From the AP today ...

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Welcome back, Hockey East.
After the Western Collegiate Hockey Association made it a family affair in
last year's Frozen Four in Columbus, Ohio, both Maine and Boston College
qualified for the national semifinals that start April 6 in Milwaukee.
The WCHA is still well represented -- last year's runner-up North Dakota
and Wisconsin, ranked No. 1 much of the year -- fill out the matchups and
look to take a fifth straight title for the conference.
"It's better for college hockey if you have things spread out, but it
doesn't always work that way," Maine coach Tim Whitehead said in a
conference call Tuesday with reporters. "The WCHA is clearly an elite
league, they've earned those spots."
A sign of the WCHA's strength?
Two-time defending champion Denver didn't even qualify for the NCAA
tournament, and Wisconsin wasn't one of the four teams from the WCHA in
last year's Frozen Four.
The Badgers, who have five national titles, haven't reached the national
semifinals since 1992. Coach Mike Eaves isn't concerned about his team's
focus against Maine.
"They know the kind of raucous atmosphere they're in for," Eaves said.
"They've faced it all year, so I don't think there's much preparation we
need to do with them."
In the other game, Boston College will meet North Dakota, with seven
titles, for the third time in the last six years in the Frozen Four.
The two teams split championship games in 2000 and 2001, with Boston
College winning the latter for the Eagles' second NCAA crown.
Coach Jerry York admits his team isn't as strong as in recent years.
"But it's a team that's playing very, very well now and that makes us a
little bit dangerous club going into the Frozen Four," he said.
Every experience was new last season for North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol,
who tried to become the first rookie coach to win the national title. The
Fighting Sioux are back this year with more experience and a little more
swagger.
"There's been no change in philosophy as far as the way we approach the
game or as far as what we're trying to teach or the attitude that our team
is going to try to play with," Hakstol said.
Wisconsin, playing just over an hour from its campus in Madison, is
certainly the hometown favorite.
The Badgers and goalie Brian Elliott, who hasn't allowed a goal in the
NCAA tournament and has a scoreless streak of 252 minutes and 49 seconds,
are looking to complete their state tour with two wins in Milwaukee after
winning two regional contests in Green Bay.
Elliott had to be perfect Sunday. He stopped all 40 shots in a 1-0 triple
overtime victory over Cornell, the second-longest game in the NCAA
tournament.
Eaves said he didn't do anything special during the overtime
intermissions. Instead, his team talked about other famous OT games in the
NHL, including Pat LaFontaine's quadruple overtime winner in 1987.
"We talked about stuff like that to indirectly talk about stuff that they
needed to do to get it done," Eaves said. "The mood in the locker room
between the overtime periods seem to get lighter and lighter as the game
went on. There's not too much you can say to the players."
Maine's coach doesn't need to say much to his Black Bears. They're used to
going on the road in hostile environments.
"It's actually our fifth straight year for that so we're very use to it,"
Whitehead said. "We had Minnesota, then we had Michigan, then we had
Boston in Boston, then we had Minnesota last year and now Wisconsin.
Having said that, our guys, I don't think they're really fazed by it. They
understand the challenge."
And behind the challenge is the ultimate objective for all four teams --
two wins and an NCAA crown.

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