March 10, 2013

Boston University and Boston College will play in the NCAA Tournament

Wakefield, Mass. -- The NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Committee announced on Sunday night via a live online announcement that 2013 WHEA Tournament Champion Boston University Terriers and at-large qualifier Boston College have earned a spot in the 13th annual NCAA Tournament, which begins with quarterfinal play this coming weekend on the campuses of the high seeds.

Boston University (26-5-3, 18-2-1 WHEA) earned Hockey East's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with a 5-2 victory on Sunday against Northeastern University in the WHEA Championship Game at the Hyannis Youth and Community Center in Hyannis, Mass. The Terriers, who won their third league tournament in school history, will face off against Clarkson on Saturday, March 16 at Walter Brown Arena (3pm). BU will enter the eightteam field as the No. 3 seed. This will be the second time the Terriers have hosted an NCAA tournament game; as a No. 3 seed in 2011, BU bested Mercyhurst, 4-2, to advance to the program's first-ever Frozen Four. The Terriers will be playing in their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament, with this year's senior class becoming the first to play in the NCAA tournament in all four years at BU. The Terriers are 2-3 all-time in the national tournament, with both wins coming in 2011. Tickets will be $6 for adults and $4 for students, children and senior citizens. For more information, contact the Agganis Arena Ticket Office, which is open Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at 617-353-4628.

Boston College (26-6-3, 17-2-2 WHEA) will host ECAC foe Harvard on Saturday, March 16 at 1 p.m. at Conte Forum. BC was awarded the No. 4 national seed in the tournament for the third consecutive year. The Eagles defeated Harvard 2-1 on Feb. 5 at the Beanpot semifinals, giving them four straight wins over Harvard dating back to 2010. The Crimson (24-6-3) dropped a 2-1 decision to Cornell in the ECAC Championship earlier today. The Eagles earned their fifth overall selection to the NCAA Tournament after a program best 26-6-3 record this season. BC earned bids in 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2012 including two Frozen Four appearances over the past two seasons. Under Hockey East Coach of the Year, Katie King Crowley, BC has earned the highest ranking in the national polls (No. 2) in team history. The Eagles hold a 3-4 record all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

The quarterfinal winners advance to the 2013 Women's Frozen Four will be hosted by the University of Minnesota on March 22 and 24 at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis, Minn. The semifinal games will be played at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST, Friday, March 22, and streamed live on NCAA.com. The championship game will be played live at 4 p.m. Eastern time, Sunday, March 24, 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.