The Aurora University Spartan men's hockey program will host the Blugolds of the University of Wisconsin Eau Claire in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament on Saturday, March 15 with puck drop at 1:00 p.m. at the Fox Valley Ice Arena.
 
The Spartans earned an at-large selection into the 14-team field. AU, 23-4-1 on the season, won the regular season the Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Peters Cup and will make the first appearance in the NCAA tournament in the 11th season of the program.
 
Wisconsin Eau Claire (14-15-1) earned the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) tournament championship with a 2-0 win over Wisconsin River Falls this past Saturday.

The teams have met twice previously with the last contest coming in October 2016. AU is 0-2 against the Blugolds all-time.
 
The winner between the Spartans and Blugolds will advance to play the winner of the game between SUNY Geneseo (22-4-1) and Stevenson University (18-7-2) in a national quarterfinal on Saturday, March 22.
  
The Blugolds have won six of their last eight contests heading into the NCAA Tournament. UW-Eau Claire was selected to the NCAA Tournament field in 2020, but never got to play before the event was canceled due to COVID-19. They will be making their first appearance in the tournament since 2013, when they won the national championship.
 
Ticket information will be released when it becomes available.