Sabres freshmen ready for NCAAs

The 2009 NCAA Division I Hockey Tournament field has been released, and a pair of Sabres prospects will be making their first bracket appearance with an eye for the Capitol. Friday evening will see freshman defenseman Drew MacKenzie, 20, make his tournament debut when #3 Vermont visits East Region host #2 Yale. Puck drops at 6:30. #1 Michigan and #4 Air Force will square off in the other half of the bracket. On Saturday, first-year netminder Brad Eidsness, 19, and reserve defenseman Corey Fienhage, 18, of WCHA regular season champion North Dakota (#2) will travel to Manchester, NH to face home-staters New Hampshire (#3) in a Northeast Region semifinal. Faceoff is at 2:00 EST. The winner will take on one of tourney top seed, Boston University, and #4 Ohio State. In West action kicking off Friday, #1 Denver will take on #4 Miami while #2 Duluth battles #3 Princeton. The Midwest Region slate for Saturday features the tourneys #2 overall seed, Notre Dame, drawing #4 Bemidji State, filled out with #2 Northeastern versus #3 Cornell. The winners of the East and Northeast Regionals will meet in one National Semifinal at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 9th. The winners of the Midwest and Northeast Regional will meet in the other. The National Championship will be played on April 11th.