# 1985 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament

The 1985 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1984–85 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season, the 2nd such tournament in NCAA history. It concluded with RIT defeating Bemidji State 5-1. All Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues, while all succeeding games were played in Schenectady, New York.

## Qualifying teams

Because neither of the two western conferences held a conference tournament the NCAA had all western schools play collectively in the Western Intercollegiate Hockey Association. At the conclusion of the regular season the top 8 teams, regardless of their conference, were invited to play in the WIHA tournament. Though the tournament was arranged by the NCAA it is not considered as part of the NCAA tournament and is displayed here for reference. As a result of both the MIAC and NCHA beginning conference playoffs the following year the WIHA was dissolved.

### WIHA Tournament

| Regional Quarterfinals March 1–3 | Regional Quarterfinals March 1–3 | Regional Quarterfinals March 1–3 | Regional Quarterfinals March 1–3 | Regional Quarterfinals March 1–3 | | | Regional semifinals March 4 | Regional semifinals March 4 | Regional semifinals March 4 | Regional Final March 10 | Regional Final March 10 | Regional Final March 10 |
| | Bemidji State | 5 | 5 | - | | | | | | | | |
| | St. Scholastica | 5 | 1 | - | | | | | | | | |
| | St. Scholastica | 5 | 1 | - | | | | Bemidji State | 4 | | | |
| | | | | | | | | Gustavus Adolphus | 2 | | | |
| | Gustavus Adolphus | 5 | 6 | - | | | | Gustavus Adolphus | 2 | | | |
| | Saint Mary's | 4 | 3 | - | | | | | | | | |
| | Saint Mary's | 4 | 3 | - | | | | | | | Bemidji State | 4 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | | Bemidji State | 4 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | | St. Thomas | 1 |
| | Mankato State | 9 | 6 | - | | | | | | | | | St. Thomas | 1 |
| | Wisconsin–River Falls | 0 | 2 | - | | | | | |
| | Wisconsin–River Falls | 0 | 2 | - | | | | Mankato State | 1 | Third place | Third place | Third place |
| | | | | | | | | St. Thomas | 4 |
| | St. Thomas | 6 | 3 | - | | | | St. Thomas | 4 | | Mankato State | 6 |
| | Lake Forest | 1 | 1 | - | | | | | | | Gustavus Adolphus | 5 |

### NCAA Qualifiers

The following teams qualified for the tournament. There were no automatic bids, however, conference tournament champions were given preferential consideration. No formal seeding was used while quarterfinal matches were arranged so that the road teams would have the shortest possible travel distances.
| East | East | East | East | East | East | West | West | West | West | West | West |
| School | Conference | Record | Berth Type | Appearance | Last Bid | School | Conference | Record | Berth Type | Appearance | Last Bid |
| Babson | ECAC East | 21–8–0 | At-Large | 2nd | 1984 | Bemidji State | NCHA | 25–4–2 | WIHA Champion | 1st | Never |
| Plattsburgh State | ECAC West | 24–9–0 | At-Large | 1st | Never | Mankato State | NCHA | 18–11–4 | WIHA Third Place | 1st | Never |
| RIT | ECAC West | 22–6–1 | At-Large | 2nd | 1984 | St. Thomas | MIAC | 25–5–0 | WIHA Runner-Up | 2nd | 1984 |
| Salem State | ECAC East | 24–7–0 | Tournament Champion | 1st | Never |
| Union | ECAC West | 20–7–0 | Tournament Champion | 2nd | 1984 |

## Format

The tournament featured three rounds of play. In the Quarterfinals, teams played two-game aggregate series to determine which school advanced to the semifinals. Beginning with the semifinals all games became Single-game eliminations. The winning teams in the semifinals advanced to the National Championship Game with the losers playing in a Third Place game. The teams were seeded according to geographic proximity in the quarterfinals so the visiting team would have the shortest feasible distance to travel.

## Tournament bracket

| Quarterfinals March 15–17 | Quarterfinals March 15–17 | Quarterfinals March 15–17 | Quarterfinals March 15–17 | Quarterfinals March 15–17 | Semifinals March 22 | Semifinals March 22 | Semifinals March 22 | National championship March 23 | National championship March 23 | National championship March 23 |
| Union | Union | 5 | 2 | 7 | | | | | | |
| Babson | Babson | 1 | 3 | 4 | | | | | | |
| Babson | Babson | 1 | 3 | 4 | Union | Union | 2 | | | |
| | | | | | RIT | RIT | 3 | | | |
| RIT | RIT | 5 | 5 | 10 | RIT | RIT | 3 | | | |
| St. Thomas | St. Thomas | 4 | 2 | 6 | | | | | | |
| St. Thomas | St. Thomas | 4 | 2 | 6 | | | | RIT | RIT | 5 |
| | | | | | | | | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 1 |
| Plattsburgh State | Plattsburgh State | 6 | 4 | 10 | | | | | | | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 1 |
| Salem State | Salem State | 1 | 2 | 3 | | | |
| Salem State | Salem State | 1 | 2 | 3 | Plattsburgh State | Plattsburgh State | 7 | Third-place game | Third-place game | Third-place game |
| | | | | | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 8*** |
| Mankato State | Mankato State | 4 | 2 | 6 | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 8*** | Union | Union | 9 |
| Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 2 | 9 | 11 | | | | Plattsburgh State | Plattsburgh State | 6 |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

## All-Tournament team

* G: Chet Hallice* (RIT)
* D: John Hawkins (RIT)
* D: Dave Geatz (Babson)
* F: Bobby Trowell (RIT)
* F: Peter DeArmas (Plattsburgh State)
* F: Jamie Knight (Union)
* Most Outstanding Player(s)

## Record by conference

| Conference | # of Bids | Record | Win % | Frozen Four | Championship Game | Champions |
| ECAC West | 3 | 8–4 | .667 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| NCHA | 2 | 3–3 | .500 | 1 | 1 | - |
| ECAC East | 2 | 1–3 | .250 | - | - | - |
| MIAC | 1 | 0–2 | .000 | - | - | - |