The University of Denver hockey team earned a No. 1 seed in the Springfield Northeast Regional for the 2024 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament, as was announced on Sunday afternoon on the NCAA Selection Show that was televised on ESPNU.
The Pioneers continue their quest for a record 10th NCAA title when they open this year’s national tournament on Thursday, March 28 at 12 p.m. MT against No. 4-seed Massachusetts at MassMutual Arena in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Among the four No. 1 seeds, Denver comes in at No. 3 overall. Boston College is the overall No. 1 while Boston University is No. 2 and Michigan State is No. 4.
Denver is in the national tournament for the 33rd time in program history and have has the dance in 15 consecutive full seasons since 2008. The Pioneers’ nine national titles are tied with Michigan for the most in college hockey history.
DU earned the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament after winning 4-1 in the conference championship on Saturday over Omaha at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota—also the site of this year’s Frozen Four on March 11-13.
The Pioneers have a 5-3-0 all-time record against the Massachusetts Minutemen. DU swept UMass in a series at Magness Arena on Jan. 3-4, 2020, and the teams last met on Jan. 14-15, 2022 in Amherst when the Minutemen won both games. Denver and UMass have played once before in the national tournament, as the Pioneers lost 4-3 in overtime in the 2019 NCAA Frozen Four Semifinals in Buffalo, New York.
UMass earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after losing 8-1 to Boston College in the Hockey East Semifinals on Friday night at TD Garden in Boston. Massachusetts is the host school in Springfield and was guaranteed to play in the region if the program made the tournament.
Maine and Cornell are on the other side of the bracket in the Northeast Regional and will play on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. MT (ESPN News). The winners of both games will play in the Regional Final on Saturday, March 30 at 2 p.m. MT (ESPNU) for a spot to the Frozen Four on the line.
DU has a 40-25 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament and is 14-5 in its last 19 NCAA Tournament games dating back to 2015. The Pioneers have reached the Frozen Four in four of its previous six tries and won the championship in 2017 and 2019.
Denver owns a 28-9-3 overall record this season and finished second in the NCHC standings during the regular season with a 15-7-2 mark. The Pioneers captured their third NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship on Saturday to tie Minnesota Duluth for the most in conference history and their 18th overall in school history.
***
Story by Ron Knabenbauer. Content courtesy of the University of Denver.