Preview: SCSU And Notre Dame Hockey In NCAA Tournament

The St. Cloud State Huskies open their NCAA Tournament appearance Saturday afternoon against Notre Dame in Toledo, Ohio. How do they stack up?

ND Facts: Ranked #4 in the country...Finished season with a 25-12-3 record...Junior Anders Lee (Edina, MN) leads the Irish in points with 20 goals and 18 assists...Junior Bryan Rust also took over 100 shots on goal this season for ND and scored 15 goals, good for second on the team in both categories. Junior defenseman Kevin Lind led the Irish defenders with a +23 rating...Other Minnesotans on Notre Dame include freshman Steven Fogarty (Edina), Nick Larson (Apple Valley) and Mario Lucia (Plymouth)...Lost in Frozen Four to eventual champion MN-Duluth in 2011-12 but missed tourney last season.

SCSU facts: Ranked #9/#11 in the polls...Finished 2012-13 as WCHA regular season champions with a record of 23-15-1...Fifth-year senior Drew LeBlanc has not only recovered from a gruesome leg injury he suffered last year, he has gone on to become a Hobey Baker Award finalist with a nation-high 37 assists and third-best 50 points...Nick Jensen led the defense with a +19, with Andrew Prochno right behind at +18...This is SCSU's first trip to the NCAA Tourney since 2010 when they went 1-1.