Three prospects look to claim top collegiate prize on Wild's home ice

ST. PAUL -- Three Wild prospects remain in the hunt for the NCAA Division I men's Frozen Four championship -- to be settled starting Thursday at Xcel Energy Center -- two donning the maroon and gold sweaters of Minnesota Duluth and one in the maize and blue of Michigan.
For the former, it's a chance at redemption. The latter, an opportunity to further silence doubters.

And if all goes as planned, the trio will find itself on the same sheet of ice come Saturday night, fighting for the biggest prize in college hockey.
Senior forward Avery Peterson, who played parts of two seasons at the University of Nebraska-Omaha before transferring to UMD in the midst of the 2015-16 season, is a seasoned vet; still, the magnitude of the Frozen Four is hard to ignore.
"This is my third Frozen Four], so I'm pretty lucky and fortunate for that," Peterson said after the team's practice Wednesday on the Wild's home ice. "It's the pinnacle of the college season and it's fun to be here, it's fun to be a part of it and just a lot of excitement comes with it."
Last season, the Bulldogs fell to the University of Denver in the championship game, a difficult memory still fresh for the Grand Rapids native and Wild's sixth-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. But Peterson sees this year as a chance at redemption.
"I think we had a really close team last year, and we expected to win that game," he said. "To get back and put ourselves in the opportunity to do that again is pretty special."
Freshman teammate and 2017 seventh-round selection Nick Swaney has no such lingering memories. His first season in Duluth has already propelled him to the biggest stage in college hockey.
"It's been awesome from the start of the year to getting here now," Swaney said. "Obviously it's a dream coming here, and to make it happen this year has been something special.
"[We're the] only Minnesota team left so everyone will hopefully be cheering for us and hopefully we can put on a good show for them."
The Bulldogs will play the Ohio State Buckeyes at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
In the other half of the bracket is Nick Boka's Michigan Wolverines, who will play Notre Dame at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday. Boka, a junior defenseman whom the Wild drafted in the sixth round in 2015, is part of Michigan's first trip to the Frozen Four since 2011.
Both games will air on ESPN 2. Saturday's championship tilt is at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN.
"Definitely, we have a little chip on our shoulder," Boka said. "I think at the start of our season a lot of people kind of ruled us out and we've been the underdog for most of the season and you know, we enjoy it. We take pride in that, and that's kind of our identity lately."
And while all three have participated in the Wild's development camp in the past and skated on Xcel Energy Center's ice before their Frozen Four appearances, something is different this time around.
"It's nice being back here and just being comfortable with the arena and with all the stuff around you," Boka said. "It's definitely a reminder of what you keep working for."
Living proof of what they're working toward is Jordan Greenway, whose Boston University Terriers were eliminated by Boka's Wolverines in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Greenway quickly signed with the Wild following the loss, and is on the cusp of his fourth NHL game Wednesday night in Anaheim.
Though Greenway doesn't have a favorite pick to win, he conceded Michigan was a difficult team to play against.
"It's a little bittersweet," Greenway said of the way his collegiate career ended. "Obviously wish we would have came out with a win that night … but it worked out differently, and now I'm here and I couldn't be happier."
**Related:**
- [Prospect Report: April 4, 2018 - Wild prospects take center stage in NCAA tournament