Frozen Four at a glance: Top overall seed Michigan plays in first semifinal, Gophers in second

TD Garden, Boston

Thursday's semifinals

Denver vs. Michigan, 4 p.m., ESPN2

The skinny: The Pioneers (29-9-1) won the Loveland (Colo.) Regional, beating UMass-Lowell 3-2 before edging Minnesota Duluth 2-1. Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick finalist Bobby Brink (Minnetonka) leads the Pioneers, and the nation, in scoring with 56 points on 14 goals and 42 assists. … The Wolverines (31-9-1) are the No. 1 overall seed and beat American International 5-3 and Quinnipiac 7-4 in the Allentown (Pa.) Regional to reach Boston. Michigan has seven NHL first-round draft picks on its roster, including four of the top five overall picks in 2021.

Did you know? The Wolverines and Pioneers have combined for 17 NCAA championships. Michigan has the most of any team with nine, its last coming in 1998. Denver is tied for second with North Dakota with eight, its last coming in 2017.

Gophers vs. Minnesota State Mankato, 7:30 p.m., ESPNU

The skinny: Minnesota (26-12) beat UMass 4-3 in overtime and Western Michigan 3-0 to win the Worcester (Mass.) Regional. Hobey Hat Trick finalist Ben Meyers (17-24-41) leads the Gophers in scoring and is one of three Olympians on the roster, joining linemate Matthew Knies and defenseman Brock Faber. … The Mavericks (37-5) beat Harvard 4-3 and Notre Dame 1-0 to win the Albany (N.Y.) Regional and advance to their second consecutive Frozen Four. G Dryden McKay, also a Hobey Hat Trick finalist, has the NCAA career shutout record (34) and his 37 wins this season are an NCAA career record. MSU Mankato has a 17-game winning streak.

Did you know? This game originally was scheduled to air on ESPN2 but was switched to ESPNU because of the network's contractual obligations with Major League Baseball.

Saturday's championship

Semifinal winners, 7 p.m., ESPN2