NORTHFIELD, Minn. – The St. Olaf College men's hockey team will hit the road to face fifth-ranked St. Norbert College in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Championship on Saturday evening.

After earning the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (MIAC) automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, St. Olaf (14-11-3) will open against St. Norbert (22-6-0) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 at Cornerstone Community Center in De Pere, Wis. The NCAA appearance is the third in program history for the Oles, who will face the Green Knights in the opening round for the second time in three seasons.

Tickets are available for purchase online through the St. Norbert Ticket Office here. St. Olaf fans are encouraged to sit in Sections C and D. St. Norbert will also provide a live stream of the game and the postgame press conferences for both teams. No live statistics will be available.

St. Olaf punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history (2006, 2022, 2024) by winning the MIAC Playoffs for the third time (2006, 2022, 2024) with three consecutive road victories. The Oles earned the final spot in the five-team field with a win on the final day of the regular season before knocking off the fourth-seeded Saint Mary's University, top-seeded Augsburg University, and second-seeded and No. 15-ranked Bethel University to earn the automatic bid. The run through the tournament made St. Olaf the second No. 5 seed to win the MIAC Playoffs, along with Hamline University in 2015.

The Oles are in search of their first-ever victory in the NCAA Tournament after falling by a single goal in the first round in its two prior appearances. In its first NCAA appearance, St. Olaf fell 2-1 at UW-Superior in 2006. Two years ago, the Oles led sixth-ranked St. Norbert 3-1 after two periods before the Green Knights rallied in the third period and scored 56 seconds into overtime for a 4-3 win.

St. Norbert is making its 21st NCAA appearance in program history (1997-99, 2002-08, 2010-14, 2016-19, 2022, 2024), which is good for the second-highest total of all-time behind Plattsburgh State University's total of 23. The Green Knights have won five national championships (2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018) and rank second all-time in NCAA victories among Division III programs with a 33-15-1 record in the tournament. Only Middlebury College (34) has won more games in the national tournament.

In addition to being a rematch from the first round two years ago, Saturday night's game will be the second meeting between St. Olaf and St. Norbert this season, as the Green Knights claimed a 4-3 victory in the season opener at St. Olaf Ice Arena back on Oct. 27. St. Norbert holds a 12-9-1 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs and is 11-0-1 over the last 12 encounters dating back to St. Olaf's last win in the series on Nov. 21, 1992.