In its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2003, the St. Thomas women’s hockey team will play Wis.-Stevens Point at 7 p.m Friday, March 14 in the national quarterfinals at Ice Hawks Arena in Stevens Point, Wis.

St. Thomas (19-5-3) earned an automatic bid to the NCAA D-III tournament after a 2-0 shutout against Gustavus Adolphus to win the MIAC championship at the St. Thomas Ice Arena on Saturday, but the Tommies, who are seeded third in the West, learned their opponent via a selection show on Monday.

No. 2 seed Wis.-Stevens Point (19-5-4) earned one of three at-large bids to the eight-team tournament. There is no automatic bid from the WIAC, and Stevens Point finished second in conference standings just behind Wis.-River Falls (21-4-3). River Falls is seeded first and Lake Forest (Ill.) is seeded fourth in the West Region.

The Falcons beat the Pointers 5-1 on Saturday in the WIAC Championship and earned its own at-large bid to the tournament.

The Pointers average 31 shots per game led by WIAC Player of the Year Cassandra Salmen who leads the team with 18 goals and 27 points in 28 games. Salmen was one of six Pointers to receive All-WIAC awards. Goalie Janna Beilke-Skoug was named to the All-WIAC first team with her .941 save percentage.

St. Thomas goalie Alise Riedel leads the team and the conference with a .946 save percentage and a .881 win percentage. The Tommies lead the MIAC in goals against with 39 and outscored opponents 69-39 this season. Just two players on the St. Thomas roster have a negative plus-minus, and the team averages 33.6 shots per game.

When the Tommies and Pointers met earlier this season on Dec. 13 and 14, Stevens Point swept the series 3-2, 1-0 on St. Thomas’ home ice.

The winner of St. Thomas/Wis. Stevens Point will face the winner of Plattsburgh State (N.Y.) and Williams (Mass.) on March 21 in the D-III semifinals.

The championship will take place on March 22 at the site of the highest remaining seed.

Jake Remes, Scott Sikich and Anne Gaslin contributed to this report.