1998 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

The 1998 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was a tournament to determine the Division III national champion in men's ice hockey.  This was the 15th time a national championship tournament at the Division III level had been held, in the 25th overall season of Division III hockey.
==Format==
Eight teams qualify for the tournament. In the quarterfinal round, the teams played two game series to determine which school advanced. If the series was tied, teams played a 20 minute mini-game to determine who advances. The teams were seeded according to geographic proximity in the quarterfinals, so the visiting team would have the shortest feasible distance to travel. The quarterfinals were held at campus sites on March 13 and 14. The semifinal and final rounds were held March 20 and 21 at Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena of SUNY Plattsburgh, in Plattsburgh, New York.
== Bids ==
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. There was no official limit to how many schools could come from each region. This year, the East and West each received four bids.
=== At-Large Bids ===
==== East ====
* Middlebury Panthers - ECAC East (4th appearance)
** (20-2-2)
* Oswego Lakers - SUNYAC (6th appearance)
** (16-11-2)
* Plattsburgh Cardinals - SUNYAC (10th appearance; 7th not including vacated appearances)
** SUNYAC Tournament Champions (24-6-1)
* RIT Tigers - ECAC West (8th appearance)
** (19-3-5)
==== West ====
* Augsburg Auggies - MIAC (2nd appearance)
** MIAC Tournament Champions (19-6-4)
* St. Norbert Green Knights - NCHA (2nd appearance)
** NCHA Tournament Champions (26-5-0)
* Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons - NCHA (7th appearance)
** (22-6-1)
* Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers - NCHA (9th appearance)
** (21-9-0)
==Misc.==
* Four of the eight schools who earned bids appeared in the previous NCAA tournament.
* This is the 4th of 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Middlebury.
* This is the 3rd of 7 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for RIT.
* This is the 2nd of 6 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Plattsburgh.
* This is the first time the West earned four bids in the "limitless bids per region" era.
* Pairings were determined strictly off of geography for the quarterfinal matches.
== Results ==
=== Quarterfinals ===
Held at campus sites
-Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena- Henrietta, NY
*MINIGAME*
-Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena- Ashwaubenon, WI
*MINIGAME*
-Hunt Arena- River Falls, WI
-Duke Nelson Arena- Middlebury, VT
=== Semifinals ===
Hosted by SUNY Plattsburgh: Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena- Plattsburgh, NY
=== Third Place ===
Hosted by SUNY Plattsburgh: Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena- Plattsburgh, NY
=== Championship ===
Hosted by SUNY Plattsburgh: Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena- Plattsburgh, NY
== Bracket ==
== Tournament Notes ==
* Middlebury wins the program's fourth national title and becomes the first hockey program to win four consecutive championships.
** Coincidentally, Middlebury's surpassed their championship game opponent, UWSP, for the consecutive championships record.
** They also tied UWSP with the most hockey titles all-time, with four.
* UW-Stevens Point finishes as National Runner-Up for the second time in program history, falling to 4-2 in national title games.
* UWSP makes its sixth Frozen Four, and advances to its sixth national championship game.
* Plattsburgh clinches its first Third Place finish in school history, marking its sixth Frozen Four (fourth after vacated appearances).
* Augsburg finishes in Fourth Place for the second time in school history, the first coming in the program's only prior NCAA Tournament appearance, in 1984.
** After not advancing in the tournament for 12 consecutive years, the MIAC has now advanced to the Frozen Four in consecutive seasons.
* No All-Tournament Team or Tournament MVP was named.
Category:1998 in hockey
Category:NCAA Division III Tournaments