Headlines

  • Changes To LTIR Will Take Effect For 2025-26, Other CBA Changes Moved Up
  • Maple Leafs Sign Dennis Hildeby To Three-Year Deal
  • Devils, Luke Hughes At An Impasse Regarding Contract Length
  • Seeking Writers For Pro Hockey Rumors
  • Wild Could Reach $16MM Per Year On Kirill Kaprizov Extension
  • Matthew Caldwell, Shawn Thornton Leave Panthers For NBA
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

2022 NCAA Tournament Field Announced

March 20, 2022 at 5:55 pm CDT | by Zach Leach 4 Comments

With conference championship games concluding yesterday, the NCAA postseason is now ready to begin. With all possible data available to the selection committee, the field and regionals have been announced as the road to Boston and the 2022 Frozen Four begins this upcoming week:

Allentown, PA
1. Michigan (Big Ten Champion)
8. Quinnipiac
9. St. Cloud State
16. AIC (Atlantic Champion)

Albany, NY
2. Minnesota State (CCHA Champion)
7. North Dakota
10. Notre Dame
15. Harvard (ECAC Champion)

Worcester, MA
3. Western Michigan
6. Minnesota
11. UMass (Hockey East Champion)
14. Northeastern

Loveland, CO
4. Denver
5. Minnesota Duluth (NCHC Champion)
12. Michigan Tech
13. UMass Lowell

The stage is now set for what should be a very competitive national tournament. Given that only Harvard was a surprise conference champion, taking the ECAC from favorite Quinnipiac and in the process knocking Clarkson from NCAA Tournament contention, the field is essentially the best of the best (plus the Atlantic champ). Ohio State was the odd man out, but Harvard were themselves a fringe top-20 team and are no easy out for Minnesota State, who much rather would have retained the No. 1 seed and a matchup with AIC.

Instead, it is preseason favorite Michigan who enters the tournament where many expected them to be: at the top. While Quinnipiac sat near the top of the NCAA rankings for much of the season and should have the bulk of the fan support in Allentown and St. Cloud was in the National Championship game last season, the path to the Frozen Four looks relatively straightforward for the Wolverines.

The same cannot be said for Western Michigan as they enter what looks to be the most difficult region in Worcester. The Broncos will face Hockey East regular season champion Northeastern in their first match-up and, if they advance, will face either Hockey East tournament champion UMass, the defending National Champion, or Minnesota, a team that had a strong case for a top seed of their own. With two teams with local support and one team with an axe to grind, WMU has a tall task ahead of them to advance to the Frozen Four.

If Minnesota-UMass isn’t the best first round match-up, then that honor belongs to North Dakota-Notre Dame. The selection committee acknowledged that the Irish were bumped down a spot to avoid inter-conference competition in the first round, creating a more difficult battle than they or the Fighting Hawks likely expected. Minnesota State awaits the winner. In the second round, a potential NCHC clash between Denver – the only true home team – and Duluth would be a highlight, though underrated Michigan Tech and UMass Lowell will look to prevent such a game from occurring.

Get your brackets ready, the tournament gets underway on Thursday in Albany and Loveland and Friday in Allentown and Worcester.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

NCAA

Toronto Maple Leafs Acquire Mark Giordano, Colin Blackwell
Main
Tampa Bay Lightning Acquire Nick Paul
View Comments (4)

Comments

  1. SuperSinker

    3 years ago

    So many Habs prospects to follow! Good luck to them all!

    Reply
  2. Gbear

    3 years ago

    I’ll be shocked if Michigan doesn’t win this tournament.

    Reply
  3. bseventeen

    3 years ago

    Go WMU Broncos! Happy with the top seed even in a tough region

    Reply
  4. vikefansbc

    3 years ago

    M.A.V.E.R.I.C.K.S.!!!! Let’s go Minnesota State!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Changes To LTIR Will Take Effect For 2025-26, Other CBA Changes Moved Up

    Maple Leafs Sign Dennis Hildeby To Three-Year Deal

    Devils, Luke Hughes At An Impasse Regarding Contract Length

    Seeking Writers For Pro Hockey Rumors

    Wild Could Reach $16MM Per Year On Kirill Kaprizov Extension

    Matthew Caldwell, Shawn Thornton Leave Panthers For NBA

    NCAA Grants Eligibility To Two Former Pros

    Flames Seem Set To Trade Rasmus Andersson, Per Teammate

    Jets’ Adam Lowry Underwent Hip Surgery, Out 5-6 Months

    Bill Daly Talks Schedule Changes, CBA Talks And Effectiveness

    Recent

    Islanders Sign Daniil Prokhorov To Entry-Level Contract

    Extension Notes: Connor, McDavid, Kempe

    East Notes: Hutson, Milano, Spicer

    Metro Notes: Hart, Laperrière, Fehérváry

    Calgary Flames Hire Dave Lowry As Assistant Coach

    Ducks Place Rodwin Dionicio On Unconditional Waivers

    Changes To LTIR Will Take Effect For 2025-26, Other CBA Changes Moved Up

    Flames, Connor Zary Making Progress On Three-Year Deal

    Atlantic Notes: Meloche, McTavish, Hildeby

    Maple Leafs Sign Dennis Hildeby To Three-Year Deal

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version