GRAND FORKS — The NCAA men’s hockey regional in Sioux Falls begins Thursday.
Providence plays Quinnipiac at 3 p.m. Central on ESPN Plus. North Dakota plays Merrimack at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The winners will play at either 3:30 or 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
Here’s a look at the four teams in the regional.
Coach: Dane Jackson (first season).
Record: 27-9-1, NCHC regular-season champion.
Seed: No. 1.
NCAA history: UND is making its 36th NCAA tournament appearance. The Fighting Hawks last reached the NCAA Frozen Four in 2016, when they beat Quinnipiac to win their eighth national championship.
Player to watch: F Dylan James (19 goals, 10 assists, 29 points). The senior from Calgary has tallied career highs in goals, assists, points and plus-minus this season. He leads UND in goals.
Of note: UND will play in South Dakota for the first time in program history. It will be the 29th state that UND has played a hockey game in. The Fighting Hawks will hit No. 30 on Halloween when they play in Austin, Texas.
Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group
Coach: Scott Borek (eighth season).
Record: 21-15-2, Hockey East playoff champion.
Seed: No. 4.
NCAA history: This is Merrimack’s fourth NCAA tournament appearance (1988, 2011, 2023) and second in the last four seasons. The Warriors have never reached the NCAA Frozen Four.
Player to watch: F Parker Lalonde (13 goals, 24 assists, 37 points). The freshman from Aberdeen, Sask., has been consistent for the Warriors. He enters the regional on a five-game point streak and with points in 11 of the last 13 games.
Of note: Since Dec. 11, no team in the country has more wins than Merrimack. The Warriors are 16-5-2 since then. Western Michigan and Sacred Heart also have 16.
Jim Stankiewicz / Merrimack athletics
Coach: Nate Leaman (15th season).
Record: 23-10-2, Hockey East regular-season champion.
Seed: No. 2.
NCAA history: Providence is making its 17th trip to the NCAA tournament. Nearly half (eight) have come in the last 15 years under Leaman. The Friars have reached the Frozen Four twice under Leaman (2019, 2015) and won the program’s only national title in 2015.
Player to watch: F Roger McQueen (11 goals, 16 assists, 27 points). McQueen is the highest draft pick playing in the Sioux Falls Regional. Anaheim selected the 6-foot-6, 195-pound center with the No. 10 overall pick last summer.
Of note: Providence starting goaltender Philip Svedebäck suffered an injury on Jan. 3. Freshman Jack Parsons, who had only made one start prior to then, jumped in and won his first nine starts after Svedebäck’s injury. Parsons is 13-4 with a .923 save percentage and a 1.99 goals-against average.
Russell Hons / UND athletics
Coach: Rand Pecknold (32nd season).
Record: 26-9-3, ECAC regular-season champions.
Seed: No. 3.
NCAA history: Quinnipiac is making its seventh-straight NCAA tournament appearance, the longest streak in the country. The Bobcats have reached three national championship games and won their only title in 2023.
Player to watch: F Ethan Wyttenbach (24 goals, 34 assists, 58 points). Wyttenbach, a freshman, is headed back to the place where he played junior hockey in Sioux Falls. He’s the NCAA’s leading scorer with 58 points. Last year’s NCAA-leading scorer, Jack Devine of Denver, finished with 57.
Of note: Quinnipiac has the highest-scoring freshman class in the tournament with a whopping 180 points. Quinnipiac’s top three scorers are all freshmen. UND is second with 144 points from its rookie class.
Nick Nelson / Grand Forks Herald
Schlossman has covered college hockey for the Grand Forks Herald since 2005. He has been recognized by the Associated Press Sports Editors as the top beat writer for the Herald’s circulation division four times and the North Dakota sportswriter of the year twice. He resides in Grand Forks. Reach him at bschlossman@gfherald.com.
