# 1987 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament

The 1987 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1986–87 season, the 4th such tournament in NCAA history. It concluded with Plattsburgh State defeating Oswego State 8–3. All Quarterfinals matchups were held at home team venues, while all succeeding games were played in Plattsburgh, New York.
Plattsburgh State's tournament performance and national championship was later vacated due to NCAA violations.

## Qualifying teams

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 | 19–7–1 | At-Large | 4th | 1986 | Bemidji State | NCHA | 20–10–1 | At-Large | 3rd | 1986 |
| Norwich | ECAC East | 15–11–1 | At-Large | 1st | Never | Concordia (MN) | MIAC | 17–12–1 | Tournament Champion | 1st | Never |
| Oswego State | ECAC West | 22–10–0 | At-Large | 2nd | 1984 | St. Cloud State | NCHA | 23–8–1 | Tournament Champion | 1st | Never |
| Plattsburgh State | ECAC West | 30–5–0 | Tournament Champion | (vacated) | 1986 |
| Salem State | ECAC East | 21–10–1 | At-Large | 2nd | 1985 |

## Format

The tournament featured three rounds of play. In the Quarterfinals, teams played a two-game series to determine which school advanced to the Semifinals, with tied series decided by a 20-minute mini-game. Mini-game scores are in italics. 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.

## Bracket

| Quarterfinals March 13–15 | Quarterfinals March 13–15 | Quarterfinals March 13–15 | Quarterfinals March 13–15 | Quarterfinals March 13–15 | Semifinals March 20 | Semifinals March 20 | Semifinals March 20 | National Championship March 21 | National Championship March 21 | National Championship March 21 |
| Plattsburgh State | Plattsburgh State | 6 | 3 | 2* | | | | | | |
| Norwich | Norwich | 2 | 4 | 1 | | | | | | |
| Norwich | Norwich | 2 | 4 | 1 | Plattsburgh State | Plattsburgh State | 7 | | | |
| | | | | | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 4 | | | |
| Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 3 | 8 | - | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 4 | | | |
| Concordia (MN) | Concordia (MN) | 1 | 6 | - | | | | | | |
| Concordia (MN) | Concordia (MN) | 1 | 6 | - | | | | Plattsburgh State | Plattsburgh State | 8 |
| | | | | | | | | Oswego State | Oswego State | 3 |
| Oswego State | Oswego State | 3 | 1 | 1 | | | | | | | Oswego State | Oswego State | 3 |
| Babson | Babson | 2 | 2 | 0 | | | |
| Babson | Babson | 2 | 2 | 0 | Oswego State | Oswego State | 5 | Third Place Game | Third Place Game | Third Place Game |
| | | | | | St. Cloud State | St. Cloud State | 2 |
| Salem State | Salem State | 8 | 2 | 1 | St. Cloud State | St. Cloud State | 2 | Bemidji State | Bemidji State | 4 |
| St. Cloud State | St. Cloud State | 4 | 3* | 2 | | | | St. Cloud State | St. Cloud State | 6 |
Note: * denotes overtime period(s) Note: Mini-games in italics

## All-Tournament Team

* G: Craig Barnett (Plattsburgh State-vacated)
* D: Chris Panek (Plattsburgh State-vacated)
* D: Peter Wasserman (Oswego State)
* F: Joey Ferras (Plattsburgh State-vacated)
* F: Dave Piromalli (Plattsburgh State-vacated)
* F: Rian Reed (St. Cloud State)
* Most Outstanding Player(s)

## Record by conference

| Conference | # of Bids | Record | Win % | Frozen Four | Championship Game | Champions |
| ECAC East | 3 | 3–3 | .500 | - | - | - |
| NCHA | 2 | 4–4 | .500 | 2 | - | - |
| ECAC West | 1 | 2–2 | .500 | 1 | 1 | - |
| MIAC | 1 | 0–2 | .000 | - | - | - |
Plattsburgh State's record not included