road to men’s frozen quad heats up as the regular season draws to a close and conference tournaments begin.
A 16-team NCAA field will be announced March 19 (6:30 pm ET, SportzshalaU), with regional competition scheduled for March 23-26, and the Frozen Four scheduled for April 6 and 8 in Tampa, Florida.
The winners of six conference tournaments – Atlantic, Big Ten, CCHA, ECAC, Hockey East and NCHC – and 10 teams at large will make up a field of 16 teams. At-Large teams are defined PairWise rating.
The Atlantic winner will drop out of PairWise’s top 16 as RIT, the league’s regular season champion and highest ranked team, enters the weekend at number 22. There are other potential bet thieves, especially in the Hockey East, where only Boston University is on the right. side of the bubble entering the weekend.
Here is an overview of all six conference tournaments with schedules and results to be updated as the game progresses.
Atlantic
RIT sealed AIC’s four-year career as Atlantic Hockey’s regular season champion. This season, in a new format, the top eight teams in the league out of 10 teams qualify for the league tournament. The top four seeds go into a best-of-three quarterfinal series. The four quarter-final winners advance to the best-of-three semi-finals, and those winners advance to the singles final, all on campus.
Quarter-finals, March 3-5
No. 8 Mercyhurst at No. 1 RIT – Game 1: RIT wins, 5-0
#7 Holy Cross vs #2 AIC – Game 1: AIC wins, 3:1
Niagara #6 vs. Sacred Heart #3 – Game 1: Sacred Heart wins, 3–1
Army #5 vs. Canisius #4 – Game 1: Canisius win, 5:2
Semi-finals, March 10-12: With the maximum number of seeds remaining
Final, March 18: With a higher remaining seed
big ten
Minnesota, the Big Ten regular season champion for the second year in a row, advances to the semi-finals. Seedings 2-7 play in a best-of-three quarter-final series before the semi-finals and singles final, all on campus.
Quarter-finals, March 3-5
No. 7 Wisconsin – No. 2 Michigan – Game 1: Michigan wins, 6-5 (OT)
6th in Pennsylvania and 3rd in Ohio – Game 1: Ohio State wins 5-1
Michigan State #5 – Notre Dame #4 – Game 1: ND wins 1-0
Semi-finals, 11 March: Lowest remaining seed at #1 in Minnesota; second largest seed on second largest seed
Final, March 18: With a higher remaining seed
CCHA
Minnesota State captured its sixth straight regular season CCHA title and finished in first place. The top four seeds will play best-of-three quarter-finals, followed by semi-finals and a final, all on campus.
Quarter-finals, March 3-5
No. 8 in Lake Superior State – No. 1 in Minnesota State – Game 1: Minnesota wins, 6-1
7th St. Thomas in 2nd at Michigan Institute of Technology – Game 1: Michigan Institute of Technology wins 1-0
No. 6 Ferris State at Bowling Green No. 3 – Game 1: Ferris St. wins, 4–3 (OT)
No. 5 in Bemidji State – No. 4 in Northern Michigan – Game 1: Northern Michigan wins 7-3.
Semi-finals, 11 March: With the maximum number of seeds remaining
Final, March 18: With a higher remaining seed
ECAC
With a league record of 20-2, the top-seeded Quinnipiac became the first ECAC team since 1988-89 to reach 20 regular season wins. The top four teams receive a first-round bye, while the 5-12 seeded play singles in the first round. After re-seeding, the top four seeds go into a best-of-three quarter-final series. The winners advance to the singles semi-finals and the final. (All games are available on Sportzshala+.)
First round, March 3: No. 5 Colgate 5, No. 12 Dartmouth 3
First round, March 4: Brown #11 and Clarkson #6; No. 10 Yale to No. 7 Rensselaer; No. 9 Princeton to No. 8 Union
Quarterfinals, March 10-12: TBD at Quinnipiac #1; TBD at Harvard #2; TBD at No. 3 Cornell; TBD at No. 4 St. Lawrence
Semi-finals, 17 March: in Lake Placid, New York
Final, March 18: in Lake Placid, New York
Hockey East
Entering the final weekend of the regular season, only one seed — Vermont’s No. 11 — is locked out. The conference tournament is a knockout tournament throughout the tournament. Seeded 6-11 play in the first round, then the eight remaining teams are reseeded to play in the quarter-finals. The winners advance to the semi-finals and final. (All games are available on Sportzshala+.)
First round, March 8: No. 11 Vermont at No. 6 seed; seed #10 and seed #7; Sowing No. 9 on sowing No. 8
Quarterfinal, 11 March: sowing No. 5 under No. 4; TBD in seed #1; TBD in seed #2; TBD at seed #3
Semi-finals, 17 March: at TD Garden, Boston
Final, March 18: at TD Garden, Boston
NCCC
The defending national champion Denver clinched the regular season title, but most of the remaining seeds are yet to be decided on the final weekend. The top four seeds play a best-of-three quarter-final series, then the winners advance to the semi-finals and finals in singles.
Quarterfinals, March 10-12: No. 8 Miami (Ohio) to No. 1 Denver; seed #7 and seed #2; seed #6 and seed #3; Sowing No. 5 on sowing No. 4
Semi-finals, 17 March: at Xcel Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Final, March 18: at Xcel Center, St. Paul, Minnesota
Source: www.espn.com
