If the DU Pioneers are to repeat as NCAA men’s hockey champions, they’ll have to do it the hard way — again. The University of Denver will open the 16-team NCAA Tournament in New England for the third year in a row, it was revealed Sunday afternoon. The Pioneers were placed in the Manchester N ortheast Regional, which features No. 1 overall seed Boston College, Providence and Atlantic Hockey champion Bentley. The defending national champion Pios (29-11-1) will take on Providence (21-10-5) in the opening round at 3:30 p.m. MDT Friday at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. The winner will play either Boston College (26-7-2) or Bentley (23-14-2) in the regional title game next Sunday at a to-be-announced time. DU lost to Western Michigan in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff championship in double overtime late Saturday night. Western Michigan (30-7-1) ended up getting the No. 4 overall seed as a result but is in a brutal bracket with Minnesota State (27-8-3), Minnesota (25-10-4) and UMass (20-13-5) in Fargo, N.D. And now the Pios are headed to Northeast Regional as an at-large selection. DU entered last year’s tournament as the No. 3 overall seed but was placed in the Northeast Regional in Springfield, Mass. The Pios ended up taking down UMass and Cornell with back-to-back 2-1 wins to advance to the Frozen Four, then beat Boston U and Boston College back-to-back to claim the program’s record 10th national title. The win over Cornell avenged an NCAA loss the year prior when the Pios were again sent to the Northeast Regional in Manchester as the four-team bracket’s top seed. “It seems to happen to us a little bit more than everyone else,” Carle said of the tough regional draw after last year’s 2-1 win over Cornell in the regional championship. “… Will we ever let it be an excuse for us? Not a chance. We’ll play anybody, anywhere, anytime.” That ethos will be put to the test once again this week, with many of the same players back from last year’s national title squad. That includes tournament hero Matt Davis between the pipes and Hobey Baker Award finalists forward Jack Devine and defenseman Zeev Buium. The Pioneers are aiming to become the first back-to-back national champion since Minnesota Duluth won it all in 2018 and ’19. They could also become the first program to win three national titles in four years since DU did so in 1958, ’60 and ’61. DU is 44-25 in the NCAA Tournament and 15-3 in tourney games since 2017 — a run that includes national titles in 2017, ’22 and ’24. The Pios have reached the Frozen Four five of their last seven NCAA Tournament appearances and 19 times overall. The other two national seeds are No. 2 Michigan State (26-6-4) in the Toledo, Ohio, regional and No. 3 Maine (24-7-6) in the Allenton, Pa., regional. Related Articles College Sports | When will NCAA return to Ball Arena? That’s a March Maddening TBD, but officials say it’ll happen soon College Sports | DU Pioneers’ Jack Devine, Zeev Buium named Hobey Baker Award finalists College Sports | DU Pioneers eliminate Colorado College in NCHC Tournament with blowout win College Sports | Colorado College faces win-or-go-home series with archrival Denver to salvage season College Sports | DU remains gold standard in Gold Pan, toppling rival CC for sixth consecutive season Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver’s teams. ...read more read less