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The road to the men’s Frozen Four is heating up as the regular season winds down and conference tournaments get underway.
The 16-team NCAA field will be announced March 19 (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU), with the regionals scheduled for March 23-26 and the Frozen Four set for April 6 and 8 in Tampa, Florida.
The winners of the six conference tournaments — Atlantic, Big Ten, CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East and NCHC — and 10 at-large teams will make up the 16-team field. The at-large teams are determined by the PairWise rankings.
The winner of the Atlantic will fall outside the PairWise top 16 as RIT, the league’s regular-season champion and highest-ranked team, enters the weekend at No. 22. And there are other potential bid stealers out there, particularly in Hockey East, where only Boston University sits on the right side of the bubble entering the weekend.
Here is a look at all six conference tournaments, with schedules and results to be updated as games are played.
Atlantic
RIT snapped AIC’s four-year run as the Atlantic Hockey regular-season champ. In a new format this season, the top eight teams of the 10-team league qualify for the league tournament. The top four seeds host best-of-three quarterfinal series. The four quarterfinal winners advance to the best-of-three semifinals, with those winners moving on to the single-game final, all on campus sites.
Quarterfinals, March 3-5
No. 8 Mercyhurst at No. 1 RIT — Game 1: RIT wins, 5-0; Game 2: RIT wins, 4-3 (OT)
No. 7 Holy Cross at No. 2 AIC — Game 1: AIC wins, 3-1; Game 2: Holy Cross wins, 4-3; Game 3: Holy Cross wins, 4-3 (OT)
No. 6 Niagara at No. 3 Sacred Heart — Game 1: Sacred Heart wins, 3-1; Game 2: Niagara wins, 4-1; Game 3: Niagara wins, 7-3
No. 5 Army at No. 4 Canisius — Game 1: Canisius wins, 5-2; Game 2: Army wins, 1-0 (OT); Game 3: Canisius wins, 3-0
Semifinals, March 10-12
Holy Cross at RIT — Game 1: Holy Cross wins, 1-0 (OT)
Niagara at Canisius — Game 1: Niagara wins, 2-1
Final, March 18: At higher remaining seed
Big Ten
Minnesota, the Big Ten regular-season champion for the second year in a row, gets a bye into the semifinals. Seeds 2-7 play best-of-three quarterfinal series before the single-game semis and final, all on campus sites.
Quarterfinals, March 3-5
No. 7 Wisconsin at No. 2 Michigan — Game 1: Michigan wins, 6-5 (OT); Game 2: Michigan wins, 7-4
No. 6 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State — Game 1: Ohio State wins, 5-1; Game 2: Penn State wins, 2-1 (OT); Game 3: Ohio State wins, 3-1
No. 5 Michigan State at No. 4 Notre Dame — Game 1: ND wins, 1-0; Game 2: Michigan St. wins, 4-2; Game 3: Michigan St. wins, 4-2
Semifinals, March 11: Michigan State at No. 1 Minnesota; Ohio State at Michigan
Final, March 18: At higher remaining seed
CCHA
Minnesota State claimed its sixth straight CCHA regular-season title and is the No. 1 seed. Best-of-three quarterfinals will be hosted by the top four seeds, followed by single-game semifinals and final, all on campus sites.
Quarterfinals, March 3-5
No. 8 Lake Superior State at No. 1 Minnesota State — Game 1: Minn. St. wins, 6-1; Game 2: Minn. St. wins, 2-1
No. 7 St. Thomas at No. 2 Michigan Tech — Game 1: Michigan Tech wins, 1-0; Game 2: Michigan Tech wins, 5-4
No. 6 Ferris State at No. 3 Bowling Green — Game 1: Ferris St. wins, 4-3 (OT); Game 2: Ferris St. wins, 2-1 (OT)
No. 5 Bemidji State at No. 4 Northern Michigan — Game 1: N. Mich. wins, 7-3; Game 2: N. Mich. wins, 2-1 (OT)
Semifinals, March 11: Ferris State at Minnesota State; Northern Michigan at Michigan Tech
Final, March 18: At higher remaining seed
ECAC
With a 20-2 league record, top-seeded Quinnipiac was the first ECAC team since 1988-89 to post 20 wins in the regular season. The top four teams receive first-round byes, with seeds 5-12 playing single games in the first round. After a reseed, the top four seeds host best-of-three quarterfinal series. Winners move on to single-game semifinals and final. (All games available on ESPN+.)
First round, March 3: No. 5 Colgate 5, No. 12 Dartmouth 3
First round, March 4: No. 6 Clarkson 5, No. 11 Brown 1; No. 9 Princeton 6, No. 8 Union 4; No. 10 Yale 4, No. 7 Rensselaer 1
Quarterfinals, March 10-12
Yale at No. 1 Quinnipiac — Game 1: Quinnipiac wins, 3-0
Princeton at No. 2 Harvard — Game 1: Harvard wins, 6-1
Clarkson at No. 3 Cornell — Game 1: Cornell wins, 2-1
Colgate at No. 4 St. Lawrence — Game 1: Colgate wins, 4-3 (OT)
Semifinals, March 17: at Lake Placid, New York
Final, March 18: at Lake Placid, New York
Hockey East
Boston University claimed the regular-season title in Hockey East and is the only team in the league assured of making the NCAA tournament. Everyone else likely needs to play their win by winning the conference tournament, which is single elimination throughout. Seeds 6-11 play in the first round, then the eight remaining teams are reseeded for the quarterfinals. Winners move on to the semifinals and final. (All games available on ESPN+.)
First round, March 8: No. 11 Vermont 4, No. 6 Maine 2; No. 7 Providence 2, No. 10 New Hampshire 1 (OT); No. 8 Boston College 5, No. 9 UMass 2
Quarterfinals, March 11: No. 5 UMass-Lowell at No. 4 UConn; Vermont at No. 1 Boston University; Boston College at No. 2 Merrimack; Providence at No. 3 Northeastern
Semifinals, March 17: at TD Garden, Boston
Final, March 18: at TD Garden, Boston
NCHC
Defending national champion Denver wrapped up the NCHC regular-season title, with Western Michigan and St. Cloud State both in good position for NCAA at-large spots. The top four seeds host best-of-three quarterfinal series, then the winners move on to the single-game semifinals and final.
Quarterfinals, March 10-12
No. 8 Miami (Ohio) at No. 1 Denver
No. 7 Colorado College at No. 2 Western Michigan — Game 1: CC wins, 3-1
No. 6 North Dakota at No. 3 Omaha — Game 1: Omaha wins, 2-1
No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 4 St. Cloud State — Game 1: St. Cloud wins, 3-1
Semifinals, March 17: at Xcel Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Final, March 18: at Xcel Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
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