The Matchup: Wisconsin vs. UMass-Lowell

When: Friday, March 29, 3:30 p.m. CT

Where: Manchester, N.H.- Verizon Wireless Arena (10,019)

Ice Sheet: 200' x 85'

TV: Check local listings

Radio: WIBA-AM 1310

All-Time Series: Wisconsin leads 7-1-1

Last Meeting: Wisconsin W 3-2 (12/4/1988)

MADISON, Wis. -- With Wisconsin set to face UMass Lowell in the Northeast Regional semifinals of the 2013 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament on Friday at 3:30 p.m. CT, the networks of NESN, Time Warner Cable Sports and TVW have each picked up rights to broadcast the matchup live.

TVW is channel 3-2 on digital television in Madison, Wis., and channel 14 on Charter. TVW can also be found on channel 14 for DirecTV, for those with the local Madison package.

Time Warner Cable SportsChannel airs on channel 32/1332 throughout the Wisconsin division.

NESN can be found on channel 628 for DirecTV subscribers and channel 434 on Dish Network.

The game will also broadcast live online at ESPN3 and air tape-delayed on ESPNU at 9:30 p.m. CT.

Check local listings for other cable providers.

The other regional semifinal between UNH and Denver takes place Friday at 7 p.m. CT and airs live on ESPNU. The winners from both semifinals advance on to the regional final on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT, which is scheduled to air live on ESPNU.

USCHO has an updated list of where to find NCAA first-round games not shown live on ESPNU.

courtesy UW Athletics Department

Fresh off its WCHA playoff championship, the Wisconsin men’s hockey team will open the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon when they square off with UMass-Lowell at 3:30 p.m. in a game set to air on ESPN 3.

The game will take place at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.

The Riverhawks won the Hockey East tournament and are the top seed in the Northeast regional, while the Badgers were tabbed as the No. 4 seed.

The two schools have met nine times previously, with the latest meeting coming 1988. Wisconsin owns a 7-1-1 edge in the all-time series.

Check back to Madtownbadgers.com this week for continued coverage. 

(photo courtesy Larry Radloff)

When the Wisconsin men’s hockey team began play in the 2013 WCHA Final Five, the magic number was three.

Three wins and the Broadmoor Trophy would be theirs.  More importantly, the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament would be theirs.  No more crunching numbers. No more scoreboard watching. No more speculation. Three wins, it may not be easy, but it was straightforward.

The Badgers polished off a perfect run through their three-day stint at the Xcel Energy Center with a 3-2 win over Colorado College in the championship game on Saturday night. A victory that capped an incredible stretch of games that saw the Badgers go 21-5-5, including a perfect 5-0 in the league playoffs-pretty heady stuff for a team that got off to a 1-7-2 start.

It could be considered one of the most enjoyable journeys in the Mike Eaves era, at least according to Eaves himself. 

"One of the most enjoyable journeys right now," said Eaves. "I think because of where we were, it was tough. There's no two ways about it. It was tough coming to the rink and making tough decisions. A lot of the credit has to go to the guys in the locker room. We are only there 15% of the time."

The Matchup: No. 14 Wisconsin vs. No. 7 St. Cloud State
When: Friday, March 22, 2pm CT
Where: St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center
Ice Sheet: 200' x 85'
TV: Fox Sports North
Radio: WIBA-AM 1310
All-Time Series: Wisconsin leads 44-33-9
Last Meeting: Wisconsin W 3-2

Wisconsin sits alone in the 16th spot in the Pairwise rankings after yesterday's action and that's the good news. The bad news is that's because no one else that mattered outside of Colorado College played yesterday. So, can the Badgers take down the McNaughton Cup champions? They sure can compete with anyone, especially with the luck they drew yesterday in their 7-2 win over Minnesota State. However, they must play more disciplined and they can't get outshot nearly 2 to 1 for the game. What is different about the Huskies from what we saw just two weekends ago? Let's find out...

Now or never. Do or die. Against the ropes.

These were just some of the clichés used to describe the situation the Wisconsin men’s hockey team faced as they headed to the Xcel Energy Center and their first WCHA Final Five since 2010.

Well, the Badgers got off on the right foot with a 7-2 drubbing of Minnesota State-Mankato Thursday afternoon.

For the second straight game, an early onslaught of goals helped the Badgers gain an advantage that they would never relinquish.

Tyler Barnes helped UW draw first blood a little over one minute into the game.

Jefferson Dahl made it 2-0 in favor of the Cardinal and White with his goal at 6:11 of the first.

Nik Kerdiles got in on the act two minutes later and the Badgers were up by three not even midway into the opening period.

The Matchup: No. 14 Wisconsin vs. No. 8 Minnesota State
When: Thursday, March 21st at 2:00pm CT
Where: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
Ice Sheet: 200' x 85'
TV: Fox Sports North
Radio: WIBA 1310-AM
All-Time Series: Wisconsin leads 25-17-4
Last Meeting: Wisconsin W 2-1 (OT)

This is the first appearance for the Badgers in the WCHA Final Five in three years and it's likely that they need to make a run to the Broadmoor Trophy finals in order to guarantee a spot in the NCAA tournament and it all starts against a team that they split with in their four games. Both teams sweeping each series on the road. This is a classic rubber match, so let's explore where these teams stand here in March. Amazingly this will also be the first ever meeting between these schools on a neutral site.