Tournament Procedure
The NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 16 teams representing all six Division I conferences in the nation. The Championship Committee seeds the entire field from 1 to 16 within four regionals of 4 teams. The winners of the six Division I conference championships receive automatic bids to participate in the NCAA Championship.
In setting up the tournament, the Championship Committee seeks to ensure "competitive equity, financial success and likelihood of playoff-type atmosphere at each regional site." A team serving as the host of a regional is placed within that regional. The top four teams are assigned overall seeds and placed within the bracket such that the national semifinals will feature the No. 1 seed versus the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed versus the No. 3 seed should the top four teams win their respective regional finals. Number 1 seeds are also placed as close to their home site as possible, with the No. 1 seed receiving first preference. Conference matchups are avoided in the first round; should five or more teams from one conference make the tournament, this guideline may be disregarded in favor of preserving the bracket's integrity.
The four regionals are officially named after their geographic areas. The following were the sites for the 2008 regionals:
- March 28 and 29
- East Regional, Times Union Center - Albany, New York (Hosts: ECAC Hockey and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
- West Regional, World Arena - Colorado Springs, Colorado (Hosts: Colorado College and the Colorado Springs Sports Commission)
- March 29 and 30
- Midwest Regional, Kohl Center - Madison, Wisconsin (Host: University of Wisconsin–Madison)
- Northeast Regional, DCU Center - Worcester, Massachusetts (Host: College of the Holy Cross)
Each regional winner advanced to the Frozen Four:
- April 10 and 12
- Pepsi Center - Denver, Colorado (Hosts: University of Denver and the Metro Denver Sports Commission)
Read more about this topic: 2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament