Michigan to face Wisconsin in NCAA regional opener

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team is the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Regional and will face Wisconsin in the opening round of the NCAA Championship, the NCAA Ice Hockey Selection Committee announced Sunday. The Wolverines (30-7-3), who won the CCHA Super Six Tournament championship last Saturday night, will oppose No. 3 seed and No. 11-ranked Wisconsin (23-13-4) at 8:30 p.m. on Friday at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich.

The Michigan-Wisconsin winner will advance to play at 5 p.m. Saturday against the winner of No. 1 seed and No. 1-ranked Colorado College and No. 4 seed and No. 14-ranked Colgate.

Michigan will be competing in its NCAA-record 15th consecutive NCAA Tournament. Overall, this will be the Maize and Blue's 28th NCAA Tournament, which ties for the second-most in the nation. The Wolverines have won at least one game in the national tournament in each of the last 10 seasons. Michigan has a nation-best nine national titles, in 1948, '51, '52, '53, '55, '56, '64, 96' and '98.

Michigan has an all-time record of 59-50-7 against Wisconsin. Most recently, the Badgers defeated U-M by a score of 3-1 on Nov. 27, 2004, at the College Hockey Showcase in Madison, Wis. Michigan and Wisconsin have played one another in 14 straight seasons, including College Hockey Showcase matchups every November since the 1993-94 season. In the NCAA Tournament, the series is tied 2-2-0, with the last NCAA meeting occuring March, 25, 1995, with U-M winning 4-3. The other meetings were in 1977 (L, 6-5 OT), 1992 (L, 4-2), 1993 (W, 4-3 OT).

Ticket Information
The Michigan Athletics Ticket Office will only have tickets for the Midwest Regional from 9 a.m. on Monday (March 21) until 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The U-M ticket office can be reached by calling (734) 764-0247 or toll-free (866) 296-MTIX (6849). Also, tickets are available through Ticketmaster (616-456-3333 or www.ticketmaster.com) and the Van Andel Arena Box Office (Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.). All-session passes are $60. Starting tomorrow at noon, individual session tickets will be sold, priced at $45 for Friday and $25 for Saturday.