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