March Madness is about to cool off, and it has nothing to do with the action on the court.
Along with the NCAA Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments, the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament is set to commence this week. After Sunday’s selection show, we now know who each of the 16 teams will be facing.
Conference tournaments were held over the weekend to determine the final automatic berths and give contenders one last opportunity to cement their seeding. Michigan, Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth, UMass, Harvard and America International punched their tickets by winning their conference tournaments over the weekend, leaving 10 at-large bids for the rest of the field.
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Michigan was awarded the No. 1 overall seed after going 29-9-1 and winning the Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota State, Western Michigan and Denver were also named the top seeds in their respective regionals.
The defending champions are a No. 3 seed in their regional in 2022. UMass, coming off a dominant 2021 national championship victory over St. Cloud State, won the Hockey East Tournament with an overtime win over UConn on Saturday. The Minutemen are hoping to do what Minnesota Duluth did in 2019: become back-to-back champs.
With the bracket now set, here’s a look at the full tournament field and the schedule for the first two rounds:
East Regional: MVP Arena, Albany, N.Y.
- Minnesota State
- North Dakota
- Notre Dame
- Harvard
West Regional: Budweiser Events Center, Loveland, Colo.
- Denver
- Minnesota Duluth
- Michigan Tech
- UMass-Lowell
Midwest Regional: PPL Center, Allentown, Pa.
- Michigan
- Quinnipiac
- St. Cloud State
- American International
Northeast Regional: DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.
- Western Michigan
- Minnesota
- UMass
- Northeastern
2022 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament Regionals schedule
March 24
East Regional: No. 4 Harvard vs. No. 1 Minnesota State, 12 p.m. ET
West Regional: No. 3 Michigan Tech vs. No. 2 Minnesota Duluth, 3 p.m. ET
East Regional: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 North Dakota, 6 p.m. ET
West Regional: No. 4 UMass-Lowell vs. No. 1 Denver, 9 p.m. ET
March 25
Northeast Regional: No. 4 Northeastern vs. No. 1 Western Michigan, 12 p.m. ET
Midwest Regional: No. 4 American International vs. No. 1 Michigan, 3 p.m. ET
Northeast Regional: No. 3 UMass vs. No. 2 Minnesota, 6 p.m. ET
Midwest Regional: No. 3 St. Cloud State vs. No. 2 Quinnipiac, 8 p.m. ET
March 26
East Regional Final: No. 4 Harvard/No. 1 Minnesota State vs. No. 3 Notre Dame/No. 2 North Dakota, Time TBD
West Regional Final: No. 4 UMass-Lowell/No. 1 Denver vs. No. 3 Michigan Tech/No. 2 Minnesota Duluth, Time TBD
March 27
Midwest Regional Final: No. 4 American International/No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 3 St. Cloud State/No. 2 Quinnipiac, Time TBD
Northwest Regional Final: No. 4 Northeastern/No. 1 Western Michigan vs. No. 3 UMass/No. 2 Minnesota, Time TBD
Where is the 2022 Frozen Four?
The Frozen Four will be held April 7-9 at TD Garden in Boston. The arena last hosted the Frozen Four in 2015, with Providence beating Boston University in the national title game.