NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's hockey team opens its second-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship against sixth-ranked St. Norbert College on Saturday evening at Cornerstone Community Center in De Pere, Wis.

After winning the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Playoffs as the No. 7 seed, St. Olaf (11-14-3) secured a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the second time and earned a date with sixth-ranked St. Norbert (23-6-0) in the opening round. The Green Knights earned one of four at-large berths into the 12-team field and host the Oles in a 7 p.m. puck drop on Saturday, March 12.

Tickets for Saturday night's game are available for purchase through the St. Norbert Box Office by phone at 920-403-3950 and can be purchased online here. St. Olaf fans are encouraged to buy tickets in Sections C and D but can sit in any section. All seats are reserved and masks are not required. Fans unable to attend the game in-person can watch the game online here. Live stats will not be available.

The winner of Saturday night's contest will earn a quarterfinal date with Augsburg in Minneapolis on Saturday, March 19. The fourth-ranked Auggies also earned one of the four available at-large selections after falling to the Oles, 5-2, in the championship game of the MIAC Playoffs last Saturday.

St. Olaf is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history, falling in the opening round by a 2-1 score at UW-Superior in the first round in 2006 after earning an automatic bid by winning the MIAC Playoffs. This year, the Oles are the first-ever team to enter the NCAA Tournament with a sub-.500 record after defeating the top-three seeds on their home ice to claim the MIAC's automatic berth.

Despite falling 12-3 to top-ranked Adrian College in the championship game of the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association (NCHA) Playoffs, St. Norbert secured its 20th berth in the NCAA Tournament on the strength of a 23-6-0 record that included three losses to the top-ranked Bulldogs. Before being swept by Adrian in the final series of the regular season, the Green Knights had won 19 games in a row after opening the season by losing three of their first four games in series with UW-Stevens Point and Augsburg.

St. Norbert's 20 appearances and 32 wins in the national tournament are both the second-most of any NCAA Division III program in the country. The Green Knights are 23-5 in their last 28 NCAA Tournament games dating back to 2008, including winning national championships in 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, and 2018.

St. Olaf and St. Norbert are meeting for the 21st time in the all-time series between the two programs, with the Green Knights holding a 10-9-1 edge in the previous 20 meetings. The two teams have not met since a 6-3 St. Norbert win in De Pere on Jan. 5, 2013, which gave the Green Knights a 6-3 advantage over the Oles on their home ice. St. Norbert is unbeaten (9-0-1) in the last 10 head-to-head matchups dating back to 1999 after the Oles won nine-straight games in the series from 1989-92.

Click here to view St. Olaf's complete set of game notes for Saturday night's game.