by The road to the men’s Frozen Four heats up as the regular season wraps up and conference tournaments begin.
The 16-team NCAA field will be announced on March 19 (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU), with Regionals scheduled for March 23-26 and Frozen Four for April 6-8 in Tampa, Florida, are scheduled.
Winners of the six conference tournaments – Atlantic, Big Ten, CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East and NCHC – and 10 teams at large will make up the 16-team field. The teams at large are determined by the PairWise leaderboard.
The winner of the Atlantic will drop out of PairWise’s top 16 as RIT, the regular season champions and the league’s highest-ranked team, head into the weekend in 22nd place. And there are other potential bidders, particularly in Hockey East, where only Boston University sits on the right side of the bubble entering the weekend.
Here’s a rundown of all six conference tournaments, with schedules and results updated during games.
Atlantic
RIT snagged AIC’s four-year run as the Atlantic Hockey regular-season champion. In a new format, the top eight teams in the ten-team league qualify for the league tournament this season. Top four seeded hosts best-of-three quarterfinal series. The four quarterfinal winners advance to the best-of-three semifinals, with those winners advancing to the singles game finals, all on campus grounds.
Quarterfinals, 3rd-5th March
No. 8 Mercyhurst at No. 1 RIT – Game 1: RIT wins, 5-0
No. 7 Holy Cross at No. 2 AIC – Game 1: AIC wins, 3-1
No. 6 Niagara at No. 3 Sacred Heart – Game 1: Sacred Heart wins 3-1
Army #5 at Canisius #4 – Game 1: Canisius wins 5-2
Semifinals, Oct 10-12 March: Highest remaining seeds
Finals, March 18: With higher residual seed
big ten
Minnesota, the second straight Big Ten regular season champion, gets a bye to the semifinals. Seeded 2-7 play best-of-three quarterfinal series before single-game semifinals and finals, all on campus grounds.
Quarterfinals, 3rd-5th March
#7 Wisconsin at #2 Michigan – Game 1: Michigan wins, 6-5 (OT)
#6 Penn State vs. #3 Ohio State Game 1: Ohio State wins 5-1
No. 5 Michigan State at No. 4 Notre Dame – Game 1: ND wins 1-0
Semifinals, March 11: Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Minnesota; second lowest seed at second highest seed
Finals, March 18: With higher residual seed
CCHA
The state of Minnesota earned its sixth straight CCHA regular-season title and is ranked No. 1 in the seed. Best-of-three quarter-finals will be played by the top four seeded players, followed by single-game semi-finals and finals, all on campus.
Quarterfinals, 3rd-5th March
No. 8 Lake Superior State vs. No. 1 Minnesota State – Game 1: Minn. St. wins 6:1
No. 7 St. Thomas at No. 2 Michigan Tech – Game 1: Michigan Tech wins 1-0
No. 6 Ferris State on No. 3 Bowling Green – Game 1: Ferris St. wins, 4-3 (OT)
No. 5 Bemidji State at No. 4 Northern Michigan – Game 1: N. Mich. wins 7-3
Semifinals, March 11: Highest remaining seeds
Finals, March 18: With higher residual seed
ECAC
With a 20-2 league record, Quinnipiac became the first ECAC team since 1988–89 to have 20 wins in the regular season. The top four teams will receive byes in the first round, with seeded 5-12 playing singles matches in the first round. After a re-seed, the four top seeds host best-of-three quarterfinal series. The winners advance to the semifinals and finals in singles matches. (All games available on ESPN+.)
First round, March 3: No.5 Colgate 5, No.12 Dartmouth 3
First Round, March 4th: No. 11 Brown at No. 6 Clarkson; No. 10 Yale at No. 7 Rensselaer; No. 9 Princeton at No. 8 Union
Quarterfinals, Oct 10-12 March: TBD at No. 1 Quinnipiac; TBD in no. 2Harvard; TBD at #3 Cornell; TBD at No. 4 St. Lawrence
Semifinals, March 17: in Lake Placid, New York
Finals, March 18: in Lake Placid, New York
Hockey East
As the final weekend of the regular season begins, only one seedling — No. 11 Vermont — is suspended. The conference tournament is single elimination throughout. The seeded 6-11 play in the first round, then the eight remaining teams are re-seeded for the quarterfinals. The winners advance to the semi-finals and finals. (All games available on ESPN+.)
First Round, March 8th: No. 11 Vermont at No. 6 seeds; #10 seed at #7 seed; #9 seed at #8 seed
Quarterfinals, March 11: No. 5 seeds on No. 4; TBD at seed #1; TBD at seed #2; TBD at #3 seeds
Semifinals, March 17: at TD Garden, Boston
Finals, March 18: at TD Garden, Boston
NCHC
Defending champions Denver clinched the regular-season title, but most of the remaining seeds are yet to be determined over the past weekend. Top four seeded hosts are best-of-three quarterfinal series, then winners advance to single-game semifinals and finals.
Quarterfinals, Oct 10-12 March: No. 8 Miami (Ohio) at No. 1 Denver; seed #7 at seed #2; #6 seed at #3 seed; #5 seed at #4 seed
Semifinals, March 17: at the Xcel Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Finals, March 18: at the Xcel Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
