The St. Thomas men’s hockey team will be playing No. 8 Lake Forest (Ill.) College 6 p.m. Saturday at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner will move on to play Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which had a first-round bye, Saturday, March 21.

St. Thomas (15-10-3) earned an automatic bid by winning the MIAC championship Saturday against Concordia-Moorhead, while Lake Forest (18-6-3) received an at-large bid. This is the Tommies’ first NCAA tournament appearance since 2014, and their 17th appearance overall. The Tommies’ best finish in the national playoffs was second, which was achieved in 2000 and 2005.

The Tommies are on a five-game winning streak, including three victories in the MIAC conference tournament.

Justin Amaker, Owen Landrud and Maddie Peters contributed to this report.