The 2012 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament involved sixteen schools in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey for the 2011–12 season. The tournament began on March 23, 2012, with regional semifinals and ended on April 7 with the national championship game. The Boston College Eagles won their third national championship in five years, beating the Ferris State Bulldogs, 4–1, in the championship game. BC won nineteen consecutive games to end the season. It is the fifth title for both the program and the last under head coach Jerry York – York previously coached Bowling Green to a championship in 1984. and retired in 2022.
This year's tournament marked the last of 22 consecutive years of playoff berths, a tournament record, for Michigan, following their defeat in the Midwest Regional Semifinals versus Cornell. They would not appear in the tournament again until 2016.
This year's Frozen Four featured multiple teams, Ferris State and Union, making their first appearance. This last occurred in 2009, when Bemidji State and Miami both made their first Frozen Four appearances.
Tournament procedure
The four regionals are officially named after their geographic areas. The following are the sites for the 2012 regionals: March 23 and 24 East Regional, Webster Bank Arena – Bridgeport, Connecticut (Hosts: Yale University and Fairfield University) Midwest Regional, Resch Center – Green Bay, Wisconsin (Host: Michigan Technological University) March 24 and 25 Northeast Regional, DCU Center – Worcester, Massachusetts (Host: College of the Holy Cross) West Regional, Xcel Energy Center – Saint Paul, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota)
Each regional winner will advance to the Frozen Four: April 5 and 7 Tampa Bay Times Forum – Tampa, Florida (Hosts: University of Alabama in Huntsville and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission)
Qualifying teams The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament were announced on March 18. The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) had five teams receive a berth in the tournament, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and Hockey East had four teams receive a berth, ECAC Hockey had two teams receive a berth, and Atlantic Hockey had one team receive a berth.
Northeast Regional – Worcester Midwest Regional – Green BaySeedSchoolConference RecordBerth typeLast BidSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type Last Bid1 Boston College (1) Hockey East 29–10–1 Tournament champion 20111 Michigan (2) CCHA 24–12–4 At-large bid 20112 Minnesota–Duluth WCHA 24–9–6 At-large bid 20112 Ferris State CCHA 23–11–5 At-large bid 20033 Maine Hockey East 23–13–3 At-large bid 20073 Denver WCHA 25–13–4 At-large bid 20114 Air Force Atlantic Hockey 21–10–7 Tournament champion 20114 Cornell ECAC Hockey 18–8–7 At-large bid 2010 East Regional – Bridgeport West Regional – Saint PaulSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth typeLast BidSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type Last Bid1 Union (3) ECAC Hockey 24–7–7 Tournament champion 20111 North Dakota (4) WCHA 25–12–3 Tournament champion 20112 Miami CCHA 24–14–2 At-large bid 20112 Minnesota WCHA 26–13–1 At-large bid 20083 Massachusetts–Lowell Hockey East 23–12–1 At-large bid 19963 Boston University Hockey East 23–14–1 At-large bid 20124 Michigan State CCHA 19–15–4 At-large bid 20084 Western Michigan CCHA 21–13–6 Tournament champion 2011
Bracket
Results Northeast Regional – Worcester, Massachusetts Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
Midwest Regional – Green Bay, Wisconsin
Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
East Regional – Bridgeport, Connecticut Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
West Regional – Saint Paul, Minnesota Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
Frozen Four – Tampa, Florida National Semifinals
National Championship
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st BCSteven Whitney (15)Almeida 03:18 1–0 BC FSUGarrett Thompson (11)Huff and Ouellette 05:19 1–1 BCPaul Carey (18) – GW PPDumoulin and Mullane 10:33 2–1 BC 2nd None 3rd BCJohnny Gaudreau (21)Hayes and Wey 56:58 3–1 BC BCSteven Whitney (16) – ENArnold 58:57 4–1 BC Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st FSU Brett Wysopal Tripping 08:42 2:00 2nd FSUScott CzarnowczanRoughing 22:31 2:00 BCMichael SitRoughing 22:31 2:00 BCPaul CareyTripping 24:48 2:00 BCTommy CrossHooking 30:35 2:00 BCBench (Served by Quinn Smith)Too many men on ice 35:06 2:00 BCBill ArnoldRoughing 39:36 2:00 3rd FSUBrett WysopalHooking 41:47 2:00 FSUBrett WysopalHolding 48:32 2:00
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T Ferris State 7 15 6 28 Boston College 8 14 15 37
Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice FSU Taylor Nelson 33 3 59:23 BC Parker Milner 27 1 60:00
Record by conference Conference# of BidsRecordWin %Regional FinalsFrozen FourChampionship GameChampions CCHA 5 3–5 1 1 1 - Hockey East 4 5–3 2 1 1 1 WCHA 4 4–4 3 1 - - ECAC Hockey 2 3–2 2 1 - - Atlantic Hockey 1 0–1 .000 - - - -
Media
Television ESPN had US television rights to all games during the tournament. For the eighth consecutive year ESPN aired every game, beginning with the regionals, on ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU, and ESPN3. They also streamed them online via WatchESPN.
Broadcast Assignments Regionals East Regional: John Buccigross & Barry Melrose – Bridgeport, Connecticut Midwest Regional: Ben Holden & Sean Ritchlin – Green Bay, Wisconsin Northeast Regional: Joe Beninati & Billy Jaffe – Worcester, Massachusetts West Regional: Clay Matvick & Dave Starman – St. Paul, Minnesota
Frozen Four & Championship Gary Thorne, Barry Melrose, & Clay Matvick – Tampa, Florida
Radio Dial Global Sports used exclusive radio rights to air both the semifinals and the championship, AKA the "Frozen Four." Sean Grande & Cap Raeder
All-Tournament team
Frozen Four G: Parker Milner* (Boston College) D: Brian Dumoulin (Boston College) D: Chad Billins (Ferris State) F: Kyle Bonis (Ferris State) F: Paul Carey (Boston College) F: Steven Whitney (Boston College) * Most Outstanding Player(s)
See also 2012 NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Tournament
References