INDIANAPOLIS---The NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Committee has selected the 16 teams that will be participating in the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship.
The championship playoff format involves four predetermined regional sites with four teams assigned to each site. The four regional winners advance to the Men's Frozen Four. The entire championship uses a single-elimination format.
Automatic qualification privileges are granted to the postseason champions of the five conferences. The remainder of the field is selected at large.
Quinnipiac University was the No. 1 overall seed. The other No. 1 seeds, in order, include St. Cloud State University, the University of North Dakota and Providence College.
The dates, sites, times and pairings of this year's championship are as follows:
East Regional, March 26-27
Times Union Center, Albany, New York
Saturday, March 26, 4 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
No. 1 Quinnipiac (29-3-7) vs. No. 4 RIT (18-14-6)
Saturday, March 26, 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN3/WatchESPN
No. 2 Massachusetts Lowell (24-9-5) vs. No. 3 Yale (19-8-4)
Sunday, March 27, 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
East Regional Championship
Northeast Regional, March 25-26
DCU Center, Worcester, Massachusetts
Friday, March 25, 4:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN3/WatchESPN
No. 1 Providence (27-6-4) vs. No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (18-15-5)
Friday, March 25, 8 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
No. 2 Boston College (26-7-5) vs. No. 3 Harvard (19-10-4)
Saturday, March 26, 9 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
Northeast Regional Championship
Midwest Regional, March 25-26
U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio
Friday, March 25, 2 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
No. 1 North Dakota (30-6-4) vs. No. 4 Northeastern (22-13-5)
Friday, March 25, 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
No. 2 Michigan (24-7-5) vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (19-10-7)
Saturday, March 26, 6 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/WatchESPN
Midwest Regional Championship
West Regional, March 26-27
Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saturday, March 26, 3 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNews/WatchESPN
No. 1 St. Cloud State (31-8-1) vs. No. 4 Ferris State (19-14-6)
Saturday, March 26, 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
No. 2 Denver (23-9-6) vs. No. 3 Boston U. (21-12-5)
Sunday, March 27, 5 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU/WatchESPN
West Regional Championship
Men's Frozen Four, April 7 and 9
Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Thursday, April 7, 5 and 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/WatchESPN
(order of games TBD)
East Regional Champion vs. Northeast Regional Champion
Midwest Regional Champion vs. West Regional Champion
Saturday, April 9, 8 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN/WatchESPN
National Championship
The following conferences and teams received automatic qualification:
Atlantic Hockey Association – RIT
Big Ten Conference – Michigan
ECAC Hockey – Quinnipiac
Hockey East Association – Northeastern
National Collegiate Hockey Conference – St. Cloud State
Western Collegiate Hockey Association – Ferris State
To purchase tickets for all the regional sites and the Frozen Four in addition to all information about the championship, log on to www.NCAA.com/FrozenFour.