The 2010 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament involved 16 schools in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. The tournament began on March 26, 2010, and ended with the championship game on April 10, in which Boston College defeated Wisconsin 5–0 to win its fourth national championship.
Since the adoption of the 16-team playoff with the 2003 tournament, RIT became the first team to ever reach the Frozen Four in their first tournament appearance. As of 2026, they remain the only team to do so.
Procedure
The four regionals are officially named after their geographic areas. The following are the sites for the 2010 regionals: March 26 and 27 East Regional, Times Union Center – Albany, New York (Hosts: ECAC Hockey League and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute) West Regional, Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota)
March 27 and 28 Midwest Regional, Allen County War Memorial Coliseum – Fort Wayne, Indiana (Host: University of Notre Dame) Northeast Regional, DCU Center – Worcester, Massachusetts (Host: College of the Holy Cross)
April 8 and 10 Ford Field – Detroit, Michigan (Hosts: Central Collegiate Hockey Association and the Detroit Metro Sports Commission)
Qualifying teams The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament were announced on March 21, 2010. The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) each had four teams receive a berth in the tournament, Hockey East had three teams receive a berth, College Hockey America (CHA) and ECAC Hockey had two berths each, and Atlantic Hockey had one team receive a berth.
Midwest Regional – Fort Wayne East Regional – AlbanySeedSchoolConference RecordBerth typeLast BidSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth typeLast Bid1 Miami (1) CCHA 27–7–7 At-large bid 20091 Denver (2) WCHA 27–9–4 At-large bid 20092 Bemidji State CHA 23–9–4 At-large bid 20092 Cornell ECAC Hockey 21–8–4 Tournament champion 20093 Michigan CCHA 25–17–1 Tournament champion 20093 New Hampshire Hockey East 17–13–7 At-large bid 20094 Alabama–Huntsville CHA 12–17–3 Tournament champion 20074 RIT Atlantic Hockey 26–11–1 Tournament champion Never West Regional – St. Paul Northeast Regional – WorcesterSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type Last BidSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type Last Bid1 Wisconsin (3) WCHA 25–10–4 At-large bid 20081 Boston College (4) Hockey East 25–10–3 Tournament champion 20082 St. Cloud State WCHA 23–13–5 At-large bid 20082 North Dakota WCHA 25–12–5 Tournament champion 20093 Northern Michigan CCHA 20–12–8 At-large bid 19993 Yale ECAC Hockey 20–9–3 At-large bid 20094 Vermont Hockey East 17–14–7 At-large bid 20094 Alaska* CCHA 18–11–9 At-large bid Never
Bracket
Results Midwest Regional – Fort Wayne, Indiana Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
The regional final between Michigan and Miami was not without controversy. In the first overtime, Michigan appeared to score what would have been the game-winning goal when Kevin Lynch scored on a rebound in a scrum in front of the Miami net. However, after a video review, the goal was disallowed as the play had been whistled dead before the goal was scored to assess a Miami penalty. NCAA Director of Officials Steve Piotrowski clarified that officials blew the whistle as Lynch touched the puck, with a Miami player touching the puck in the crease and the puck briefly stopped underneath Miami goalie Connor Knapp, both occurring before the goal. The game continued until Miami sophomore Alden Hirschfeld scored 1:54 into double overtime, securing the 3-2 RedHawk victory.
East Regional – Albany, New York Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
West Regional – St. Paul, Minnesota Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
Northeast Regional – Worcester, Massachusetts Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
Frozen Four – Detroit, Michigan National Semifinals
National Championship
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st BCBen Smith (16) – GW PPS. Whitney and J. Whitney 12:57 1–0 BC 2nd None 3rd BCCam Atkinson (29)J. Whitney and Gibbons 41:38 2–0 BC BCChris Kreider (15)Hayes and Samuelsson 43:40 3–0 BC BCCam Atkinson (30) – PPGibbons and J. Whitney 47:20 4–0 BC BCMatt Price (5) – ENunassisted 55:29 5–0 BC Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st BCJoe WhitneyInterference 1:17 2:00 WISRyan McDonaghCross–checking 5:24 2:00 WISJohn MitchellContact to the head – Elbowing 11:04 2:00 2nd WISJake GardinerInterference 23:16 2:00 BCJoe WhitneyClipping 24:21 2:00 3rd WIS Craig Smith Contact to the head – Elbowing 46:32 2:00 WISPodge TurnbullContact to the head 47:20 2:00 BCJoe WhitneyUnsportsmanlike conduct 50:19 2:00 BCBrian GibbonsSlashing 57:52 2:00 WISCraig SmithSlashing 57:52 2:00
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T Boston College 12 6 8 26 Wisconsin 5 9 6 20
Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice BC John Muse 20 0 60:00 WIS Scott Gudmandson 20 4 58:41
Record by conference Conference# of BidsRecordWin %Regional FinalsFrozen FourChampionship GameChampions CCHA 4 3–4 .429 2 1 – – WCHA 4 4–4 .500 2 1 1 – Hockey East 3 5–2 .714 2 1 1 1 CHA 2 0–2 .000 – – – – ECAC Hockey 2 1–2 .333 1 – – – Atlantic Hockey 1 2–1 .667 1 1 – –
Media
Television ESPN had US television rights to all games during the tournament. For the sixth consecutive year ESPN aired every game, beginning with the regionals, on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU, and ESPN360.
Broadcast Assignments Regionals East Regional: John Buccigross & Barry Melrose – Albany, New York West Regional: Clay Matvick & Jim Paradise – St. Paul, Minnesota Midwest Regional: Ben Holden & Sean Ritchlin – Fort Wayne, Indiana Northeast Regional: Dan Parkhurst & Damian DiGiulian – Worcester, Massachusetts
Frozen Four & Championship Gary Thorne, Barry Melrose, & Clay Matvick – Detroit, Michigan
Radio Westwood One used exclusive radio rights to air both the semifinals and the championship, AKA the "Frozen Four. Sean Grande & Cap Raeder
Tournament awards
East Regional
All-East Regional Team Goaltender: Jared DeMichiel (RIT) Defensemen: Chris Haltigin (RIT), Dan Ringwald (RIT) Forwards: Tyler Brenner (RIT), Cameron Burt (RIT), Bobby Butler (New Hampshire)
Most Outstanding Player Jared DeMichiel (RIT)
West Regional
All-West Regional Team Goaltender: Scott Gudmandson (Wisconsin) Defensemen: Ryan McDonagh (Wisconsin), Brendan Smith (Wisconsin) Forwards: Blake Geoffrion (Wisconsin), Garrett Roe (St. Cloud State), Tony Mosey (St. Cloud State)
MOP Blake Geoffrion (Wisconsin)
Frozen Four G: John Muse (Boston College) D: Brian Dumoulin (Boston College) D: Brendan Smith (Wisconsin) F: Cam Atkinson (Boston College) F: Ben Smith* (Boston College) F: Joe Whitney (Boston College) * Most Outstanding Player(s)
References