NCAA Unveils Frozen Four 2009 Bracket

Here are the Number One seeds and their region location in order:

Boston University - Northeast
Norte Dame - Midwest
Denver - West
Michigan - East

From the ESPN story, here were the teams given automatic bids to the NCAA Frozen Four 2009 tournament:

"The automatic bids for this year’s tournament went to the conference champions from Atlantic Hockey (Air Force), College Hockey America (Bemidji State), CCHA (Notre Dame), ECAC (Yale), Hockey East (BU) and the WCHA (Minnesota-Duluth). The Bulldogs from Duluth were the only tournament champion that didn’t double as a conference regular-season champion."

The Minnesota-Duluth team is on a hot streak as their goalie gave up only one goal in the five games of the WCHA championship tournament. It resulted in them landing a Number Two seed in the West. Although Boston College did not officially make it in the tournament, two new teams are making their first appearance, Northeastern and Yale. These teams will be bring some new excitement to the tournament.

From NCAA.com, here is a summary of the NCAA Frozen Four 2009 tournament schedule.

East Regional, March 27-28
Bridgeport Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport, Connecticut

Friday, March 27, 3 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU HD
No. 1 Michigan (29-11-0) vs. No. 4 Air Force (27-10-2)

Friday, March 27, 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU HD
No. 2 Yale (24-7-2) vs. No. 3 Vermont (20-11-5)

Saturday, March 28, 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU HD
East Regional Championship

West Regional, March 27-28
Mariucci Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Friday, March 27, 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2 HD/ESPN360.com
No. 1 Denver (23-11-5) vs. No. 4 Miami (Ohio) (20-12-5)

Friday, March 27, 9 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU HD
No. 2 Minnesota Duluth (21-12-8) vs. No. 3 Princeton (22-11-1)

Saturday, March 28, 9 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU HD
West Regional Championship

Midwest Regional, March 28-29
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Saturday, March 28, 4 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU
No. 2 Northeastern (25-11-4) vs. No. 3 Cornell (21-9-4)

Saturday, March 28, 7:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN Classic (TBD)/ESPN360.com (Live)
No. 1 Notre Dame (31-5-3) vs. No. 4 Bemidji State (18-15-1)

Sunday, March 29, 8 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU
Midwest Regional Championship

Northeast Regional, March 28-29
Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire

Saturday, March 28, 2 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/ESPN360.com
No. 2 North Dakota (24-14-4) vs. No. 3 New Hampshire (19-12-5)

Saturday, March 28, 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2/ESPN360.com
No. 1 Boston University (31-6-4) vs. No. 4 Ohio State (23-14-4)

Sunday, March 29, 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPNU
Northeast Regional Championship

Men’s Frozen Four, April 9 and 11
Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.

Thursday, April 9, 5 and 8:30 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN2 HD/ESPN360.com (order of games TBD)
Northeast Regional Champion vs. East Regional Champion
West Regional Champion vs. Midwest Regional Champion

Saturday, April 11, 7 p.m. Eastern time, ESPN HD/ESPN360.com
National Championship

The following conferences and teams received automatic qualification:

Atlantic Hockey Association – Air Force
Central Collegiate Hockey Association – Notre Dame
College Hockey America – Bemidji State
ECAC Hockey – Yale
Hockey East Association – Boston University
Western Collegiate Hockey Association – Minnesota Duluth

The full bracket can also be found at ESPN. As documented above, the schedule of games are to be broadcast on ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, and ESPN. Visit the ESPN schedule to watch your favorite team this weekend.

In conclusion, the road to the 2009 Frozen Four in Washington, DC official begin this weekend. Be sure to visit the official site of the 2009 NCAA Frozen Four tournament.

Reprinted from Kevin's Corner.