The opponent the UMD Bulldogs will face in the first game of the Frozen Four will be shorthanded a couple of big names due to COVID-19. The University of Massachusetts shared Tuesday morning that four players would be out in Thursday's game in Pittsburgh.

The four players impacted are pretty big losses for UMass, including starting goalie and Minnesota Wild prospect Filip Lindberg, backup goaltender Henry Graham, the team's top goal scorer and forward Carson Gicewicz, and forward Jerry Harding will all be out against the Bulldogs in accordance with COVID-19 contact tracing protocols.

This is the second UMD opponent to be impacted by COVID-19, with the Bulldogs' opening opponent Michigan not being able to play due to team exposures that led the Wolverines to sit out the opening round of the tournament and give UMD an unexpected bye and extra day's rest before their marathon game against the University of North Dakota.

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The remaining UMass players will face off against UMD on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at 8 pm on April 8. The winner will advance to the NCAA National Championship game against the winner of St. Cloud State or Minnesota State Mankato, who play at 4 pm on April 8.

The championship game will be played on Saturday, April 10 at 6 pm in Pittsburgh. You can catch all of the action - both semifinal games and the championship - on the Northland FAN 106.5 FM and 560 am.

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