NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX – Tournament time is officially underway for NCAA Division I and Division III hockey. This weekend, 16 Division I programs will begin the quest for the 2016 National Championship and four Division III programs will compete in Lake Placid, New York in the Frozen Four. Six former Brahmas are competing for the National Championship.
Top ranked Quinnipiac will ride their 29-3-7 record into post-season play. Former Brahma forward Thomas Aldworth will look to help the Bobcats capture their first ever hockey National Championship. This is the team’s fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and they finished as runner-ups during the 2013 season. Quinnipiac will face-off against Rochester Institute of Technology on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. EST (ESPNU). The winner will move on to the quarterfinals on Sunday and take on either Yale University or the University of Massachusetts – Lowell.
Oskar Andren’s Boston Terriers play the University of Denver Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. EST (ESPNU). Andren will try to help BU capture its first men’s ice hockey National Championship since 2009. The Danderyd, Sweden native has five points in 20 games this season. If the Terriers advance, they will play the winner of the St. Cloud State and Ferris State game on Sunday.
Be sure to take a look at the full NCAA Division I bracket.
St. Norbert College was one of the favorites to win it all this season and they are two wins away from their fifth Division III title. TJ Black, Storm Wahlrab, and Roman Uchyn will take on former Brahma Drew Gannon’s University of Massachusetts – Boston team.
Gannon, a native of Plano, Texas, has five goals, seven assists, and a plus-13 rating in 28 games this season as a freshman. Green Knights’ Wahlrab (12 points), Uchyn (19 points), and Black (1.45 GAA, .934 save percentage) are looking to cap off their freshman campaigns with a trip to the National Championship Game.
The winner or Friday night’s 7:30 p.m. EST game will advance to the championship game on Saturday night.
Here is a look at the NCAA Division III bracket.