1996 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

The 1996 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament involved 12 schools playing in single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college ice hockey. It began on March 22, 1996, and ended with the championship game on March 30. A total of 11 games were played. The top two seeds in each region received a bye into the tournament quarterfinals.
The University of Michigan, coached by Red Berenson, won the national championship with a 3–2 victory over Colorado College in overtime in front of 12,957 fans.
==Qualifying teams==
The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament were announced after the conference tournaments concluded. The Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) had four teams receive a berth in the tournament, the ECAC and Hockey East each had three teams receive a berth in the tournament, while the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) had two berths.
East Regional – Albany	East Regional – Albany	East Regional – Albany	East Regional – Albany	East Regional – Albany	East Regional – Albany	East Regional – Albany	West Regional – East Lansing	West Regional – East Lansing	West Regional – East Lansing	West Regional – East Lansing	West Regional – East Lansing	West Regional – East Lansing	West Regional – East Lansing
Seed 	School 	Conference 	Record 	Berth type 	Appearance 	Last bid 	Seed 	School 	Conference 	Record 	Berth type 	Appearance 	Last bid
1 	Boston University 	Hockey East 	29–6–3 	At-large bid 	22nd 	1995 	1 	Colorado College 	WCHA 	31–4–4 	At-large bid 	10th 	1995
2 	Vermont 	ECAC 	26–6–4 	At-large bid 	2nd 	1988 	2 	Michigan 	CCHA 	30–7–2 	Tournament champion 	19th 	1995
3 	Lake Superior State 	CCHA 	29–7–2 	At-large bid 	10th 	1995 	3 	Minnesota 	WCHA 	29–9–2 	Tournament champion 	23rd 	1995
4 	Western Michigan 	CCHA 	26–11–3 	At-large bid 	3rd 	1994 	4 	Massachusetts-Lowell 	Hockey East 	25–9–4 	At-large bid 	3rd 	1994
5 	Clarkson 	ECAC 	24–9–3 	At-large bid 	15th 	1995 	5 	Michigan State 	CCHA 	28–12–1 	At-large bid 	16th 	1995
6 	Providence 	Hockey East 	21–14–3 	Tournament champion 	8th 	1991 	6 	Cornell 	ECAC 	21–8–4 	Tournament champion 	11th 	1991
==Game locations==
* East Regional – Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, NY
* West Regional – Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, MI
* Frozen Four – Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH
==Tournament bracket==
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)
==Regional Quarterfinals==
===East Regional===
====(3) Lake Superior State vs. (6) Cornell====
====(4) Western Michigan vs. (5) Clarkson====
===West Regional===
====(3) Minnesota vs. (6) Providence====
====(4) Massachusetts-Lowell vs. (5) Michigan State====
==Regional Semifinals==
===East Regional===
====(1) Boston University vs. (5) Clarkson====
====(2) Vermont vs. (3) Lake Superior State====
===West Regional===
====(1) Colorado College vs. (4) Massachusetts-Lowell====
====(2) Michigan vs. (3) Minnesota====
==Frozen Four==
===National Semifinal===
====(E1) Boston University vs. (W2) Michigan====
====(E2) Vermont vs. (W1) Colorado College====
===National Championship===
====(W2) Michigan vs. (W1) Colorado College====
==All-Tournament Team==
*G: Marty Turco (Michigan)
*D: Steven Halko (Michigan)
*D: Scott Swanson (Colorado College)
*F: Peter Geronazzo (Colorado College)
*F: Brendan Morrison* (Michigan)
*F: Martin St. Louis (Vermont)
* Most Outstanding Player(s)
==Record by conference==
Conference 	# of Bids	Record	Win %	Regional Semifinals	Frozen Four	Championship Game	Champions
CCHA 	4 	4-3 	.571 	2 	1 	1 	1
ECAC 	3 	2-3 	.400 	2 	1 	- 	-
Hockey East	3 	2-3 	.400 	2 	1 	- 	-
WCHA 	2 	3-2 	.600 	2 	1 	1 	-
==See also==
*1996 Frozen Four
==References==
Category:1996 in hockey
Category:NCAA Men's Tournaments