March 4, 2012

Boston College and Boston University have advanced into the NCAA Tournament

Wakefield, Mass. -- The NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Committee announced on Sunday night via a live online announcement that 2012 WHEA Tournament Champion Boston University and Boston College have qualified for the 12th annual NCAA Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal play this coming weekend on the campuses of the high seeds.

Boston University (23-13-1, 14-7-0 WHEA) earned Hockey East's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 2-1 double overtime victory on Sunday against Providence College in the WHEA Championship Game at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center. The Terriers, who won their second league tournament in school history, will face off against No. 3 seed Cornell on Saturday (March 10) at Lynah Rink (2pm). The Terriers defeated Cornell, 4-1, in the Frozen Four last season. The Terriers, who reached the National Championship Game last season vs. Wisconsin, own a 2-2 all-time in the NCAA tournament, including a 1-1 record in the NCAA quarterfinals.

No. 4 seed Boston College (23-9-3, 15-4-2 WHEA) will host ECAC Champion St. Lawrence on Saturday, March 10 at 1 p.m. at Kelley Rink. This will be the fourth NCAA Tournament appearance for the Eagles. BC earned bids in 2007, 2009 and 2011, advancing to the Frozen Four in '07 and '11. This is just the second time Boston College has been seeded for the postseason, as it was also the No. 4 seed in 2011. The Eagles are 2-3 all-time at NCAAs. The Eagles earned the No. 2 seed for the Hockey East tournament, but fell to eventual champion No. 9 BU in the semifinal round, 5-2.

The quarterfinal winners advance to the 2012 Women's Frozen Four will be hosted by Minnesota-Duluth on March 16 and 18 at Amsoil Arena in Duluth, Minn. The semifinal games will be played at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. ET, Friday, March 16, and streamed live on NCAA.com. The championship game will be played live at 4 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, March 18, on NCAA.com. For more information regarding the National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship, log on to www.ncaasports.com

The Women's Hockey East Association is an eight-team, Division-I college hockey conference which began play in 2002-2003, with offices based in Wakefield, Mass. The league also sponsors a 10 team men's league which began play in 1984-1985.