The 2008 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. The tournament began on March 28, 2008, and ended with the championship game on April 12.

Boston College, coached by Jerry York, won its third national title after consecutive runner-up finishes with a 4–1 victory in the championship game over Notre Dame, coached by Jeff Jackson.

Nathan Gerbe, junior forward for Boston College, scored five goals in the final two games and was named the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player.

This was the first tournament in 47 years to have two teams from the same conference play in the opening round. This occurred due to the glut of WCHA teams that received 2nd- and 3rd-seeds in the regional divisions.

Starting with this year's Frozen Four and ending with 2013, five of the next six tournaments featured at least one team making their first appearance in the Frozen Four, with 2011 being the only year to feature four teams with previous Frozen Four appearances.

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, Broadmoor 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)

Qualifying teams The at-large bids, along with the seeding for each team in the tournament, were announced on Sunday, March 23. Six teams from the WCHA qualified for the tournament, a record for the number of teams from one conference.

East Regional – Albany Northeast Regional – WorcesterSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth TypeLast BidSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth TypeLast Bid1Michigan (1)CCHA31–5–4Tournament champion20071Miami (2)CCHA32–7–1At-Large Bid20072St. Cloud StateWCHA19–15–5At-Large Bid20072Boston CollegeHockey East21–11–8Tournament champion20073ClarksonECAC21–12–4At-Large Bid20073MinnesotaWCHA19–16–9At-Large Bid20074NiagaraCHA22–10–4Tournament champion20044Air ForceAtlantic Hockey21–11–6Tournament champion2007 Midwest Regional – Madison West Regional – Colorado SpringsSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth TypeLast BidSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth TypeLast Bid1North Dakota (3)WCHA26–10–4At-Large Bid20071New Hampshire (4)Hockey East25–9–3At-Large Bid20072DenverWCHA26–13–1Tournament champion20052Colorado CollegeWCHA28–11–1At-Large Bid20063WisconsinWCHA15–16–7At-Large Bid20063Michigan StateCCHA24–11–5At-Large Bid20074PrincetonECAC21–13–0Tournament champion19984Notre DameCCHA24–15–4At-Large Bid2007

Brackets

Results

East Region – Albany, New York

Regional semifinal

Regional Final

Northeast Region – Worcester, Massachusetts

Regional semifinal

Regional Final

Midwest Region – Madison, Wisconsin

Regional Semifinal

Regional Final

West Region – Colorado Springs, Colorado

Regional Semifinal

Regional Final

Frozen Four – Denver, Colorado

National Semifinals

National Championship

Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd BCNathan Gerbe (34)Gibbons and Smith 22:23 1–0 BC BCNathan Gerbe (35) – GW PPSmith and Bertram 25:37 2–0 BC BCJoe Whitney (11) – PPGerbe and Ferriero 28:11 3–0 BC NDKevin Deeth (11)Lawson and Cole 29:07 3–1 BC 3rd BCBen Smith (25)Gerbe and Gibbons 45:31 4–1 BC Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st BCKyle KucharskiHolding the Stick 08:41 2:00 BCMatt GreeneCross-Checking 14:33 2:00 NDBrock SheahanRoughing 17:02 2:00 BCAnthony AielloTripping 18:24 2:00 2nd BCAndrew OrpikSlashing 22:51 2:00 NDRyan ThangInterference 24:58 2:00 NDDan VeNardCross-Checking 26:29 2:00 NDDan KisselHooking 27:27 2:00 BCKyle KucharskiHolding 27:32 2:00 NDDan VeNardHigh-Sticking 36:49 2:00 3rd BCNick PetreckiElbowing 40:08 2:00 BCMatt PriceObstruction Tripping 48:05 2:00 BCMatt GreeneHooking 49:54 2:00

Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T Notre Dame 5 8 8 21 Boston College 7 11 5 23

Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice ND Jordan Pearce 19 4 58:31 BC John Muse 20 1 60:00

Record by conference Conference# of BidsRecordWin %Regional FinalsFrozen FourChampionship GameChampions WCHA 6 3–6 .333 2 1 - - CCHA 4 7–4 .636 4 2 1 - ECAC Hockey 2 1–2 .333 1 - - - Hockey East 2 4–1 .800 1 1 1 1 Atlantic Hockey 1 0–1 .000 - - - - CHA 1 0–1 .000 - - - -

All-Tournament team

Frozen Four G: John Muse (Boston College) D: Michael Brennan (Boston College) D: Kyle Lawson (Notre Dame) F: Kevin Deeth (Notre Dame) F: Nathan Gerbe* (Boston College) F: Ben Smith (Boston College) * Most Outstanding Player(s)

References General

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