Coach Jim Montgomery and his University of Denver Pioneers were in flight from Minnesota to Denver on Sunday when the 16-team NCAA Tournament were announced.
Ultimately, they learned a return trip to Minnesota is on tap.
The Pioneers (23-9-6) were given a No. 2 regional seed and will face No. 3 Boston University (21-12-5) in a West Regional semifinal game Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. (4:30 p.m. MT, ESPNU).
The winner will advance to Sunday’s regional final, to face either top-seeded St. Cloud State (31-8-1) or No. 4 Ferris State (19-14-6).
The regional winner will advance to the April 7-9 NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla.
Denver is coming off a 0-1-1 showing at the National Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament finals in Minneapolis. The Pioneers lost to St. Cloud 4-2 in Friday’s semifinals before tying North Dakota 1-1 in Saturday’s consolation game. Montgomery scratched a handful of regulars Saturday because the game was relatively meaningless, as the Pioneers were likely to secure a No. 2 seed.
The DU-BU game will be a rematch of an Oct. 31 regular season game in Boston, where the Terriers won 5-4 in overtime.
BU hasn’t played since March 12, when it lost 5-0 at Massachusetts-Lowell, and got swept out of the Hockey East playoffs.
The Terriers, who tied UMass-Lowell for fourth in the regular season, lost the series opener 3-2.
Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or @mikechambers