UTICA, NY - The Adirondack Bank Center has never seen an NCAA Tournament matchup quite like this one.
 
The Pioneers defeated Fitchburg State by a 5-1 tally in the opening round of this year's big dance last week to advance to the National Quarterfinal. Their opponent this Saturday? Just five-time national champion Tim Coghlin and the St. Norbert Green Knights. In an all-time first for the Pioneers, Saturday's quarterfinal matchup will see the western powerhouse St. Norbert travel east to the Adirondack Bank Center for an all-time anticipated contest against Utica. The result of this weekend's war will decide who amongst these storied programs will add yet another Division III Frozen Four appearance to their resume.
 
The stakes don't get much higher, and the matchups don't get much more prestigious or exciting than this one. The first all-time meeting between the Pioneers and Green Knights will take place this Saturday, March 20th with puck drop scheduled for 1:00 PM at the Adirondack Bank Center. The winner advances to the Division III National Semifinals and the loser's season will come to an end. Get caught up before this Saturday's star-studded showdown below.
 
How to Watch the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal: You can watch this weekend's tournament tilt by heading to the link below or by clicking the "Watch" link under the contest in both the men's hockey schedule page as well as the athletics home page.
Stream link for Saturday's NCAA Quarterfinal game: https://www.empire8network.com/utica/?B=2243722
 
Keep Up with Live Stats: You can follow along with the live stats for this weekend's playoff fixture by heading to the "Live Stats" tab under the matchup in the Men's Ice Hockey schedule section of our athletics website. You can also follow the link below to view live statistics for the contest.
Live Stats link for Saturday's NCAA Quarterfinal game:
https://uticapioneers.com/sidearmstats/mhockey/summary
 
Looking for a Ticket?: You can purchase tickets to the contest by heading to empirestatetix.com or by clicking the link below. Tickets are $12 each!
Ticket link: https://empirestatetix.evenue.net/events/UCP
 
How Did We Get Here?: The Pioneers battled Fitchburg State this past Saturday in NCAA first round action at the Adirondack Bank Center. Senior Matt Wood (Garnet Valley, PA/Richmond Generals (USPHL)) netted two first period goals to give the Pioneers an early 2-0 edge. Despite a great showing by a fierce Falcons defense, the Pioneers weathered the storm and managed to break through right at the end of the second period, making it 3-0. The Third period was more of the same, as the home side struck twice more to bring the first round to a close with a 5-1 win. Despite seeming discombobulated at times in the contest, the Pioneers rallied on multiple occasions and found their footing to fly into the quarterfinal round.
 
On the other side of the bracket, the Pioneers' quarterfinal opponent was decided later on Saturday night as St. Norbert welcomed Minnesota-based Gustavus Adolphus at the Cornerstone Community Center just outside Green Bay, Wisconsin. In the battle between western powers, the Green Knights never trailed, grinding out a 3-2 win after a very competitive tilt between the two tournament teams. St. Norbert solidified their date with the Pioneers thanks to the victory, setting the stage for a surefire classic in the quarterfinal round.
 
Setting the Scene for Saturday's Showdown: 1,562 games, 1,078 wins, 27 regular season conference titles, above 65% winning percentage. This is the combined resume for the two head coaches in this weekend's matchup.
 
Gary Heenan and Tim Coghlin have both put together legendary careers as the head honcho for their respective teams, and despite over 1,500 combined games between the two of them, this will be the first time that their squads will meet on the frozen field of battle. On the line is another chance for both coaches to add another Frozen Four appearance to their respective resumes, and an opportunity to bring home this year's national championship. Of the four remaining quarterfinal matchups, this one is definitely the most anticipated, and absolutely features the greatest meeting of the minds when it comes to coaching staff and culture.
 
Of the remaining coaches in the final eight, only Mark Taylor of Hobart can match the amount of wins that Coghlin and Heenan have put together in their careers, making this the best coaching battle of the season so far.
 
All this history and knowledge will come to a head this weekend, as one coach will walk away with a Frozen Four appearance, while the other will add an NCAA loss to their extraordinarily short list of defeats.
 
Knowing St. Norbert: As for the players who will decide the outcome of the outing on the ice, the matchups only make Saturday's showdown even more scintillating.
 
Logan Dumbrowsky is the heart of the Green Knight offense. The Stevens Point native has put together a 50-point campaign in what is just his sophomore year, an incredible feat for a young player in the stacked NCHA Conference. The Green Knights goal-scoring guru sits just behind league-mate Hassan Akl of Aurora for the Division III lead in points. Akl, who will face off with Geneseo this coming weekend, has 51 points, holding an extremely slim margin on Dombrowsky. St. Norbert's superstar has accrued 17 goals and 33 assists this year, proving to be just as dangerous in playmaking situations as he is when he sets his sights on goal. Despite being just short of Akl in the points column, the stellar sophomore managed to take home the NCHA's Player of the Year Award, paving the way for the Green Knights to take home the Harris Cup as the NCHA's Conference Tournament Champion.
 
Forming a deadly duo with Dombrowsky is senior scorer Liam Fraser. The Alberta native leads the St. Norbert scoring effort with 21 goals to go along with 22 assists. It's no surprise that Fraser has netted the most goals on the season, as he's also outshot the next highest goal scorer, Dombrowsky by almost double, firing off 136 shots to Dombrowsky's 75. Fraser and Dombrowsky have combined for 93 of the Green Knights' 331 total points on the season, also accruing over half the amount of total points that St. Norbert has allowed their opponents (155).
 
The final double-figure scorer for the Green Knights is Carter Hottmann, who has netted 11 goals and 13 assists for a point total of 24. Hottmann also slots in as the Green Knights' most common faceoff man, capturing 55% of his faceoff opportunities and posting 346 wins out of 628 total opportunities within the circle. Hottmann heads a trio of 20-point getters along with Braden Lindstrom and Brock Baker. The Green Knights point producers are rounded out by a legion of nine-different players who fall within the 10 point range, an excellent supporting cast for the western powerhouse.
 
Hunter Garvey has carried the load in net for St. Norbert, with the sophomore starting 25 games over the course of the season and putting together an impressive record of 19-4-1. Garvey has manned the cage in the last eleven outings for the Green Knights, seeing action in all-but five games. The sophomore stopper has a goals allowed average of 2.09 while also notching 506 total saves this season at a 91.2% clip. He'll be tough to beat, but the Pioneers will have many opportunities as they look to bring their A-game against a staunch St. Norbert defense that's allowed just 60 total goals this season.
 
The Matchup: When it comes to goals, the Pioneers and Green Knights possess pretty similar marks. Utica has a slim edge in goals scored, beating the St. Norbert scoring offense by a single tally with 124 goals scored compared to 123 goals by their western counterpart. The Green Knights get the advantage on defense, allowing just 60 goals compared to the Pioneers' 68 total goals allowed.
 
On special teams, the two squads are nearly identical, with the main difference being the Pioneers' efficiency as they've converted their power play chances at a 30.5% rate as opposed to a 23% conversion rate for St. Norbert. This might be something for the Pioneers to target, as the Green Knights have been sent to the box 10 more times than Utica this season. With the Pioneers' efficiency on the advantage, they could look to force St. Norbert into some penalty kill situations.
 
The final period is also a point of emphasis in the matchup, as the Green Knights have allowed the most opposing goals during the final frame this season. St. Norbert has allowed 15 first period goals, 19 second period goals, and 26 third period goals.
 
After the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal: The winner of Saturday's showdown will advance to the NCAA Division III Frozen Four, and will get the chance to battle with the top brass for a chance at a National Championship.
 
This matchup has the makings of an instant classic. Grab a ticket or tune into Saturday's NCAA Quarterfinal action!