INDIANAPOLIS--The NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee has selected the 16 teams that will be participating in the 2007 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship.

The championship playoff format involves four predetermined regional sites with four teams assigned to each site. The four regional winners advance to the Men’s Frozen Four. The entire championship uses a single-elimination format.

Automatic qualification privileges are granted to the postseason champions of six conferences. The remainder of the field is selected at large.

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, was the No. 1 overall seed. The other No. 1 seeds, in order, included the University of Notre Dame, Clarkson University and the University of New Hampshire.

The dates, sites, times and pairings of this year’s championship are as follows:

East Regional, March 23-24
Blue Cross Arena, Rochester, New York

March 23, 2:30 p.m. Eastern time No. 1 Clarkson (25-8-5) vs. No. 4 Massachusetts (20-12-5)

March 23, 6 p.m. Eastern time No. 2 St. Cloud State (22-10-7) vs. No. 3 Maine (21-14-2)

March 24, 6 p.m. Eastern time East Regional Championship

Midwest Regional, March 23-24
Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids, Michigan

March 23, 5 p.m. Eastern time No. 1 Notre Dame (31-6-3) vs. No. 4 Alabama-Huntsville (13-19-3)

March 23, 8:30 p.m. Eastern time No. 2 Boston U. (26-11-1) vs. No. 3 Michigan State (22-13-3)

March 24, 8:30 p.m. Eastern time Midwest Regional Championship

West Regional, March 24-25
Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado

March 24, 3:30 p.m. Eastern time No. 1 Minnesota (30-9-3) vs. No. 4 Air Force (19-15-5)

March 24, 7:30 p.m. Eastern time No. 2 Michigan (26-13-1) vs. No. 3 North Dakota (22-13-5)

March 25, 6 p.m. Eastern time West Regional Championship

Northeast Regional, March 24-25
Verizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, New Hampshire

March 24, 1 p.m. Eastern time No. 1 New Hampshire (26-10-2) vs. No. 4 Miami (Ohio) (23-13-4)

March 24, 4:30 p.m. Eastern time No. 2 Boston College (26-11-1) vs. No. 3 St. Lawrence (23-13-2)

March 25, 3:30 p.m. Eastern time Northeast Regional Championship

Men’s Frozen Four, April 5 and 7
Scottrade Center, St. Louis, Missouri

April 5, 4 and 8 p.m. Eastern time (order of games TBD)
East Regional Champion vs. Midwest Regional Champion
Northeast Regional Champion vs. West Regional Champion

April 7, 7 p.m. Eastern time
National Championship

The following conferences and teams received automatic qualification:

Atlantic Hockey Association – Air Force
Central Collegiate Hockey Association – Notre Dame
College Hockey America – Alabama-Huntsville
Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey League - Clarkson
Hockey East Association – Boston College
Western Collegiate Hockey Association – Minnesota

ESPN, Inc. will air all 15 tournament games live. ESPN will produce the 12 regional games and syndicate each game for interested local cable systems, regional sports networks and selected over-the-air stations. In addition, ESPNU will air more than 20 hours of coverage over the weekend. The 12 regional games will not air on ESPN or ESPN2 but rather an “ESPN Syndication” television platform or ESPNU, which is available on DirecTV channel 609.

ESPN2 will broadcast the semifinal games. ESPN will televise the national championship game. For a complete clearance list, log onto www.NCAAsports.com, click Broadcast, then click NCAA Championships TV Schedule.

For more information about the championship, log on to www.NCAAsports.com.

-Courtesy NCAA