MENDOTA HEIGHTS, Minn. -- The 2014 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Hockey Playoff championship games will take place Saturday with a serious sense of deja vu. Both the men's and women's title games will feature the same two schools in the same seeds on the same sheet of ice with the same goal - winning the conference postseason championship and claiming an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Division III Tournament.

In both games, No. 1 St. Thomas will host No. 2 Gustavus at St. Thomas Ice Arena in Mendota Heights, Minn. The women's game will start at 2 p.m., and the men's championship will follow at 7 p.m. Saturday's action should deepen an already-entertaining rivalry between the two schools, and fans will be able to catch all the action in the very same building.

Both Playoff brackets will be in for thrilling conclusions to punctuate an already-exciting pair of  tournaments. The three women's Playoff games have all been decided by one goal, with two of the three games needing overtime. Both men's semifinals were one-goal games, after an exciting, high-scoring two-goal margin in the quarterfinal. Fans could be in for similar drama, as the top two seeds in each bracket meet head-to-head Saturday with a title on the line.

GUSTIES GO FOR 11-IN-A-ROW
To add to Saturday's similarities, the 2013-14 MIAC Women's Hockey Playoff Championship will mirror the regular season, with the Gusties (17-7-2) attempting to continue a tremendous title streak and the Tommies (18-5-3) trying to stand in their way. On the final day of the regular season, St. Thomas clinched the MIAC title, edging Gustavus by just two points (30-28) in the final standings to end a run of nine-straight championships by the Gusties.

Saturday, Gustavus aims for its 11th-straight MIAC Playoff title, with St. Thomas again attempting to play the spoiler and, thanks to its regular-season crown, the Tommies will enjoy home-ice advantage. The two teams split their regular-season series in mid-February, with Gustavus scoring a 5-1 home win on Valentine's Day, and St. Thomas returning the favor on its home ice with a 3-1 on Feb. 15. Also, both advanced to Saturday's Playoff title game with thrilling victories in the semifinals.

The top-seeded Tommies scored a 4-3 overtime win in the semis over No. 4-seeded Concordia thanks to a game-winning goal in the extra period by Hannah Bird. St. Thomas also got goals from Maria Bothwell, Jenny Saxson and Paige Baldwin, and star goalie Alise Riedel made 15 saves to earn the win in net. Tara Baggo and Bothwell each had two-point performances to help the Tommies advance.

The second-seeded Gusties also won a thriller, coming from behind in the final period to defeat No. 3-seeded Bethel 3-2. Early in the final period, the Royals scored to take a 2-1 lead, but Gustavus rallied with a pair of goals in a three-minute stretch to surge ahead and get the win. Carolyn Draayer netted a short-handed goal to tie it up at 2-2, and 3:01 later Melissa Doyle scored the game-winner to send the Gusties back to the title game. Amanda Koep got 16 saves in goal and five different Gustavus players notched a point in the win.

The two victories set up Saturday's marquee showdown with another MIAC title on the line. The two teams have combined to win the last 14 MIAC regular-season titles, and Gustavus has won all 11 MIAC Playoff showdowns. Will the Gusties keep this historic postseason streak alive? Will St. Thomas sweep the conference championships in 2013-14? The answers will come at 2 p.m. Saturday.

MARQUEE MATCHUP FOR MEN'S TITLE GAME
Over the past three seasons, St. Thomas (20-4-2) has been the MIAC's best men's hockey team in the regular season. The Tommies have won or shared each of the last three regular-season conference championships. But in the three years prior to 2013-14, UST was upset in the semifinals of the MIAC Playoffs. In that same span, Gustavus (16-6-4) has arguably been the MIAC's best postseason team, as the Gusties will make their third-straight MIAC Playoff championship game appearance Saturday after winning the postseason crown in 2011-12, and also reaching the title game last season.

Saturday's 2013-14 MIAC Men's Hockey Playoffs championship game is a rematch of the 2009-10 MIAC Playoff title game, when St. Thomas defeated Gustavus in St. Peter, Minn., 2-1 in overtime. With the pedigree and recent success of these two title-game participants, fans should be in for a similarly thrilling game Saturday night in Mendota Heights. The Tommies swept the two teams' regular-season series, winning 4-2 at home and 4-1 at Gustavus on Feb. 14-15.

Both teams reached the title game with thrilling one-goal wins in the semifinals. Top-seeded St. Thomas ended its home semifinal jinx with an exciting 2-1 win over No. 4-seeded St. Olaf last Saturday. The Oles got on the board first, but St. Thomas got a game-tying goal from Tyler Gubb late in the first period, and Alex Altenbernd scored the eventual game-winner in the second. The Tommie defense took over from there, keeping St. Olaf off the scoreboard behind 22 saves from star goalie Drew Fielding.

Second-seeded Gustavus' semifinal win over No. 3 Saint John's - a rematch of last season's Playoff title game - was even more thrilling. The two were tied into the final minute of regulation, when the Gusties' Andy Pearson navigated his way through the Johnnie defense and put home the game-winning goal with just 34 seconds remaining to send Gustavus to its third-straight championship game with a 3-2 victory. Tyler Lapic scored a game-tying power-play goal in the third as well, with Blake Schammel also netting a goal for Gustavus, and John McLean made 20 saves to get the win in goal.

All season long, St. Thomas and Gustavus were atop the conference, separated by just four points in the final standings to earn the top two Playoff seeds. Now, they'll get one more chance to go head-to-head with another MIAC title on the line. Will St. Thomas continue its remarkable season, beat Gustavus for a third time, and add the postseason title to its trophy case? Or will the Gusties avenge the two regular-season defeats and use their recent championship-game experience to pull off the road upset? Starting Saturday at 7 p.m., those questions will get their answers.

FOLLOW THE CHAMPIONSHIP ACTION ONLINE
While most of the Tommie and Gustie hockey faithful will make it a point to get to Mendota Heights for a double-dose of Playoff championship hockey, St. Thomas will have opportunities for fans who can't make the trek to follow the action online. The two teams will offer live stats (men - women), and have a live video/audio broadcast via the MSBN Sports Network.

The MIAC has a home pages dedicated to the 2013-14 MIAC Hockey Playoffs (men - women), containing schedules, links and information on each of the five teams in the field. Throughout the tournament, the page will be updated with scores, stats, updated schedules and more. The MIAC also has a new interactive brackets (men - women) for the tournament, that will also include links to follow each game live, postgame recaps and stats in addition to the update scores and schedules.

Fans can also track all the Playoff action on the MIAC Scoreboard or the MIAC mobile app, which is a free download for both Apple and Android devices. Connect throughout the tournament on social media through the MIAC's Facebook page or Twitter account, using the hashtags #MIACMH, #MIACWH and #MIACPlayoffs.

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