Members of the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team needed all sorts of help, from all parts of the country, to get into the NCAA tournament. Amazingly, it looks like they got it.

Barring a departure from protocol involving the Pairwise rankings, it appears the Badgers will be in the 16-team field when it's announced today by the NCAA men's ice hockey committee.

Getting a berth means UW, despite its 15-16-7 overall record, will play at the Kohl Center because the school is hosting the Midwest regional next Saturday and Sunday.

The Badgers were relegated to the most unstable part of the NCAA tournament bubble after they were swept from the Western Collegiate Hockey Association playoffs by St. Cloud State two weeks ago.

But their Pairwise resume remained stable enough that three playoff results from other leagues Saturday night bumped UW from 13th to 12th in the latest unofficial, but highly accurate, Pairwise rankings compiled by U.S. College Hockey Online.

UW needed Northern Michigan to beat Notre Dame in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association consolation game. The Wildcats obliged 2-1.

Then came the Eastern Collegiate Hockey Association title game, where Princeton had to knock off Harvard, and the Hockey East Association championship game, where Boston College had to best Vermont.

Princeton won 4-1 and BC prevailed 4-0, prompting UW coach Mike Eaves to cut short a recruiting trip and begin putting together a practice schedule for the coming week.