The Aurora University men's hockey team will enter the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Harris Cup Playoffs for the first time in the program's fourth season of NCHA play. The Spartans finished the regular season with an 11-13-1 overall record and an 8-9-1 record in the NCHA. AU finished third in the south division and will travel to the #2 seed from Lake Forest College. 
 
The Match-up –
- The #3 Spartans will take on #2 Lake Forest College Foresters who AU was 0-2-1 against in the regular season and the match-up comes one week after the two teams wrapped up the regular season with a pair of contests.
- All-Time AU is 1-9-2 against Lake Forest.
 
Harris Cup Playoff Format (Two-game series / mini-game format) - 
* Two games are played with standard NCAA rules applying (single 5:00 OT).
* Games 1 and 2 can end in an OT tie.
* If the two games are split or if both end in a tie, a 20-minute mini-game is played.  At the end of the second game, the ice shall be resurfaced and there is a 15-minute intermission.  Starting lineups are announced before the mini-game, as in a regular game, and the teams will play the full 20 minutes, regardless of score.  Should the game be tied after the 20 minutes, the teams will play 20-minute sudden-death overtimes periods.
 
All-Time NCHA Harris Cup History –
- The NCHA began in 1998 and in the 20 seasons, seven schools have captured the Harris Cup crown.
- Defending NCAA Division III Champion St. Norbert College has won the last two championships and has three all-time.
- Adrian College has captured seven of the last 11 Harris Cups.
- Current NCHA teams, MSOE (three times), Marian University (twice) and Finlandia University have captured Harris Cups.

About the Spartans –
- AU is making their first appearance in the NCHA Playoffs..
- The Spartans are led by junior captain and forward Drew Doyon who has 20 points on nine goals and 11 assists.
- Freshman forward Roberts Baranovskis has 20 points to tie for the team lead with his six goals and 14 assists.
- Freshman Larry Jungwirth has a team-leading 14 assists with three goals and 19 points.
- Freshman Jacob Holmers averages a point per game with 18 points on nine goals and nine assists.
- Sophomore goalie Josh Boyko man's the blue paint with a 3.05 goals against average, a .894 save percentage and a 9-12 record.
- 17 Spartans have tallied at least one goal on the year with 21 collecting a point.

About the Foresters - 
- LFC is making their 24th NCHA Playoff appearance and third straight.
- The Foresters have reached the Harris Cup semi-finals six times in their 23 appearances prior to the 2018-2019 season.
- Lake Forest is led by Head Coach Patrick Kelliher (67-51-13 in 5th season)
- Senior forward Bron Loiselle leads LFC with 14 goals, four assists and 18 points.
- Sophomore defenseman Mark DerManulian has 11 assists and 15 points.
- George Argiropoulos has a 1.96 goals against average with a .934 save percentage and a 7-3-4 record.
 
About the NCHA Harris Cup Opponents –
SOUTH DIVISION
- #1 Adrian College finished the season with an 18-6-1 overall record and 13-4-1 in the NCHA.
- #2 Lake Forest College.takes on the Spartans with a regular season record of 11-8-6 overall and 9-5-4 in the NCHA.
- #4 Milwaukee School of Engineering finished the season with a 9-12-4 overall record and 7-8-3 in the NCHA.
NORTH DIVISION
- #1 St. Norbert College, winner's of the Peters Cup for the regular season champion) finished the season with a 18-4-3 overall and 14-3-1 NCHA record.
- #2 Marian University finished the season with a 13-8-4 overall and 11-5-2 NCHA record.
- #3 Northland College finished the season with a 11-12-2 overall and 9-7-2 NCHA record.
- #4 Finlandia University enters with an 8-15-2 overall and 6-10-2 NCHA record.
 
Up next for the Spartans –
Game two of the Harris Cup between AU and Lake Forest College will take place on Saturday, February 16 with a 7:00 p.m. puck-drop in Lake Forest, Illinois.