudson Fasching	With a team-high 42 points in 38 games, Mike Reilly has a chance to become the first defenseman to lead the Gophers in scoring since Mike Crowley in 1996-97.
11-Sam Warning	22-Travis Boyd	17-Seth Ambroz
13-Taylor Cammarata	25-Justin Kloos	19-Vinni Lettieri
15-A.J. Michaelson	26-Christian Isackson	3-Jack Glover
Defense	Defense	Goalies	Team Statistics (NCAA Rank)
5-Mike Reilly	28-Jake Bischoff	32-Adam Wilcox	Scoring offense: 3.58 GPG (5th) Scoring defense: 2.47 GPG (31st) Power play: 28.2% (1st) Penalty kill: 79.4% (48th)
2-Brady Skjei	6-Ryan Collins	34-Nick Lehr
10-Ben Marshall	20-Michael Brodzinski

NO. 4 YALE BULLDOGS

Location: New Haven, Conn.
Record: 18-9-5 overall (14-3-3 ECAC Hockey, third)
Qualified: At-large bid
NCAA Championships: One (2013)
NCAA Appearance: Seventh (most recent, 2013)
Head Coach: Keith Allain
Key Players: Frankie DiChiara, F, So., 32 GP, 8-13–21; Rob O’Gara, D, Jr., 32 GP, 6-15–21; Mike Doherty, F, So., 32 GP, 12-8–20; Alex Lyon, G, So., 31 GP, 17-9-5, 1.58 GAA, .939 save pct.

What You Need To Know: Sophomore forward Frankie DiChiara and junior defenseman Rob O’Gara share the team lead in scoring with 21 points. If one ranked all the players in this year’s NCAA tournament by points, DiChiara and O’Gara would be tied for 87th on that list.

Burning Question: Is there any possible way the Bulldogs can get past Boston University? No disrespect to Yale—and, yes, that improbable run to the 2013 national championship is still fresh in everyone’s minds—but this is a terrible matchup for them on paper. The Bulldogs were winless in the eight games this season in which they allow more than two goals and haven’t won when the opponent scores first. Any chance of an upset starts (and likely ends) with goaltender Alex Lyon, the country’s leader in goals against average, save percentage, and shutouts (seven).

Most Recent Yale Line Chart
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing	Notes
17-Frankie DiChiara	9-Carson Cooper	12-Cody Learned	The Bulldogs have given up an NCAA-low 51 goals this season, and its nine power-play goals allowed is also tops in the country in that category.
28-Ryan Hitchcock	25-Chris Izmirlian	24-Mike Doherty
19-Anthony Day	7-Matt Killian	20-John Baiocco
11-Trent Ruffolo	6-Stu Wilson	21-John Hayden
Defense	Defense	Goalies	Team Statistics (NCAA Rank)
10-Mitch Witek	4-Rob O’Gara	34-Alex Lyon	Scoring offense: 2.62 GPG (38th) Scoring defense: 1.59 GPG (1st) Power play: 17.5% (29th) Penalty kill: 82.5% (2nd)
14-Ryan Obuchowski	18-Nate Repensky	29-Connor Wilson
22-Tommy Fallen	2-Adam Larkin	30-Patrick Spano