The University of Denver hockey team will begin its national title defense out east.
The Pioneers were given the No. 1 seed in the Manchester Regional and will open NCAA Tournament play at 3:30 p.m. Thursday (ESPNews) against Cornell University at SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Boston University and Western Michigan will play in the region’s other semifinal at noon on Thursday (ESPN2). The semifinal winners will face off in the regional final at 2 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU) for a spot in the NCAA Frozen Four.
Denver has a 30-9-0 overall record and won the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champions with a 19-5-0 mark in league play. The Pioneers lost to Colorado College 1-0 on Friday in the NCHC semifinals.
The defending national champions are the No. 4 national seed. Minnesota (Fargo, N.D.), Quinnipiac (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Michigan (Allentown, Pa.) hold the top spots in their respective regionals.
DU has a 7-5-0 all-time record against Cornell. The teams have met four times previously in the national tournament, with both teams winning twice. The Pioneers defeated the Big Red 4-3 in the 1969 National Championship Game.
Cornell has a 20-10-2 overall record and 15-6-1 mark in conference play. Cornell swept its quarterfinal series against Clarkson in the ECAC Tournament before falling 1-0 in overtime to Harvard in the conference semifinals on Friday in Lake Placid, New York.
The 2023 NCAA Frozen Four is April 6-8 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
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