GRAND FORKS, N.D. – The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) announced today that it has selected the University of North Dakota to
host the 2017 NCAA Men’s Hockey West Regional Championship at Scheels
Arena in Fargo. It will be the second time over a three-year span in
which UND and Scheels Arena have hosted the event, after having hosted
the 2015 NCAA West Regional.
The
sites were selected by the respective sport committees, which are made
up of coaches and administrators from NCAA member schools and
conferences, and approved by the appropriate divisional championships
cabinets/committees.
“We
are honored and excited to have been awarded the 2017 NCAA Men’s West
Regional,” said UND Director of Athletics Brian Faison. “This hosting
opportunity is the result of a great team effort partnering UND with
Ralph Engelstad Arena and Scheels Arena.”
The
2015 NCAA West Regional at Scheels Arena was a resounding success,
playing to a sold-out venue for all three games and featuring a field
that included host UND, Michigan Tech, Quinnipiac and St. Cloud State.
Top-seeded UND advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four with 4-1 victories over
Quinnipiac and St. Cloud State.
“We are confident that another NCAA Men’s Hockey West Region Tournament will be another great success in Fargo,” said Ralph Engelstad Arena general manager Jody Hodgson.
“Scheels Arena provides a great off-campus location for a regional
tournament and the staff at Scheels Arena did a great job with the 2015
event. We look forward to the regional tournament returning to North
Dakota.”
“Scheels
Arena is honored to be selected again as the host site for the 2017
NCAA West Regional,” said Scheels Arena General Manager Jon Kram. “We
feel our site portrays what a NCAA championship event should look and
feel like. The arena staff is thrilled to host an atmosphere the
participating programs, fans and media will remember for a long time, as
well as recreate the experience student-athletes want -- to play in
front of a capacity crowd. With the expansion of Scheels Arena to a
two-sheet facility, set to be completed in the spring of 2016, we see
opportunities to better the overall fan experience during the multi-day
event. Everyone involved will go above and beyond to insure, once
again, that this is one of the best sites for a NCAA men’s ice hockey
regional.”
The
East Regional has been awarded to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in
Providence, R.I. and will be hosted by Brown University on March 24-25,
while the Northeast Regional will be held at the Verizon Wireless Arena
in Manchester, N.H. with the University of New Hampshire serving as
host on March 25-26. The Midwest Regional will be hosted by Miami
University (Ohio) and be held at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati on March
25-26.
