MANKATO, Minn. | The University of Alabama in Huntsville hockey team is set to open the 2019 Western Collegiate Hockey Association Postseason Tournament as the eighth seed on Friday at 7:07 p.m. against MacNaughton Cup Champion and No. 4 Minnesota State as the first seed at the Verizon Center.
 
The best-of-three WCHA playoff quarterfinal series will continue on Saturday at 7:07 p.m., with the potential for a 7:07 p.m. matchup on Sunday if necessary. The winner of the series between UAH and MSU will advance to the WCHA Playoff Semifinals on March 15-17.
 
UAH is in the WCHA Playoffs for the third time in program history and in back-to-back years after finishing eighth in the league standings with 28 WCHA points on an 8-18-2 conference record and an 8-26-2 overall mark.
 
The Chargers offense is paced by senior co-captain Hans Gorowsky with a career-high 19 points on 12 goals and seven assists this season, followed by fellow senior captain Kurt Gosselin who leads all UAH blueliners with 15 points on four goals and 11 assists.
 
Mark Sinclair has been sixth-year head coach Mike Corbett's primary goaltender in the 2018-19 campaign, as the sophomore has totaled 24 starts with a 2.84 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.
 
Minnesota State enters the WCHA Playoffs as the top seed in the tournament with a 27-7-2 overall record and a 21-5-1 mark in conference play in 2018-19. The Mavericks are guided by seventh-year head coach Mike Hastings, whose offense is paced this season by Marc Michaelis (16-20—36) and Parker Tuomie (13-21—34).
 
UAH holds an all-time record of 19-25-7 against Minnesota State and 6-19-4 when traveling to Mankato, after the Mavericks most recently won both games of a series at home over the Chargers in the regular season on Feb. 1-2.
 
Last season in the WCHA Playoffs, UAH forced a third game as the seventh seed against second-seeded Northern Michigan in the program's second trip to the WCHA Postseason.