WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsBadgers to face St. Cloud in WCHA Final Five

Badgers to face St. Cloud in WCHA Final Five

MADISON, Wis. -- The second-seeded Wisconsin men's hockey team (24-9-4) continues its postseason with the 2010 WCHA Final Five, which runs Thursday through Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. The Badgers will open against third-seeded St. Cloud State (22-12-5) in the semifinals of the conference tournament on Friday at 2 p.m.

The Badgers were the first team to advance to the Final Five, posting 4-1 and 7-2 victories this past Friday and Saturday at the Kohl Center over Alaska Anchorage to earn a first-round sweep.

St. Cloud State joined the Badgers in the semifinals after recovering from a game one overtime loss to win its series over Minnesota State with an overtime victory in game three on Sunday in the best-of-three first round.

Also advancing to the WCHA Final Five were top-seed Denver, as well as North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth. UND and UMD also took three games to reach the Final Five, completing a field that includes the top-five seeds in the tournament.

The Badgers now look ahead to a team they split with during the season, falling 4-1 and then winning 4-1 on Nov. 20 and 21 in St. Cloud, and falling 5-1 and winning 7-4 on Feb. 19 and 20 at the Kohl Center.

The Badgers, 11-time winners of the Broadmoor Trophy which is awarded to the WCHA playoff champions, have a chance at reaching the conference title game for the first time since 2000. The Badgers have reached the semifinals three times since 2002 and the start of the Mike Eaves' coaching era, but have never advanced to the title game.

Wisconsin last captured the Broadmoor Trophy in 1998.

The Badgers and Huskies meet at 2 p.m. CT on Friday in one semifinal. The winner will take on the winner of Denver and either North Dakota or Minnesota Duluth. UND and UMD battle Thursday night at 7 p.m. in the play-in game.

The entire WCHA Final Five is slated to air live on FSN. Wisconsin's games will also air on WIBA Radio, while live stats will be available at WCHA.com, a live rinkside blog will be found at UWBadgers.com and live audio can be found at both Web sites.

Following the weekend, the 16-team field for the 2010 NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament will be announced Sunday, March 21 on ESPN2 at 10:30 a.m. CT.

2010 WCHA Final Five
Xcel Energy Center
St. Paul, Minn.

Thursday - March 18
Minnesota Duluth vs. North Dakota - 7 p.m.

Friday - March 19
St. Cloud State vs. Wisconsin - 2 p.m.
Minnesota Duluth/North Dakota vs. Denver - 7 p.m.

Saturday - March 20
Third-Place Game - 2 p.m.
Championship Game - 7 p.m.