For the second straight year, the Buffalo Sabres will have six of their draft picks competing in the NCAA Tournament which begins on Thursday.
Michigan State defensemen Maxim Strbak (second round, 2023) and Patrick Geary (sixth round, 2024) will be playing in their third straight NCAA Tournament after helping the Spartans earn the No. 3 overall seed.
Michigan State is the top seed in the Worcester Regional and will face No. 4 seed UConn and Jake Richard (sixth round, 2022) on Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
The Huskies lost to Merrimack in the finals of the Hockey East Tournament but still made the field as the No. 14 overall seed, the final at-large team.
A pair of Wisconsin freshmen will be making their NCAA Tournament debuts as defenseman Luke Osburn (fourth round, 2024) and forward Vasily Zelenov (seventh round, 2024) take on Dartmouth on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Worcester.
Adam Kleber (second round, 2024) – who won the NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year Award at Minnesota Duluth – helped guide the Bulldogs back to the tournament for the first time since 2022. Minnesota Duluth is the No. 2 seed in the Albany Regional and match up against Penn State at 9 p.m. on Friday.
Here’s a full schedule of the regional semifinal games (games involving Sabres prospects in bold):
Sioux Falls Regional (Thursday)
1. North Dakota vs. 4. Merrimack - 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
2. Providence vs. 3. Quinnipiac - 5 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Worcester Regional (Thursday)
1. Michigan State (Geary, Strbak) vs. 4. Connecticut (Richard) - 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
2. Dartmouth vs. 3. Wisconsin (Osburn, Zelenov) - 5 p.m. ET, ESPN-U
Loveland Regional (Friday)
1. Western Michigan vs. 4. Minnesota State, 2:30 pm ESPNU
2. Denver vs. 3. Cornell, 6 p.m. ESPN+
Albany Regional (Friday)
1. Michigan vs. 4. Bentley, 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN-U
2. Minnesota Duluth (Kleber) vs. 3. Penn State, 9 p.m. ET ESPN2
