The 2016 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament was the national championship tournament for men's college ice hockey in the United States in 2016. The tournament involved 16 teams in single-elimination play to determine the national champion at the Division I level of the NCAA, the highest level of competition in college hockey. The tournament's Frozen Four – the semifinals and finals – were hosted by the University of Wisconsin and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
North Dakota defeated Quinnipiac 5–1 to win the program's 8th NCAA title.
This is the first time in NCAA college hockey history that a first year coach, Brad Berry, won the NCAA title.
Tournament procedure
The tournament consisted of four groups of four teams in regional brackets. The four regionals are officially named after their geographic areas. The following were the sites for the 2016 regionals: March 25–26 Midwest Regional, US Bank Arena – Cincinnati (Host: Miami University) Northeast Regional, DCU Center – Worcester, Massachusetts (Host: Holy Cross) March 26–27 East Regional, Times Union Center – Albany, New York (Host: ECAC Hockey) West Regional, Xcel Energy Center – St. Paul, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota)
The winner of each regional advanced to the Frozen Four: April 7–9 Amalie Arena – Tampa, Florida (Host: University of Wisconsin)
Qualifying teams The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament were announced on March 20. Hockey East had six teams receive a berth in the tournament, NCHC had four teams receive a berth, ECAC Hockey had three teams receive a berth, and one team from the Big Ten Conference, Atlantic Hockey, and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) received a berth.
Midwest Regional – Cincinnati Northeast Regional – WorcesterSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type AppearanceLast bidSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type AppearanceLast bid1North Dakota (3)NCHC30–6–4At-large bid31st20151Providence (4)Hockey East27–6–4At-large bid12th20152MichiganBig Ten24–7–5Tournament champion36th20122Boston CollegeHockey East26–7–5At-large bid35th20153Notre DameHockey East19–10–7At-large bid8th20143HarvardECAC19–10–4At-large bid23rd20154NortheasternHockey East22–13–5Tournament champion5th20094Minnesota-DuluthNCHC18–15–5At-large bid10th2015 East Regional – Albany West Regional – Saint PaulSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth typeAppearanceLast bidSeedSchoolConference RecordBerth type AppearanceLast bid1Quinnipiac (1)ECAC29–3–7Tournament champion5th20151St. Cloud State (2)NCHC31–8–1Tournament champion12th20152 UMass LowellHockey East24–9–5At-large bid7th20142DenverNCHC23–9–6At-large bid26th20153YaleECAC19–8–4At-large bid8th20153Boston UniversityHockey East21–12–5At-large bid34th20154RITAtlantic Hockey18–14–6Tournament champion3rd20154Ferris StateWCHA19–14–6Tournament champion4th2014
Number in parentheses denotes overall seed in the tournament.
Tournament bracket
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
Results
East Region – Albany, New York
Regional semifinal
Regional Final
West Region – Saint Paul, Minnesota
Regional semifinal
Regional Final
Midwest Region – Cincinnati
Regional semifinal
Regional Final
Northeast Region – Worcester, Massachusetts
Regional semifinal
Regional Final
Frozen Four – Tampa, Florida
Semifinal
National Championship – Tampa, Florida
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st UNDShane Gersich (9)Ausmus and Boeser 11:56 1–0 UND UNDBrock Boeser (27) – GW SHunassisted 14:16 2–0 UND QUITim Clifton (19) – PPC. Clifton and St. Denis 18:53 2–1 UND 2nd None 3rd UNDDrake Caggiula (24)Schmaltz and Boeser 41:21 3–1 UND UNDDrake Caggiula (25)Boeser and LaDue 43:41 4–1 UND UNDAustin Poganski (10)Gardner and Ausmus 50:41 5–1 UND Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st UNDBryn ChyzykSlashing 09:57 2:00 QUITravis St. DenisSlashing 09:57 2:00 UNDPaul LaDueTripping 13:19 2:00 UNDDrake CaggiulaCross-Checking 18:41 2:00 UNDTroy StecherCross-Checking 18:50 2:00 2nd UNDDrake CaggiulaHigh-Sticking 22:13 2:00 UNDChristian WolaninRoughing 25:02 2:00 QUISam AnasRoughing 25:02 2:00 QUITommy SchuttHooking 30:45 2:00 3rd QUIDerek SmithCross-Checking 46:36 2:00 UNDJoel JanatuinenRoughing 57:34 2:00 QUIConnor CliftonRoughing 57:34 2:00
Shots by period Team 1 2 3 T Quinnipiac 13 9 11 33 North Dakota 16 9 11 36
Goaltenders Team Name Saves Goals against Time on ice QUI Michael Garteig 31 5 60:00 UND Cam Johnson 32 1 60:00
Record by conference Conference# of BidsRecordWin %Regional FinalsFrozen FourChampionship GameChampions Hockey East 6 3–6 2 1 - - NCHC 4 7–3 3 2 1 1 ECAC Hockey 3 3–3 1 1 1 - WCHA 1 1–1 1 - - - Big Ten 1 1–1 1 - - - Atlantic Hockey 1 0–1 - - - -
Media
Television ESPN has US television rights to all games during the tournament for the twelfth consecutive year. ESPN will air every game, beginning with the regionals, on ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, or ESPN3 and will stream them online via WatchESPN.
In Canada, the tournament is broadcast by TSN and streamed on TSN Go.
Broadcast Assignments Regionals Midwest Regional: Allen Bestwick & Colby Cohen – Cincinnati, Ohio Northeast Regional: John Buccigross, Barry Melrose & Quint Kessenich – Worcester, Massachusetts East Regional: Kevin Brown & Billy Jaffe – Albany, New York West Regional: Clay Matvick & Sean Ritchlin – St. Paul, Minnesota
Frozen Four & Championship John Buccigross, Barry Melrose, & Quint Kessenich – Tampa, Florida
Radio Westwood One has exclusive radio rights to the Frozen Four and will air both the semifinals and the championship. Sean Grande, Cap Raeder, & Shireen Saski
All-Tournament team
Frozen Four G: Cam Johnson (North Dakota) D: Troy Stecher (North Dakota) D: Connor Clifton (Quinnipiac) F: Drake Caggiula* (North Dakota) F: Brock Boeser (North Dakota) F: Travis St. Denis (Quinnipiac) * Most Outstanding Player(s)
References