ITHACA, N.Y. -- The Cornell men's hockey team returns to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006 on Saturday, March 28, when it faces Northeastern of Hockey East in the first round of the Midwest Regional at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. Saturday's game will begin at 4 p.m. and will be televised live on ESPNU.

Cornell advanced to the NCAA tournament for the 17th time in school history after gaining an at-large selection into the field of 16 teams. The Big Red (21-9-4) finished the regular season in second place in ECAC Hockey, three points behind first-place Yale. Cornell also advanced to the championship game of the ECAC Hockey tournament after a 4-3 double-overtime victory over Princeton in the semifinals before falling in the title match to Yale, 5-0, on Saturday night in Albany, N.Y. The Big Red enters the post-season with a 6-4 mark in its last 10 games.

Cornell is paced offensively by sophomore Riley Nash (13-21--34) and junior Colin Greening (14-15--29), with junior Blake Gallagher (6-20--26) and senior Evan Barlow (12-13--25) joining them in scoring more than 20 points this season. Junior Brendon Nash is the highest-scoring defenseman, collecting two goals and 15 assists this season for 17 points. In goal, junior Ben Scrivens has a 1.77 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.

Cornell's opponent in the first round will be Northeastern, which finished the regular season in second place in Hockey East with a 25-11-4 overall mark. The Huskies will be making their first NCAA tournament appearance since 1994, when they lost in the first round in overtime to eventual national champions Lake Superior State, 6-5, and just their fourth in program history.

Northeastern (25-11-4) fell in the semifinals of the Hockey East tournament on Friday night to Massachusetts-Lowell, 3-2 in overtime, at the TD Banknorth Garden in Boston, Mass. The Huskies are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games this season. Northeastern is paced offensively by sophomore Wade MacLeod (14-21--35) and senior Ryan Ginand (20-12--32), though the pair is joined by another four players with 20 points or more this season (senior Joe Vitale (7-20--27), freshman Steve Quailer (10-15--25), freshman Alex Tuckerman (8-14--22) and sophomore Tyler McNeely (8-12--20). In goal for the Huskies all season long has been junior Brad Thiessen, the nation's leader in minutes played and saves. Thiessen, a Hobey Baker Award finalist, has a .932 save percentage to go along with a 2.09 goals-against average.

Cornell leads the all-time series against the Huskies, 13-2-0, and won the last meeting between the two teams on Dec. 27, 2005, by a 3-0 score in the Florida College Classic in Estero, Fla. Saturday's game will mark the first time the two teams have met in post-season play.