Big-time hockey returns to the same site this weekend, and this time, the prize is a national championship.

St. Norbert College, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Colby College and Salve Regina University are the teams still in the hunt, and they’ll see who rises to the top in Lake Placid at the 2018 NCAA Division III Men’s Ice Hockey Championships

Friday’s semifinal games at the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena feature two powerhouse programs from Wisconsin that have combined for nine national crowns facing college teams from New England making their first appearance in DIII’s final four. The semifinal winners then clash on Saturday to determine this year’s national champion.

Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Salve Regina square off in Friday’s first contest starting at 3 p.m., with St. Norbert and Colby meeting up in the second semifinal slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.

Wisconsin Stevens-Point goaltender Max Milosek and defenseman Ethan Strong, pictured competing in Division III semifinal action at the Olympic Center in 2016, are seeking their second national title in the past three seasons. (Enterprise file photo — Lou Reuter)

The Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers own five DIII crowns and won their most recent one when Lake Placid last hosted the championships in 2016. They topped St. Norbert 5-1 in that game and bring a 21-5-3 record here this time around. Wisconsin-Stevens Point defeated Michigan’s Adrian College 5-2 on Saturday to advance to the final four.

The Pointers, who compete in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, have outscored their opponents 109-56. They are led on offense by Oklahoma City’s Tanner Karty, who has 22 goals, 26 assists and 48 points. Six of the junior’s goals this season were game-winners.

Senior William Nong-Lambert of Des Monies, Iowa is second in Pointers’ scoring with 34 points on 11 goals and 23 assists, and is followed by Colin Raver (25 points), Luke McElhenie (24 points) and Logan Fredericks (23 points).

The Wisconsin Stevens-Point defense is anchored by veteran netminder Max Milosek, who has appeared in 77 games during his career on the team. He has been the Pointers’ top goalie the past three seasons. The senior from Lapeer, Michigan has complied a 54-14-8 record between the pipes, including a 17-5-3 mark this season.

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is led behind the bench by Tyler Kruger, a Pointers graduate who has been on the team’s coaching staff for four seasons. He was appointed interim head coach last July.

The Pointers semifinal opponent, the Salve Regina Sea Wolves, hail from Newport, Rhode Island, and won the Commonwealth Coastal Conference regular season title with a 14-2-2 record. Salve Regina owns a 21-5-2 overall record and earned its trip to Lake Placid by defeating Nichols 4-3 in the national quarterfinal round on Saturday.

The Sea Wolves have some young firepower, with a sophomore and two freshmen topping the team’s offensive statistics. Jack Billings, a sophomore from Oak Lawn, Illinois, leads Salve Regina with 19 goals, 26 assists and 45 points. Freshman Danny Eruzione of Winthrop, Massachusetts, is second in scoring with 35 points, and freshman playmaker Vincenzo Renda, a defenseman from Wesmount, Quebec is third with 22 points, which includes 20 assists.

Eleven players on the team have 10 or more points.

Junior Blake Wojtala, of Trenton, Michigan, has appeared in 26 games between the pipes for the Seawolves while compiling a 19-5-2 record.

The Seahawks are guided by first-year head coach Zech Klann, who played his college hockey with the NCAA Division I Umass Amherst Minutemen.

Under longtime head coach Tim Coghlin, St. Norbert, which is located in De Pere, Wisconsin, has been one of, if not the most dominant men’s Division III men’s ice hockey program in recent seasons, and is making its record 12th appearance in the final four in the past 15 years. This weekend marks the Green Knights fifth final four trip to Lake Placid, where they have claimed national titles in 2008 and 2012.

St. Norbert won both the Northern College Hockey Association regular-season and postseason championships, and then reached Lake Placid with a 5-2 victory over Augsburg University in last weekend’s NCAA quarterfinal round. The Green Knights enter the Olympic Village with a 25-4-1 record.

The Green Knights have nearly tripled their opponents’ offensive output this season, scoring 119 goals while giving up just 42 in 30 games. Tanner Froese leads a balanced St. Norbert attack that features 17 players who have recorded 10 or more points. Froese, a senior from Estevan, Saskatchewan, has 12 goals, 17 assists and 29 points. Dominick Sacco, a sophomore from Brooklyn, is next with 26 points. Freshman Keegan Milligan of Emerald Park, Saskatchewan, and freshman Peter Bates of Evanston, Illinois, both have 25 points.

Junior T.J. Black of Wheaton, Illinois, is St. Norbert’s go-to goalie and has appeared in all 30 of the team’s games this season. Black has a 25-3-1 record between the pipes this season.

Colby College is located in Waterville Maine, and the Mules men’s hockey squad couldn’t have earned its trip to Lake Placid in more dramatic fashion. Facing Geneseo, the nation’s third-ranked Division III team, in quarterfinal action on Saturday, Colby eked out a 2-1 upset victory when freshman Justin Grillo scored the game-winner with just 1.6 seconds remaining in regulation. The Mules qualified for the NCAA tournament by defeating Trinity 4-1 on March 10 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference championship game.

The Mules take a seven-game win streak and a 17-10-2 record into Friday’s matchup against St. Norbert.

Scott Kienan, a sophomore from Spokane, Washington, and senior Phil Klitirinos, lead Colby in scoring with 26 points each. Senior Cam McDonald is the Mules top goal scorer with 15.

Sean Lawrence, a senior from Granite Bay, California and a transfer from Division I Quinnipiac, owns a 16-7-2 record in goal for Colby this season.

Colby is led by head coach Blaise MacDonald, who has decades of coaching experience at both the Division I and III levels.