The University of Wisconsin came up short in its bid to host NCAA men's hockey regionals in 2010 and 2011.

That's due largely to a trend toward hosting such events on NHL-size rinks at off-campus facilities in neutral cities, but in Badger hockey circles could also be interpreted as another reaction to Wisconsin's success in the West regional in Madison last spring.

The good news for UW? One of those regionals was awarded to the Resch Center in Green Bay, where UW won the Midwest regional in 2006 en route to its sixth NCAA title.

In 2010, the Midwest regional will be hosted by Notre Dame in Fort Wayne, Ind., with the West regional hosted by Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

In 2011, the Midwest regional will be hosted by Michigan Tech in Green Bay, while the West regional will be hosted by the Central Collegiate Hockey Association at Scottrade Center in St. Louis.

"We focused on selecting sites that have NHL size ice sheets and are in neutral buildings," said Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi, the head of the Division I ice hockey committee and a former administrator at Madison Edgewood High School and the University of Wisconsin.

"We really feel that each of these buildings will showcase college hockey, give our student-athletes a tremendous experience and help take our championship to another level."

The East and Northeast sites for those years were announced previously. All are off-campus sites as well: Albany, N.Y., and Worcester, Mass., in 2010, followed by Bridgeport, Conn., and Manchester, N.H., in 2011.

The NCAA has long attempted to strike a balance between hosting its regionals at neutral sites, so as to avoid any complaints about competitive advantage, and on-campus arenas in hockey-centric regions, where strong gate revenues are more likely.

A contributing factor to competitive advantage is a policy wherein teams which host regionals are guaranteed to play there if they qualify for the NCAA's 16-team field.

Last spring, the Badgers not only became the first team to qualify for an at-large bid despite a losing record, they also then were placed into the Midwest regional at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin defeated Denver before losing to North Dakota in overtime with an NCAA Frozen Four berth on the line.

Wisconsin's inclusion to the field despite its 15-16-7 mark created a backlash that prompted the NCAA ice hockey committee to adopt a rule disqualifying teams with sub-.500 record from tournament consideration.