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Opening post-season action on the road for just the second time in 17 years, Colorado College must win twice this weekend or hang up its skates for another campaign.

It's a rematch of last season's first-round WCHA playoff series when the sixth-seeded Tigers take on the fifth-seeded University of Minnesota Duluth in a best-of-three set on the shores of Lake Superior. Only difference is that CC was at home a year ago, but lost to the Bulldogs in two games.

Faceoff at the Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center is 7:07 CT Friday, Saturday and Sunday, if a third game is necessary.

Winner of the series advances to the WCHA Final Five at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., next week, with a shot at earning a bid to the NCAA tournament. Based on both teams' current position in the Pairwise rankings, where Colorado College is tied for No. 21 and UMD is No. 15, the loser most likely is done for the season.

CC, which finished 12-13-3 in league play after splitting a pair of decisions with the University of Denver last weekend, takes an 18-15-3 overall record into Game 1 on Friday. Minnesota Duluth, which also split at Alaska Anchorage last week, finished 16-11-1 in the WCHA and is 20-15-1 overall.

The Tigers an Bulldogs are ranked 15th and 14th, respectively, in the most recent national polls. They've met four times previously in the first round of the WCHA playoffs – all in Colorado Springs.