NCHA Men�s Hockey Tournament Preview �

Semifinals - Friday, March 1, 2002
#3 UW-Stevens Point (17-8-2) vs. #2 UW-Superior (18-5-4) � 3 p.m.
#1 St. Norbert (22-3-2) vs. #4 UW-River Falls (18-7-2) � 7 p.m.

Finals � Saturday, March 2, 2002
Third Place Game � 3 p.m.
Championship Game � 7 p.m.

Cornerstone Community Center (1,876) � Green Bay, Wisconsin

Weekend Outlook:

     An automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs will be awarded this weekend when the top four teams in the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association meet for the league�s tournament title. This year�s tournament features a new single-elimination format with semifinal games on Friday and a third place and championship game on Saturday. Regular season champion St. Norbert will host the tournament.

Broadcast:

     Games involving UW-Stevens Point can be heard live on WWSP (89.9 FM). The games can be heard on the internet at http://www.uwsp.edu/stuorg/wwsp/

Series History:

     UW-Stevens Point lost at UW-Superior 7-0 on Dec. 1 and tied the Yellowjackets 4-4 on Feb. 8 in Stevens Point. The Yellowjackets now lead the all-time series 41-40-4.

     The Pointers lost to St. Norbert 5-4 on Nov. 9 and tied the Green Knights 4-4 on Feb. 2. St. Norbert leads the all-time series 19-17-5.

     UW-Stevens Point split with UW-River Falls, losing 4-0 on Nov. 3 and winning 4-2 on Jan. 25. The Falcons lead the all-time series 39-33-5.

Postseason History:

     The Pointers boast a 34-18-8 all-time NCHA postseason record. UW-Stevens Point leads the NCHA with five all-time playoff championships, all of which were won consecutively from 1989-93. UW-Superior has won the last two playoff titles.

How the West was Won:

     The four teams competing in this weekend�s tournament are all ranked in the top five in the Pairwise Rankings for the West Region of NCAA Division III. St. Norbert is ranked first, UW-Superior is second, UW-River Falls is fourth and the Pointers are fifth. The only non-NCHA school in the top five is St. Thomas of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference which is ranked third. The rankings take elements such as winning percentage and strength of schedule into consideration for selecting the at-large berths the NCAA Tournament.

Head of the Class:

     UW-Superior had five players named to the All-WIAC First Team, the most of any school. Forwards Colin Kendall, Chris Hackett and Josh Liebenow were named to the squad as were defensemen Dale Lupul and Bruce Leonard. Goalie Jacque Vezina and forwards Jess Johnson and Josh Schlipp made the list from UW-River Falls. Defenseman Randy Enders was the only Pointer selected to the team.

Series Notes:

     UW-Superior led the NCHA in the regular season by recording 241 assists in 27 games for an average of 8.93 per game�Yellowjacket junior Chris Hackett led the NCHA with 39 points this season, one ahead of Pointer freshman Mike Brolsma�UW-River Falls goalie Jacque Vezina led the conference with five shutouts this season�UW-Stevens Point coach Joe Baldarotta was named the WIAC Coach of the Year�If a game is tied following regulation, there will be a 20-minute sudden-death overtime period�The tournament winner will join six other automatic berths and two at-large selections in the nine-team national field.