Wisconsin hockey grabs No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament, will face Bemidji State

The Wisconsin men’s hockey team is back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in seven years.

Brackets for the 16-team tournament were released Sunday night and the Badgers found themselves as the No. 1 seed in the East Region. They will face Bemidji State in the regional semifinal. UMass is the No. 2 seed in the region and Lake Superior State is the No. 3 seed.

The Badgers are considered the No. 4 overall seed, with North Dakota, Boston College and Minnesota ahead of them.

Wisconsin comes into the tournament off its best regular season since 2014, which is also the last time it made the field. The Badgers claimed their first Big Ten title and came up just short in their bid for a conference tournament title.

Bemidji State went 15-9-3 overall and 8-5-1 in WCHA action. The Beavers were bounced from their conference tournament by Lake Superior State in the semifinals.

There is some history between Wisconsin and Bemidji State in the tournament. Back in 2006 the Badgers beat the Beavers in a regional semifinal 4-0 and eventually went on to win the program’s sixth national title.

Games in the East Region will be played on Friday in Bridgeport, Conn, with the Badgers and Beavers facing off at 12 p.m. CT.