Team capsules for the six schools forming the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.

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COLORADO COLLEGE TIGERS
Team colors: Black and gold
Location: Colorado Springs, Colo. (pop. 414,358)
Distance from Omaha: 610 miles
School enrollment: About 2,000
Arena: World Arena (7,343 capacity; 200x100 ice sheet)
Head coach: Scott Owens (13th season)
Last season: 23-19-3 overall; 13-13-2 WCHA (sixth place); NCAA tournament second round
Notable hockey alumni: Red Hay, Doug Lidster, Tom Preissing, Doug Palazzari, Eddie Mio, Dave Delich, Brian Swanson, Peter Sejna, Mark Stuart, Brian Swanson, Brett Sterling
Hockey History
• Colorado College’s program began in 1938, when the Broadmoor Hotel converted an indoor riding academy into an ice rink.
• CC sponsored the first NCAA hockey championship in 1948 and went on to win national titles in 1950 and 1957. The Broadmoor Ice Palace hosted the NCAA championship for its first decade.
• A founding member of the WCHA, the Tigers have made the NCAA tournament 12 times since 1995, with trips to the Frozen Four in 1996, 1997 and 2005. Under Owens, CC has won three WCHA regular-season titles.
• The Tigers opened the 2011 NCAA tournament by routing defending national champion Boston College 8-4, then CC missed out on a trip to the Frozen Four when it fell 2-1 to Michigan.

DENVER PIONEERS
Team colors: Crimson and gold
Location: Denver (pop. 610,345)
Distance from Omaha: 540 miles
School enrollment: About 11,400
Arena: Magness Arena (6,026 capacity; 200x85 ice sheet)
Head coach: George Gwozdecky (18th season)
Last season: 25-12-5 overall; 17-8-3 WCHA (second place); NCAA tournament second round
Notable hockey alumni: Marty Howe, Bill Masterton, Glenn Anderson, Keith Magnuson, Kevin Dineen, Ryan Caldwell, Matt Carle, Paul Stastny, Tyler Bozak, Chris Butler, Craig Patrick, Cliff Koroll, Peter McNab
Hockey History
• A charter member of the WCHA, powerhouse Denver has been playing hockey since 1949.
• Denver skated to a remarkable 4-4 tie against the Russian National Team in 1959 and also managed a win and a tie against the eventual gold-medal winning 1960 U.S. Olympic team.
• Coaching legend Murray “The Chief” Armstrong guided the Pioneers from 1956 through 1977, leading the team to 11 Frozen Four appearances and NCAA titles in 1958, 1960, 1961, 1968 and 1969.
• Gwozdecky has continued Denver’s winning tradition, leading the program to four WCHA regular-season titles and national championships in 2004 and 2005.
• Denver opened the 2011 NCAAs with a 3-2, double-overtime win over the CCHA’s Western Michigan, a program that could join the new conference. The Pioneers’ season ended with a 6-1 loss against North Dakota.

MIAMI REDHAWKS
Team colors: Red and white
Location: Oxford, Ohio (pop. 21,943)
Distance from Omaha: 705 miles
School enrollment: About 16,000
Arena: Steve Cady Arena (4,000 capacity; 200x85 ice sheet)
Head coach: Enrico Blasi (13th season)
Last season: 23-10-6 overall; 16-7-5 CCHA (third place); NCAA tournament first round
Notable hockey alumni: Dan Boyle, Kevyn Adams, Andy Greene, Ryan Jones, Alec Martinez, Justin Mercier, Tommy Wingels
Hockey History
• Hockey became a varsity sport at Miami in 1978, and the program joined the CCHA in 1981.
• Current Denver coach George Gwozdecky led Miami from 1989 through 1994. He guided the team to its first CCHA title in 1992-93, the same season Miami made its NCAA tournament debut.
• Miami has been one of the NCAA’s most successful programs since 2005-06, when the RedHawks won their second CCHA regular-season championship. Under Blasi, the team has made six straight postseason appearances. Miami made back-to-back Frozen Four trips in 2009 and 2010. The RedHawks were a minute away from winning the 2009 national title before Boston University scored twice to tie the game and won the championship in overtime.
• Steve Cady Arena doesn’t rank among the biggest NCAA rinks, but it is one of the nicest college facilities. The $34.8 million arena opened in 2006.
• Senior forward Andy Miele captured the 2011 Hobey Baker Award, the first Miami player to claim college hockey’s top individual honor.
• The RedHawks lost 3-1 to New Hampshire in the first round of the 2011 NCAA tournament.

MINNESOTA-DULUTH BULLDOGS
Team colors: Maroon, gold and white
Location: Duluth, Minn. (pop. 84,419)
Distance from Omaha: 530 miles
School enrollment: About 11,100
Arena: AMSOIL Arena (6,800 capacity, 200x85 ice sheet).
Head coach: Scott Sandelin (12th season)
Last season: 26-10-6 overall; 15-8-5 WCHA (fourth place); NCAA champion
Notable hockey alumni: Brett Hull, Curt Giles, Jim Johnson, Tom Kurvers, Dave Langevin, Greg Andrusak, Pat Boutette, Rick Heinz, Norm Maciver, Bob Mason, Mark Pavelich, Derek Plante, Shjon Podein, Glenn Resch, Larry Wright, Bill Watson, Dennis Vaske, John Harrington
Hockey History
• Varsity hockey debuted at Duluth in 1930, and the school joined the WCHA in 1965.
• In 1984, Bowling Green defeated Minnesota-Duluth 5-4 in an NCAA championship game that went into four overtimes.
• Longtime coach Mike Sertich stepped down in 2000 after leading UMD to 335 wins.
• The Bulldogs retired NHL great Brett Hull’s jersey in 2006.
• Sandelin, an assistant under UNO’s Dean Blais at North Dakota, has led UMD to five 20-win seasons while re-establishing the school as one of the best in the country.
• After playing in the storied Duluth Entertainment Convention Center since 1966, the Bulldogs moved into their $80 million AMSOIL Arena midway through the 2010-11 season.
• Duluth’s dramatic run to its first NCAA championship last spring included a 4-3 win over Notre Dame in the Frozen Four semifinals and a 3-2 OT victory over Michigan in the title game.

UNO MAVERICKS
Team colors: Crimson and black
Location: Omaha (pop. 427,872)
School enrollment: About 15,000
Arena: Qwest Center Omaha (16,680 capacity; 200x85 ice sheet)
Head coach: Dean Blais (third season)
Last season: 21-16-2 overall; 17-9-2 WCHA (third place); NCAA tournament first round
Notable hockey alumni: Greg Zanon, Jeff Hoggan, Scott Parse, Dan Ellis, Bill Thomas
Hockey History
• Current UNO Associate Athletic Director Mike Kemp built the Mavericks’ Division I program from scratch in the mid-1990s.
• The Mavericks began their 11-season association with the CCHA in 1999, earning trips to “The Joe” in Detroit in 2000, 2001 and 2005.
• UNO made its first NCAA tournament appearance in 2005-06, becoming one of the youngest programs in college hockey history to accomplish the feat.
• The Mavs regularly played in front of sellout crowds at the Civic Auditorium and have remained one of the top drawing teams in the country after moving to the larger Qwest Center in 2003.
• In 2009, the school hired Blais, a two-time national-championship coach at North Dakota. He guided UNO to its fourth 20-win season during his first year on campus.
• Last year, the Mavs took third in the WCHA, their highest league finish ever, and made a second trip to the NCAAs. They lost 3-2 in the opening round to eventual runner-up Michigan on a controversial overtime goal.

NORTH DAKOTA FIGHTING SIOUX
Team colors: Kelly green and white
Location: Grand Forks, N.D. (pop. 51,216)
Distance from Omaha: 500 miles
School enrollment: About 13,200
Arena: Ralph Engelstad Arena (11,634 capacity, 200x85 ice sheet)
Head coach: Dave Hakstol (eighth season)
Last season: 32-9-3 overall; 21-6-1 WCHA (first place); NCAA Frozen Four
Notable hockey alumni: Murray Baron, Ed Belfour, Perry Berezan, Brad Bombardir, Jon Casey, Marc Chorney, Dave Christian, Lee Goren, Ralph Engelstad, Tony Hrkac, Dave Hudson, Greg Johnson, Bob Joyce, Ian Kidd, Craig Ludwig, John Marks, Troy Murray, James Patrick, Russ Romaniuk, Doug Smail, Geoff Smith, Phil Sykes, Mark Taylor, Dave Tippett, Garry Valk, Dixon Ward, Rick Wilson, Landon Wilson, Rick Zombo, Jason Blake, Mike Commodore, T.J. Oshie, Zach Parise, Jonathan Toews
Hockey History
• One of the sport’s traditional heavyweights, UND’s varsity program dates to 1946.
• A founding member of the WCHA, the Sioux won their first NCAA title in 1959 under coach Bob May. They won it all again in 1963 under Barry Thorndycraft, claimed three more championships (1980, 1982 and 1987) under Gino Gasparini, followed by two more titles (1997, 2000) with current UNO coach Dean Blais on the bench.
• North Dakota’s decade-old arena, built for an estimated $100 million, is one of the top hockey venues in the world.
• UND is still waiting to win another NCAA title under Hakstol, but his impressive coaching stint already includes seven straight postseason appearances and five trips to the Frozen Four.
• North Dakota had one of its best teams in school history in 2010-11. But after the Sioux steamrolled their way to the Frozen Four, they lost 2-0 in the national semifinals to Michigan despite outshooting the Wolverines 40-20.

— Chad Purcell

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