Minnesota State, North Dakota, Boston University and Miami got No. 1 seeds for the 2015 NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament when the brackets were unveiled Sunday.
The NCAA men’s ice hockey committee placed Minnesota State in the Midwest Regional in South Bend, Ind., while North Dakota is the host of the West Regional in Fargo, N.D.
Boston University is the top seed in the Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H., and Miami leads the field in the East Regional in Providence, R.I.
Here are the first-round games:
Northeast Regional (Manchester, N.H.)
• Boston University vs. Yale, 2 p.m. EDT Friday
• Minnesota-Duluth vs. Minnesota, 5:30 p.m. EDT Friday
West Regional (Fargo, N.D.)
• Michigan Tech vs. St. Cloud State, 3:30 p.m. CDT Friday
• North Dakota vs. Quinnipiac, 7 p.m. CDT Friday
East Regional (Providence, R.I.)
• Denver vs. Boston College, 3 p.m. EDT Saturday
• Miami vs. Providence, 6:30 p.m. EDT Saturday
Midwest Regional (South Bend, Ind.)
• Minnesota State vs. RIT, 4 p.m. EDT Saturday
• Omaha vs. Harvard, 7:30 p.m. EDT Saturday
The Boston University-Yale first-round game matches the nation’s top offense (BU, 3.89 goals per game) and top defense (Yale, 1.59 goals per game).
“We don’t know much about Yale, but we know that they’re a good team and obviously all 16 teams who made it this far are really good,” Boston University captain Matt Grzelcyk said. “I wish we could play right now; I know the guys are all really excited, and we’re looking forward to it.”
Minnesota and Minnesota-Duluth will be playing for the fifth time this season, all in different venues.
“They’re all tough brackets,” Terriers coach David Quinn said. “Minnesota [against] Minnesota-Duluth has a bit of a BU-BC flair. … People were talking before the season started that Minnesota might be the best team on paper, and Duluth has beaten them three times in four games this year and had a good program for a while now, so that’s going to be a battle.”
Denver split a home series with Boston College in the first half, losing 2-1 before rebounding for a 2-1 overtime victory.
“It’s a really good opponent that we are familiar with for playing last year and twice earlier this year,” Pioneers coach Jim Montgomery said. “They are very deep.”
The Omaha-Harvard game features an interesting coaching matchup.
“Definitely happy that we’re one of 16 teams and happy that we’re seeded eighth,” Omaha coach Dean Blais said. “Knowing [Harvard coach] Teddy Donato, he’s got players who can think and skate because that’s how Teddy was.
“I’ve heard a lot about his teams and how hard they compete, and it doesn’t surprise me. Teddy played for me on my 1992 Olympic team. I traveled the whole year with him, and he got to be a friend. And now we get to be enemies here next Saturday.”
Six NCHC teams made the field of 16, tying for the largest amount from any conference in tournament history. In 2008, six of 10 WCHA teams qualified.
Regionals in Manchester and Fargo are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, while games in Manchester and South Bend are Saturday and Sunday.
The four regional winners advance to the Frozen Four in Boston April 9 and 11.
