The No. 4 Michigan hockey team will compete for yet another banner.
By beating No. 2 Minnesota, 4-3, to win the Big Ten Championship on Saturday, the Wolverines secured an automatic qualifier in the NCAA Tournament. But even without that win, they would have secured a spot in the tournament because of their position in the Pairwise comparison system.
And after an undefeated Big Ten Tournament run, Michigan (29-9-1) earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. It will face No. 4 seed American International (22-12-3) in the first round of the Allentown regional on Friday.
If the Wolverines beat the Yellow Jackets, they will face either No. 2 seed Quinnipiac (31-6-3) or No. 3 seed St. Cloud State (18-14-4) in the second round on Sunday. The winner of that game will travel to Boston on April 7 to play in the Frozen Four.
Michigan has not played in the NCAA Tournament since 2018, when it lost to Notre Dame on a last-minute goal in the Frozen Four semifinals. The Wolverines would have competed last season, but positive COVID-19 tests forced a late withdrawal.