Author’s note: Nate covers college hockey nationally for our sister site SB Nation College Hockey. He spent much of the year writing on the Gopher men’s and women’s teams for either the St. Paul Pioneer Press or Minneapolis Star Tribune. You can follow him on Twitter @gopherstate.
Capturing the attention of hockey fans everywhere, the 2017 NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament begins today with four games on ESPN2 and ESPNU. If you need a quick refresher on the single-elimination tourney have no fear. Whether you’re a Wild fan with no allegiance, or a college hockey diehard, here are 16 things to know from upsets to players to dark horses that will catch you up in no time.