The NCAA men’s ice hockey committee likes the Twin Cities. Of course, having Gophers AD Joel Maturi on the committee as the chair has to help.

On Thursday, the committee named the Xcel Energy Center as the site of the West Regional in 2010. Dates are Fri.-Sat., March 26-27 for those who plan way, way ahead.

The three other 2010 regionals will be held in Fort Wayne, Ind., Albany, N.Y., and Worcester, Mass.

Previously, Mariucci Arena was selected as the site of the 2009 West Regional on Mar. 27-28.

And, after two regionals here the next two years, the Frozen Four in 2011 will be held at the Xcel. That also is old news.

The Xcel was the site of the 2002 Frozen Four but has not been the host for an NCAA regional as yet.

The X is the home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild and has 18,064 seats. It has been the site of the past eight WCHA Final Fives.

“The Xcel Center is one of the top hockey facilities in North America,” Gophers coach Don Lucia said, according to a U of M press release. “The NCAA made a terrific choice for the fans and the teams that will be playing in the tournament. You want to have an NCAA regional in a first-class facility and the Xcel will do a fantastic job hosting the event.”

Lucia left unsaid what the new and old news means for the Gophers. If they qualify for the NCAA tournament, they will play on their home ice in the 2009 West Regional, at the X in the 2010 West Regional and, if they win a regional, at the X in 2011 Frozen Four.

That’s a nice set of carrots to dangle in front of his players.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 28th, 2008 at 2:18 pm and is filed under Gophers men's hockey. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.