ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Friday will be an action-packed night in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) with the start of the MIAC Men's and Women's Hockey Playoffs and the second round of the MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs. The hockey postseason tournaments both begin with the quarterfinal games, and a pair of men's hoops semifinals will decide the two teams to meet for the title.

On the ice, No. 5 St. Catherine visits No. 4 Concordia in the MIAC Women's Hockey Playoff quarterfinal game, and the Cobber men will hit the road as the No. 5 seed to face No. 4 St. Olaf in the opening game of the MIAC Men's Hockey Playoffs. Meanwhile, No. 6 Bethel and No. 5 Gustavus hope to pull another road upset as both lower seeds advanced to Friday's semifinals, where the Royals will visit No. 1 St. Thomas and the Gusties travel to Northfield to take on No. 2 St. Olaf.

REMATCH OPENS WOMEN'S HOCKEY PLAYOFFS | Playoff Page | Bracket |
The first contest of the 2013-14 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs carries a serious sense of deja vu, as the Wildcats (11-13-1) and Cobbers (12-9-4) met just a week ago in a postseason preview. Concordia won both games, 3-0 last Friday and 4-0 on Saturday, but St. Catherine's will get another shot and this time a trip to the semifinals will be on the line.

 The Cobbers have been a defensive stalwart under first-year Head Coach Sarah Erickson with a pair of talented goaltenders. Sophomore Madison Denny allows just 1.74 goals per game with a .934 save percentage, and rookie Andrea Klug has been even better, allowing just one goal per game and stopping .958 percent of the shots she faces. Madison Gendreau and her 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) lead the Concordia offense, with Bri Flynn's 10 goals ranking first on the team, and Libby Fransdal leading the way with 10 assists.     

St. Catherine's offense is led by a quartet of players with double-digit point totals, starting with Bailey Rasmussen and her team-best 11 points and eight goals. Annie Buttermore, Megan Killmer and Hannah Okerstrom all add 10 points to the Wildcat scoring. Alex Hall (2.39 GAA, .925 save percentage) and Samantha Geissler (2.34 GAA, .925 save percentage) have shared the duties in net for Head Coach Brad Marshall's squad.

Friday's winner will be headed to Mendota Heights, Minn., Saturday to take on the MIAC's regular-season champ and the tournament's top seed, St. Thomas (17-5-3), at St. Thomas Ice Arena at 2 p.m. The other semifinal will feature another rematch of a final-weekend showdown. No. 2 Gustavus (16-7-2) and No. 3 Bethel (17-6-2) will get a chance to settle the score Saturday in St. Peter at 2 p.m. with a trip to the title game on the line. Gustavus has won the last 10 MIAC Playoff titles.

The two semifinal winners will advance to the MIAC Women's Hockey Playoffs championship game on Saturday, March 8, on the home ice of the top remaining seed. Fans can follow all the postseason action on the Playoff Home Page of the interactive bracket.

COBBERS AT OLES STARTS MEN'S HOCKEY TOURNEY | Playoff Page | Bracket |
The 2013-14 MIAC Men's Hockey Playoffs will open Friday in Northfield in an ironic match up. Before they drop the puck, Concordia (12-8-5) may want to first thank St. Olaf (11-10-4) for the opportunity. As the Cobbers sat idle last weekend, they needed the Oles to take at least one point from Augsburg. The Auggies were on the verge of sweeping, when St. Olaf scored with 20 seconds remaining to force overtime in a game the Oles eventually won in the extra period. However, Concordia probably can't expect the same generosity from St. Olaf now that the two are facing off for a spot in the semifinals.

The two are meeting for the third time in February, after squaring off - also in Northfield - earlier in February. The Oles won the opener, 5-4, and then took five of the six points when it won in a shootout the following night after overtime finished in a 2-2 tie.

Friday's postseason matchup will feature some of the MIAC's top scorers. Concordia's Caleb Suderman and Andrew Deters led the MIAC, each with 30 points, but St. Olaf's Dan Cecka isn't far behind at 29 points. Cecka's 17 goals shared the league lead, while Deters was tops with 21 assists. The Oles' Peter Linbland also ranks in the top 10 in the MIAC with 14 goals and 21 points.

In the net will be a pair of experience, Playoff-tested goalies with nearly identical stats. St. Olaf's Steve Papciak has the MIAC's fourth-best goals against average at 2.45, and he ranks sixth in save percentage at .911. Meanwhile, Cobber senior Chris Neamonitis is third in save percentage (.921) and fifth in goals against (2.58).

Friday's winner will move on to Saturday's semifinals, which will take place 24 hours later against the tournament's top seed. The victor will head to Mendota Heights, Minn., to take on regular-season champ St. Thomas (19-4-2) at St. Thomas Ice Arena at 7 p.m. The other semifinal will start in St. Peter, Minn., Saturday at 7:05 p.m. No. 3 Saint John's (16-9) will visit No. 2 Gustavus (15-6-4) in a rematch of the 2012-13 MIAC Men's Hockey Playoff championship game.

The two semifinal winners will advance to the MIAC Men's Hockey Playoffs championship game on Saturday, March 8, on the home ice of the top remaining seed. Fans can follow all the postseason action on the Playoff Home Page of the interactive bracket.

EXCITING MBB PLAYOFFS CONTINUE | Playoff Page | Bracket |
The MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs opened in dramatic fashion Wednesday, with both lower-seeded road teams pulling off upsets in the final seconds. Bethel (14-12) held off a late rally and knocked off No. 3 Augsburg, 70-67, in Minneapolis in one quarterfinal, and the Gusties (17-9) got a Jordan Dick free throw with two seconds left to hand No. 4 Saint John's a 65-64 loss in Collegeville. This marks the second time in three years that both lower-seeded road teams emerged from the quarterfinal round.

Waiting for the Royals and Gusties are the league's top two teams. St. Thomas (21-4) captured its ninth-straight league title this season, and St. Olaf (20-5) was just a game behind the Tommies as the two earned byes into the semifinals. This season, the Tommies swept its series with Bethel, winning 81-68 in Arden Hills on Jan. 13, and 65-56 at home on Feb. 5. The Oles also won both matchups with Gustavus, 80-58 at home on Jan. 4, and 77-72 in St. Peter on Feb. 1. However, both road teams enter Friday's matchup with momentum after Tuesday's thrilling victories, so similar drama is expected in the semifinals.

St. Thomas' calling is once again its balance and depth, as Head Coach John Tauer runs out four players averaging between 12.5 and 9.9 points per game (ppg). Zach Riedeman leads at 12.5 ppg with Conner Nord (11.6 pg), Marcus Alipate (10.8 ppg) and Erik Tengwall (9.9 ppg) also adding to the Tommie offense. Nord's 6.8 rebounds per game lead the team, Tengwall has a team-best average of 3.2 assists per game, and Riedeman is No. 1 on the team with 1.8 steals per game.

Bethel got plenty of contributions in Wednesday's upset of Augsburg. Brycen Wojta led the way with 15 points, six rebounds and six assists. Quinn Gorski added 11 points and three steals off the bench, and Luke Buttenhoff had 10 points as well. Bethel - which held a 29-5 edge in bench points - made all seven of its free throw attempts and shot 50 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from three.

The Oles have a tremendous season, as Head Coach Dan Kosmoski's crew tied a school record for regular-season wins (20) and set a new program best for MIAC wins (17). Connor Gunderson has been among the MIAC's best players, averaging 14.4 ppg with 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game. His stellar .624 field-goal percentage ranks fourth in the league. Sterling Nieslen adds 11.0 points and 3.7 assists per game, and Justin Pahl is also nearly in double figures, averaging 9.8 ppg.

Dick's game-winning free throw was part of a 13-point performance Wednesday, which was among the Gustie leaders. Martin Feddersen had a game-high 14 points and four assists, and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line to lead Gustavus. Gary Cooper added 12 points and seven boards off the bench, and Brody Ziegler hauled in a game-high 12 rebounds to go along with six points and three blocked shots. Gustavus dominated the glass, 43-28, including a 15-6 edge on the offensive boards.

Both games tip off Friday at 7:30 p.m. The two semifinal winners will advance to Sunday's championship game, which will be played at 2 p.m. on the home court of the top remaining seed. fans can follow all the action on the MIAC Men's Basketball Playoff Page or the tournament's interactive bracket.

| 2013-14 MIAC Playoffs and Championships |