NCAA Tournament: Worcester Regional Preview

Minnesota defenseman Jackson LacombeRelated ArticlesSee all of CHN's Tournament coverage: articles, brackets, history and more.

The Northeast Regional kicks off on Friday at the DCU Center in Worcester and it will feature two of the more intriguing matchups of the tournament.

In the Northeastern-Western Michigan game, it's a classic battle between a top offense and perhaps the best goalie in the nation. Then in the Massachusetts-Minnesota matchup, a historically top program (Minnesota) against a relative newcomer to the national stage (Massachusetts), but that newcomer is playing close to home and just happens to be the defending national champions.

There's only one team in the region that…