Salem State Set to Play Norwich in Opening Round of NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament
After winning the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Hockey Tournament on Saturday, the Salem State Vikings received a bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament where they will play the Norwich Cadets in the opening round on March 12.
Interactive Tournament Bracket
WESTFIELD, Mass. -- After winning the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Hockey Tournament on Saturday, the Salem State Vikings received a bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament where they will play the Norwich Cadets in the opening round on March 12.
Salem State (16-9-2) capped off a season that saw them take home a share of the MASCAC regular season crown and a trip to the league title game to face off with the Plymouth State Panthers, the other regular season champion. The Vikings came out on top, 5-1, earning their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1995. Chris Mastropietro netted a hat trick for Salem State and was named Tournament MVP.
Norwich (19-6-3) received one of four at-large bids and enters the NCAA Tournament fresh off an ECAC Championship loss to Babson, 2-1. This is the fifth straight season the Cadets will be making a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, they made it to the semifinals but fell to Oswego State, 6-3.
A total of 11 teams compete in the tournament with seven coming from automatic qualifiers and four from at-large bids.
The winner of the Salem State/Norwich match-up will move on to play the winner of SUNY Geneseo/Nichols on March 15. The four quarterfinal winners will advance to Lewiston, Maine, at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée for the semifinal and championship games, which will be conducted March 21-22. Bowdoin and the Maine Sports Commission will host the championship.
