Road to the men’s Frozen Four: What the NCAA field will look like

NHL

The road to the men’s Frozen Four is heating up as the conference tournament champions have been crowned.

The bracket for the 16-team NCAA field will be announced Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU), with the regionals scheduled for Thursday through March 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.

Here are the teams that have clinched automatic berths, with their PairWise ranking in parentheses:

Atlantic: Canisius (41)
Big Ten: Michigan (4)
CCHA: Minnesota State (11)
ECAC: Colgate (25)
Hockey East: Boston University (5)
NCHC: St. Cloud State (6)

The top 10 teams eligible for an at-large bid are:

Minnesota (1)
Quinnipiac (2)
Denver (3)
Harvard (7)
Penn State (8)
Ohio State (9)
Michigan Tech (10)
Western Michigan (12)
Cornell (13)
Merrimack (14)

Below is a recap of all six conference tournaments:

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 — G1: RIT wins 5-0; G2: RIT wins 4-3 (OT)

No. 7 Holy Cross at No. 2 AIC — G1: AIC wins 3-1; G2: Holy Cross wins 4-3; G3: Holy Cross wins 4-3 (OT)

No. 6 Niagara at No. 3 Sacred Heart — G1: Sacred Heart wins 3-1; G2: Niagara wins 4-1; G3: Niagara wins 7-3

No. 5 Army at No. 4 Canisius — G1: Canisius wins 5-2; G2: Army wins 1-0 (OT); G3: Canisius wins 3-0

Semifinals, March 10-12

Holy Cross at RIT — G1: Holy Cross wins 1-0 (OT); G2: RIT wins 4-3 (OT); G3: Holy Cross wins 5-1

Niagara at Canisius — G1: Niagara wins 2-1; G2: Canisius wins 5-1; G3: Canisius wins 4-2

Final, March 18
Canisius 3, Holy Cross 0


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 — G1: Michigan wins 6-5 (OT); G2: Michigan wins 7-4

No. 6 Penn State at No. 3 Ohio State — G1: Ohio State wins 5-1; G2: Penn State wins 2-1 (OT); G3: Ohio State wins 3-1

No. 5 Michigan State at No. 4 Notre Dame — G1: ND wins 1-0; G2: Michigan St. wins 4-2; G3: Michigan St. wins 4-2

Semifinals, March 11
Michigan 7, Ohio State 3
No. 1 Minnesota 5, Michigan State 1

Final, March 18
Michigan 4, Minnesota 3


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 — G1: Minn. St. wins 6-1; G2: Minn. St. wins 2-1

No. 7 St. Thomas at No. 2 Michigan Tech — G1: Michigan Tech wins 1-0; G2: Michigan Tech wins 5-4

No. 6 Ferris State at No. 3 Bowling Green — G1: Ferris St. wins 4-3 (OT); G2: Ferris St. wins 2-1 (OT)

No. 5 Bemidji State at No. 4 Northern Michigan — G1: N. Mich. wins 7-3; G2: N. Mich. wins 2-1 (OT)

Semifinals, March 11
Minnesota State 7, Ferris State 2
Northern Michigan 4, Michigan Tech 0

Final, March 18
Minnesota State 3, Northern Michigan 2 (OT)


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 — G1: Quinnipiac wins 3-0; G2: Quinnipiac wins 6-2

Princeton at No. 2 Harvard — G1: Harvard wins 6-1; G2: Harvard wins 6-1

Clarkson at No. 3 Cornell — G1: Cornell wins 2-1; G2: Cornell wins 3-1

Colgate at No. 4 St. Lawrence — G1: Colgate wins 4-3 (OT); G2: Colgate wins 3-2

Semifinals, March 17
at Lake Placid, New York
Colgate 2, Quinnipiac 1 (2OT)
Harvard 1, Cornell 0 (OT)

Final, March 18
at Lake Placid, New York
Colgate 3, Harvard 2


Hockey East

The Hockey East tournament 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 2, No. 4 UConn 1
No. 1 Boston University 7, Vermont 3
No. 2 Merrimack 1, Boston College (2OT)
Providence 2, No. 3 Northeastern 1 (OT)

Semifinals, March 17
at TD Garden, Boston
Boston University 2, Providence 1 (OT)
Merrimack 2, UMass-Lowell 1 (2OT)

Final, March 18
at TD Garden, Boston
Boston University 3, Merrimack 2 (OT)


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 — G1: Denver wins 6-2; G2: Denver wins 7-2

No. 7 Colorado College at No. 2 Western Michigan — G1: CC wins 3-1, G2: CC wins 3-2 (OT)

No. 6 North Dakota at No. 3 Omaha — G1: Omaha wins 2-1; G2: North Dakota wins 3-1; G3: North Dakota wins 5-2

No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 4 St. Cloud State — G1: St. Cloud wins 3-1; G2: UMD wins 5-1; G3: St. Cloud wins 3-1

Semifinals, March 17
at Xcel Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Colorado College 1, Denver 0
St. Cloud State 3, North Dakota 2 (OT)

Final, March 18
at Xcel Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
St. Cloud State 3, Colorado College 0

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