INDIANAPOLIS--The NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee has selected the 16 teams that will be participating in the 2017 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship. The championship playoff format involves four predetermined regional sites with four teams assigned to each site. The regional winners advance to the Men’s Frozen Four. The entire championship uses a single-elimination format.
Automatic qualification privileges are granted to the postseason champions of the six conferences. The remainder of the field is selected at large.
The University of Denver was the No. 1 overall seed. The other No. 1 seeds, in order, include the University of Minnesota Duluth, Harvard University and the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.
The dates, sites, times and pairings of this year’s championship are as follows:
Midwest Regional, March 25-26
U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Saturday, March 25, 1 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNews/WatchESPN
No. 1 Denver (29-7-4) vs. No. 4 Michigan Tech (23-14-7)
Saturday, March 25, 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN3/WatchESPN
No. 2 Union (NY) (25-9-3) vs. No. 3 Penn State (24-11-2)
Sunday, March 26, 6 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
Midwest Regional Championship
Northeast Regional, March 25-26
SNHU Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire
Saturday, March 25, 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
No. 1 Minnesota (23-11-3) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (21-11-5)
Saturday, March 25, Noon Eastern time, ESPN3/WatchESPN
No. 2 Massachusetts Lowell (26-10-3) vs. No. 3 Cornell (21-8-5)
Sunday, March 26, 3:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
Northeast Regional Championship
East Regional, March 24-25
Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, Rhode Island
Friday, March 24, 4 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
No. 1 Harvard (26-5-2) vs. No. 4 Providence (22-11-5)
Friday, March 24, 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN3/WatchESPN
No. 2 Western Michigan (22-12-5) vs. No. 3 Air Force (26-9-5)
Saturday, March 25, 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
East Regional Championship
West Regional, March 24-25
Scheels Arena, Fargo, North Dakota
Friday, March 24, 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
No. 1 Minnesota Duluth (25-6-7) vs. No. 4 Ohio State (21-11-6)
Friday, March 24, 3 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/WatchESPN
No. 2 Boston University (23-11-3) vs. No. 3 North Dakota (21-15-3)
Saturday, March 25, 6 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
West Regional Championship
Men’s Frozen Four, April 6 and 8
United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Thursday, April 6, 6 and 9:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/WatchESPN (order of games TBD)
Midwest Regional Champion vs. Northeast Regional Champion East Regional Champion vs. West Regional Champion
Saturday, April 8, 8 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN/WatchESPN
National Championship
The following conferences and teams received automatic qualification:
Atlantic Hockey Association – Air Force
Big Ten Conference – Penn State
ECAC Hockey – Harvard
Hockey East Association – UMass Lowell
National Collegiate Hockey Conference – Minnesota Duluth Western Collegiate Hockey Association – Michigan Tech
To purchase tickets for all the regional sites and the Frozen Four in addition to all information about the championship, log on to www.NCAA.com/FrozenFour.
