The 2004 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. It began on March 26, 2004, and ended with the championship game on April 10. A total of 15 games were played. This was the first season in which the Atlantic Hockey sent a representative to the tournament. Atlantic Hockey assumed possession of the automatic bid that had been the possession of the MAAC after it collapsed and all remaining ice hockey programs formed the new conference.
This year's tournament was the second year in a row to feature multiple programs, Holy Cross and Notre Dame, making their first appearance in the NCAA playoffs.
The University of Denver, coached by George Gwozdecky, won its sixth national title with a 1–0 victory in the final game over the University of Maine, coached by Tim Whitehead before a record crowd of over 18,000 people at Boston's FleetCenter (now known as the TD Garden). While Denver's Gabe Gauthier scored the game's only goal, the game is best remembered for Denver surviving Maine's six skaters to three skaters advantage in the final 90 seconds of the contest.
Denver goaltender Adam Berkhoel was named the tournament Most Outstanding Player.
Game locations
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. Regional placements are based primarily on the home location of the top seed in each bracket with an attempt made to put the top-ranked teams close to their home site.
First round and regional finals East – Pepsi Arena, Albany, New York — Host: Rensselaer Midwest – Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan — Host: Western Michigan Northeast – Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire — Host: New Hampshire West – World Arena, Colorado Springs, Colorado — Host: Colorado College
Frozen Four FleetCenter, Boston
Qualifying teams The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament was announced on March 21, 2004. The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) and the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) each had five teams receive a berth in the tournament, Hockey East had three teams receive a berth in the tournament, while Atlantic Hockey, College Hockey America (CHA) and the ECAC each received a single bid for their tournament champions.
West Regional – Colorado Springs Northeast Regional – ManchesterSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeAppearanceLast bidSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeAppearanceLast bid1North Dakota (1)WCHA29–7–3At-large bid 19th 20031Boston College (2)Hockey East27–8–4At-large bid 24th 20032DenverWCHA23–12–5At-large bid 17th 20022MichiganCCHA26–13–2At-large bid 27th 20033MiamiCCHA23–13–4At-large bid 3rd 19973New HampshireHockey East20–14–6At-large bid 14th 20034Holy CrossAtlantic Hockey22–9–4Tournament champion 1st Never4NiagaraCHA21–14–3Tournament champion 2nd 2000 East Regional – Albany Midwest Regional – Grand RapidsSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeAppearanceLast bidSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth typeAppearanceLast bid1Maine (3)Hockey East30–7–3Tournament champion 14th 2003 1Minnesota (4)WCHA26–13–3Tournament champion 28th 20032Ohio StateCCHA26–15–0Tournament champion 4th 2003 2Minnesota-DuluthWCHA26–12–4At-large bid 5th 19933WisconsinWCHA21–12–8At-large bid 20th 20003Michigan StateCCHA23–16–2At-large bid 23rd 20024HarvardECAC18–14–3Tournament champion 19th 20034Notre DameCCHA20–14–4At-large bid 1st Never
Number in parentheses denotes overall seed in the tournament.
Bracket
Results West Regional – Colorado Springs, Colorado Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
Northeast Regional – Manchester, New Hampshire Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
East Regional – Albany, New York Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
Midwest Regional – Grand Rapids, Michigan Regional Semifinals
Regional Final
Frozen Four – Boston, Massachusetts
National Semifinals
National Championship
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st DENGabe Gauthier (18) – GW PPJames 12:26 1–0 DEN 2nd None 3rd None Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st DENMax BullChecking from behind 3:39 2:00 DENGabe GauthierRoughing 5:13 2:00 MaineDustin PennerHolding the stick 5:13 2:00 MaineMathew DeschampsObstruction – Interference 11:49 2:00 DENMax BullCross-checking 13:25 2:00 MaineJon JankusTripping 14:24 2:00 DENJ. D. CorbinHolding 17:03 2:00 2nd MaineTodd JacksonTripping 26:26 2:00 DENGabe GauthierCross-checking 26:31 2:00 MaineJon JankusHolding the stick 26:31 2:00 DENJeff DrummondHooking 28:16 2:00 DENRyan CaldwellRoughing 29:47 2:00 MaineMike HamiltonRoughing 29:47 2:00 3rd DENJeff DrummondObstruction – Holding 43:24 2:00 MainePrestin RyanInterference 48:09 2:00 DENJon FosterRoughing 52:15 2:00 MaineMathew DeschampsRoughing 52:15 2:00 DENMatt LaatschHooking 57:51 2:00 DENGabe GauthierDelay of game 58:26 2:00
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T Denver 4 6 10 20 Maine 6 9 9 24
Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice DEN Adam Berkhoel 24 0 60:00 Maine Jimmy Howard 19 1 58:39
All-Tournament team G: Adam Berkhoel* (Denver) D: Ryan Caldwell (Denver) D: Prestin Ryan (Maine) F: Junior Lessard (Minnesota-Duluth) F: Dustin Penner (Maine) F: Connor James (Denver) * Most Outstanding Player(s)
Record by conference Conference# of BidsRecordWin %Regional FinalsFrozen FourChampionship GameChampions WCHA 5 9-4 .692 5 2 1 1 CCHA 5 1-5 .125 1 - - - Hockey East 3 5-3 .625 2 2 1 - ECAC 1 0-1 .000 - - - - Atlantic Hockey 1 0-1 .000 - - - - CHA 1 0-1 .000 - - - -
References