With conference tournament finals wrapped up and selection day for the men's NCAA hockey tournament upon us, the 16-team field is set, while seeding, matchups and schedules will be revealed Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Six automatic bids to the NCAA tournament are awarded to the winners of the six conference tournaments, with championship games wrapping up Saturday. Ten more teams will earn at-large spots determined by the NPI formula, which replaces the PairWise rankings this season. Every game can impact the NPI rankings, which factor in strength of schedule, home/road splits and overtime results.
With the NCAA field set, the four regional brackets will be announced Sunday. Regional games will be played March 26-29; the sites are Albany, New York; Loveland, Colorado; Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Worcester, Massachusetts. The Frozen Four will be held April 9 and April 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Every game of the NCAA tournament, and the selection show, will be available on ESPN networks and the ESPN App.
Here's a look at the automatic qualifiers, the at-large teams and those whose bubbles burst. Teams are listed by their NPI rankings.
Automatic bids
No. 1 Michigan
Record: 29-7-1, 20-6-1 Big Ten
The Wolverines were near the top of the rankings much of the season and secured the No. 1 overall seed by winning the Big Ten championship. They entered the conference tournament as the No. 2 seed behind Michigan State.
No. 5 Denver
Record: 25-11-3, 21-6-1 NCHC
Unbeaten in its last 13 games, Denver has emerged as the hottest team in the country, which is nothing new for the Pioneers in March.
No. 6 Dartmouth
Record: 23-7-4, 17-5-4 ECAC
Dartmouth finished a strong run through the ECAC tournament with a 2-1 overtime win over Princeton to earn its first NCAA tournament bid since 1980.
No. 13 Minnesota State
Record: 22-10-7, 18-8-5 CCHA
The Mustangs were the first team to lock up an automatic berth by virtue of their 4-1 win over St. Thomas in Friday's CCHA final.
No. 19 Merrimack
Record: 21-15-2, 14-12-2 Hockey East
The Warriors are the biggest surprise in the NCAA field, beating the top three seeds in Hockey East -- Providence, UMass and UConn -- to claim their first conference championship.
No. 24 Bentley
Record: 22-11-5, 20-6-4 Atlantic
The Falcons were the class of Atlantic Hockey all season, finishing things off by beating Sacred Heart 3-2 for the conference title.
At-large teams
With two conference champs -- Merrimack of Hockey East and Bentley of Atlantic Hockey -- with NPIs below the top 16, the at-large cut line landed at No. 14.
No. 2 North Dakota
Record: 27-9-1, 19-7-1 NCHC
NoDak split two games against Western Michigan to secure the top seed in the NCHC tournament and dispatched Omaha in the quarterfinals before losing to Minnesota Duluth in the semis.
No. 3 Michigan State
Record: 25-8-2, 16-7-2 Big Ten
The Spartans lost in overtime to Ohio State in the Big Ten semifinals, falling to 0-2-1 in their last three games against the Buckeyes. Before their struggles with Ohio State, the regular-season champs had won nine of their previous 10 games.
No. 4 Western Michigan
Record: 26-10-1, 18-8-1 NCHC
The defending national champs took care of business in sweeping Colorado College in the NCHC quarters before falling to Denver in OT in the semis.
No. 7 Providence
Record: 23-10-2, 18-6-1 Hockey East
Entering the postseason, the Friars were the class of Hockey East, winning the first regular-season title in program history and 14 of their last 16 games. But they lost in the conference quarterfinals to No. 8 seed (and eventual champ) Merrimack.
No. 8 Minnesota Duluth
Record: 23-14-1, 14-13-1 NCHC
The Bulldogs posted their third win of the season over North Dakota in the conference semis before losing to Denver in a double-overtime thriller, so it's clear they can play with anyone.
No. 9 Quinnipiac
Record: 26-9-3, 17-6-1 ECAC
The Bobcats were the top seed in the ECAC but got swept out of the quarterfinals with a pair of losses to Clarkson. They also showed some cracks the last two weekends of the regular season, suffering a 7-4 loss at Dartmouth and a 6-1 defeat to Cornell.
No. 10 Penn State
Record: 21-12-2, 13-10-2 Big Ten
Penn State ended the regular season headed in the wrong direction, falling six spots in the NPI after being swept at home by Wisconsin (combined score: 12-5). The Nittany Lions beat Minnesota 6-2 in the Big Ten quarterfinals before losing to Michigan in the semis.
No. 11 Cornell
Record: 22-10-1, 17-8-1 ECAC
The Big Red essentially locked up an NCAA berth with wins over St. Lawrence and Clarkson, which came on the heels of a 6-1 rout at Quinnipiac on Feb. 20. Cornell rallied to beat Harvard in the ECAC quarterfinals after losing Game 1, then fell to Princeton in the semis.
No. 12 Wisconsin
Record: 21-12-2, 14-11-0 Big Ten
After getting drubbed by Ohio State in the Big Ten quarterfinals, the Badgers had to wait until the conference finals were complete to know their at-large spot was secure.
No. 14 UConn
Record: 20-12-5, 13-10-3 Hockey East
The Huskies lost the Hockey East title game but got on the right side of the bubble with a 4-3 overtime win over Boston College in the semifinals and hung on to an at-large spot when potential bid stealers Princeton and Ohio State lost in their conference championships.
Bubbles burst
These teams were in the at-large conversation entering Friday, but ultimately fell short.
Augustana
Record: 22-12-4, 16-10-4 CCHA; No. 15 in NPI
The Vikings got new life in their at-large hopes, moving up to the right side of the bubble with UMass' loss in the Hockey East semifinals Friday, but slipped out again after Merrimack claimed the Hockey East auto bid and knocked UConn into an at-large spot.
St. Thomas
Record: 21-12-5, 18-8-4 CCHA; No. 16 in NPI
St. Thomas bowed out with a 4-1 loss to Minnesota State in Friday's CCHA final.
UMass
Record: 22-13-1, 15-10-1 Hockey East; No. 17 in NPI
UMass' last-season surge into at-large contention came to a sudden end with a 2-0 loss to Merrimack in the Hockey East semifinals. The defeat dropped the Minutemen from No. 13 to No. 17 in the NPI rankings.
Boston College
Record: 21-15-1, 15-12-0 Hockey East; No. 18 in NPI
An overtime loss to UConn in the Hockey East semifinals ended the Eagles' season. BC closed the regular season with four straight losses before beating Maine in the Hockey East quarterfinals.