Tournament Bracket | Championship Central

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Plymouth State University will make its second appearance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III men's ice hockey tournament this Saturday (Mar. 14) when the Panthers travel to Norwich University in Northfield, Vt., for a First Round contest at 7:00 p.m. at Kreitzberg Arena.

The Panthers, 16-8-3 overall, and Cadets, 24-3-1, are two of 11 teams competing for the Division III national championship, and two of seven which received their conference's automatic berth into the tournament. PSU captured the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship while Norwich won the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference (ECAC) East title.

Live webstreaming and live stats for the game will be available on Norwich's Athletic website at www.norwichathletics.com.

The PSU-Norwich winner advances to an NCAA quarterfinal on Saturday, Mar. 21, at Amherst College (21-4-2). The NCAA semifinals and championship are set for Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on Mar. 27-28.

Both teams won their conference regular season and tournament championships to earn their NCAA berths.  PSU defeated rival Salem State University, 6-2, for the MASCAC crown Saturday night before a capacity crowd at Hanaway Rink, the second conference championship in four years. Norwich defeated rival Babson College 3-2 in overtime Saturday to earn its 11th ECAC East title and first in three years.

Saturday's game will be the second meeting of the season between PSU and Norwich, with the Cadets taking the season opener for both schools, 9-1, back on October 31. Norwich also defeated PSU 10-4 in the 2013-14 season opener at Kreitzberg Arena. PSU will have its hands full this Saturday as Norwich is 15-0 on home ice this winter.

It's been an outstanding season for Plymouth State under fifth-year head coach Craig Russell, a native of Northfield, Vt. and the MASCAC Coach of the Year three of the last four seasons. The Panthers captured the MASCAC regular season conference title with a 14-3-1 mark, blanked fourth-seeded Westfield State University, 3-0, in last Tuesday's semifinal contest before the 6-2 win over Salem State in Saturday's title tilt.

The Panthers have really heated up since late January, winning four in a row and 10 of their last 11 games heading into the NCAA Tournament.

Courtesy of Plymouth State Sports Information