Having entrenched itself atop the PairWise Rankings and virtually certain of falling to no worse than second when the NCAA Tournament pairings are released Sunday, the University of Denver has a good idea about its potential first-round opponent.
If the NCAA selection committee goes by the book, the Pioneers (27-7-4) will open against Alabama-Huntsville or the Atlantic Hockey Association playoff champion.
The latter could be Air Force (16-14-6), which needs two wins this weekend to capture its fourth consecutive AHA tournament title.
The Falcons, who begin the AHA Final Four against Sacred Heart on Friday in Rochester, N.Y., outplayed DU on Feb. 6 at the academy before losing 2-1 in overtime.
“It would be a heck of a battle,” DU coach George Gwoz-decky said of a possible rematch with the Falcons in the national tournament. “We know how challenging and competitive the game was down there last month, and how tight the game was the previous year in Denver. We would be honored to play them. As I said last month, they’re one of the toughest opponents we’ve played this year.”
Alabama-Huntsville (12-17-3) undoubtedly would be the preferred opponent. In the final year of the four-team College Hockey America, the Chargers won the conference’s playoff title last weekend to become the first automatic NCAA qualifier. They will be the 15th or 16th overall seed and open against No. 1 or No. 2.
St. Patrick and St. Paul.
Top-seeded DU will depart for the WCHA Final Five at St. Paul, Minn., on Wednesday, St. Patrick’s Day. The Pioneers open the league finals Friday night against the winner of Thursday’s game between fourth-seeded North Dakota and No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth.
The WCHA awards banquet kicks off the tournament Thursday, and DU is expected to collect most of the major individual awards.
Junior goalie Marc Cheverie is favored to be named WCHA player of the year, and senior center Tyler Ruegsegger will likely become the second Pioneer to win student-athlete of the year. Gwozdecky is likely to be named coach of the year.
Footnotes.
DU defenseman Chris Nutini, who has missed the past six games with an ankle injury, will not play at the Final Five and could miss the first round of the NCAA Tournament. . . . With one win at the Final Five, DU would finish with fewer than 10 losses for the third time in the past 32 seasons.
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
WCHA Final Five At St. Paul, Minn.
Thursday
No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth (22-16-1) vs. No. 4 North Dakota (22-12-5), 6 p.m.
Friday
No. 3 St. Cloud State vs. No. 2 Wisconsin, 1 p.m.
Minn.-Duluth/North Dakota winner vs. No. 1 Denver, 6 p.m.
Saturday
Third-place game, 1 p.m.
Championship, 6 p.m.
AHA semifinals At Rochester, N.Y.
Friday
Canisius vs. Rochester Tech, 2 p.m.
Air Force vs. Sacred Heart, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 5 p.m.
NCAA TOURNAMENT GLANCE
NORTHEAST REGIONAL
DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.
March 27-28
EAST REGIONAL
Times Union Center, Albany, N.Y.
March 26-27
WEST REGIONAL
Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn.
March 26-27
MIDWEST REGIONAL
Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Ind.
March 27-28
FROZEN FOUR
Ford Field, Detroit
April 8 and 10
