The 16 teams participating in the 2016 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship were announced Sunday with Quinnipiac University selected as the No. 1 overall seed.
The other No. 1 seeds, in order as determined by the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee, are St. Cloud State, North Dakota and defending national champ Providence College.
The championship playoff format involves four predetermined regional sites with four teams assigned to each site. The four regional winners advance to the Frozen Four April 7 and 9. 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.
The following conferences and teams received automatic qualification: Atlantic Hockey Association — RIT; Big Ten Conference — Michigan; ECAC Hockey — Quinnipiac; Hockey East — Northeastern; National Collegiate Hockey Conference — St. Cloud State and Western Collegiate Hockey Association — Ferris State.
The matchups for the upcoming regionals are:
East, March 26-27, at Times Union Center, Albany, N.Y. — Saturday, No. 1 Quinnipiac (29-3-7) vs. No. 4 RIT (18-14-6); No. 2 Massachusetts Lowell (24-9-5) vs. No. 3 Yale (19-8-4); Sunday, final; Northeast, March 25-26, at DCU Center, Worcester, Mass. — No. 1 Providence (27-6-4) vs. No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (18-15-5); No. 2 Boston College (26-7-5) vs. No. 3 Harvard (19-10-4); Saturday, final; Midwest, March 25-26, U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio — No. 1 North Dakota (30-6-4) vs. No. 4 Northeastern (22-13-5); No. 2 Michigan (24-7-5) vs. No. 3 Notre Dame (19-10-7); Saturday, final; West, March 26-27, Xcel Energy Center, Saint Paul, Minn. — No. 1 St. Cloud State (31-8-1) vs. No. 4 Ferris State (19-14-6); No. 2 Denver (23-9-6) vs. No. 3 Boston U. (21-12-5); Sunday, final.
The Frozen Four will be held at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida, with the semifinals on Thursday, April 7, and the final on Saturday, April 9.