The 2011 NCAA Hockey Tournament bracket was released on Sunday morning, and the Denver Pioneers are a No. 2 seed in the Midwest region. The Pioneers will face the No. 3 Western Michigan Broncos on Saturday, March 26 at 3:00 p.m. MT. The winner advances to second round and faces the winner of No. 1 North Dakota-No. 4 RPI on Sunday, March 27.
Should the Pioneers advance to the second round and face North Dakota (the No. 2 overall seed), it will be a rematch of the WCHA playoff finals, which the Fighting Sioux captured on Saturday night. North Dakota's Matt Fratin scored the game-winning goal against the Pioneers in the second overtime period to win, 3-2.
Also making the field from Colorado are Air Force as the No. 4 seed in the East Region, and they will face the No. 1 overall seed, the Yale Bulldogs. That game can be seen on ESPNU this Friday at 4:30 p.m. MT. Colorado College also made it as a No. 4 seed, facing the West Region's No. 1 (and No. 3 overall seed) Boston College Eagles. That game will be seen on ESPNU right after Yale-Air Force.
Here is the complete bracket:
All times Mountain. Games are played 3/25-26.
EAST REGION -- Bridgeport, Conn.
No. 1 Yale Bulldogs vs. No. 4 Air Force Falcons (Friday, 4:30 p.m., ESPNU)
No. 2 Union Dutchmen vs. No. 3 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs (Friday, 1 p.m., ESPNU)
MIDWEST REGION -- Green Bay, Wis.
No. 1 North Dakota Fighting Sioux vs. No. 4 RPI Engineers (Saturday, 11:30 a.m., ESPN3.com)
No. 2 Denver Pioneers vs. No. 3 Western Michigan Broncos (Saturday, 3 p.m., ESPN3.com)
WEST REGION -- St. Louis, Mo.
No. 1 Boston College Eagles vs. No. 4 Colorado College Tigers (Friday, 7 p.m., ESPNU)
No. 2 Michigan Wolverines vs. No. 3 Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks (Friday, 3:30 p.m., ESPN3.com)
NORTHEAST REGION -- Manchester, N.H.
No. 1 Miami (Ohio) Redhawks vs. No. 4 New Hampshire Wildcats (Saturday, 2 p.m. ESPNU)
No. 2 Merrimack Warriors vs. No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Saturday, 5:30 p.m., ESPN3.com)