2008 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

The 2008 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. The tournament began on March 28, 2008, and ended with the championship game on April 12.
Boston College, coached by Jerry York, won its third national title with a 4–1 victory in the championship game over Notre Dame, coached by Jeff Jackson.
Nathan Gerbe, junior forward for Boston College, scored five goals in the final two games and was named the Frozen Four Most Outstanding Player.
==Tournament procedure==
The NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 16 teams representing all six Division I conferences in the nation. The Championship Committee seeds the entire field from 1 to 16 within four regionals of 4 teams. The winners of the six Division I conference championships receive automatic bids to participate in the NCAA Championship.
In setting up the tournament, the Championship Committee seeks to ensure "competitive equity, financial success and likelihood of playoff-type atmosphere at each regional site." A team serving as the host of a regional is placed within that regional. The top four teams are assigned overall seeds and placed within the bracket such that the national semifinals will feature the No. 1 seed versus the No. 4 seed and the No. 2 seed versus the No. 3 seed should the top four teams win their respective regional finals. Number 1 seeds are also placed as close to their home site as possible, with the No. 1 seed receiving first preference. Conference matchups are avoided in the first round; should five or more teams from one conference make the tournament, this guideline may be disregarded in favor of preserving the bracket's integrity.
The four regionals are officially named after their geographic areas. The following were the sites for the 2008 regionals:
;March 28 and 29
:East Regional, Times Union Center - Albany, New York (Hosts: ECAC Hockey and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
:West Regional, World Arena - Colorado Springs, Colorado (Hosts: Colorado College and the Colorado Springs Sports Commission)
;March 29 and 30
:Midwest Regional, Kohl Center - Madison, Wisconsin (Host: University of Wisconsin–Madison)
:Northeast Regional, DCU Center - Worcester, Massachusetts (Host: College of the Holy Cross)
Each regional winner advanced to the Frozen Four:
;April 10 and 12
:Pepsi Center - Denver, Colorado (Hosts: University of Denver and the Metro Denver Sports Commission)
==Qualifying teams==
The at-large bids, along with the seeding for each team in the tournament, were announced on Sunday, March 23. Six teams from the WCHA qualified for the tournament, a record for the number of teams from one conference.
West Regional – Colorado Springs	West Regional – Colorado Springs	West Regional – Colorado Springs	West Regional – Colorado Springs	West Regional – Colorado Springs	Midwest Regional – Madison 	Midwest Regional – Madison 	Midwest Regional – Madison 	Midwest Regional – Madison 	Midwest Regional – Madison
Seed 	School 	Conference 	Record 	Berth Type 	Seed 	School 	Conference 	Record 	Berth Type
1 	New Hampshire 	Hockey East 	25–9–3 	At-Large Bid 	1 	North Dakota 	WCHA 	26–10–4 	At-Large Bid
2 	Colorado College 	WCHA 	28–11–1 	At-Large Bid 	2 	Denver 	WCHA 	26–13–1 	Tournament Champion
3 	Michigan State 	CCHA 	24–11–5 	At-Large Bid 	3 	Wisconsin 	WCHA 	15–16–7 	At-Large Bid
4 	Notre Dame 	CCHA 	24–15–4 	At-Large Bid 	4 	Princeton 	ECAC 	21–13–0 	Tournament Champion
East Regional – Albany 	East Regional – Albany 	East Regional – Albany 	East Regional – Albany 	East Regional – Albany 	Northeast Regional – Worcester	Northeast Regional – Worcester	Northeast Regional – Worcester	Northeast Regional – Worcester	Northeast Regional – Worcester
Seed 	School 	Conference 	Record 	Berth Type 	Seed 	School 	Conference 	Record 	Berth Type
1 	Michigan 	CCHA 	31–5–4 	Tournament Champion 	1 	Miami (OH) 	CCHA 	32–7–1 	At-Large Bid
2 	St. Cloud State 	WCHA 	19–15–5 	At-Large Bid 	2 	Boston College 	Hockey East 	21–11–8 	Tournament Champion
3 	Clarkson 	ECAC 	21–12–4 	At-Large Bid 	3 	Minnesota 	WCHA 	19–16–9 	At-Large Bid
4 	Niagara 	CHA 	22–10–4 	Tournament Champion 	4 	Air Force 	Atlantic Hockey 	21–11–6 	Tournament Champion
==Brackets==
The number in parentheses denotes overall seed in the tournament.
(*) denotes overtime period(s).
===East Regional – Albany, New York===
===West Regional – Colorado Springs, Colorado===
===Midwest Regional – Madison, Wisconsin===
===Northeast Regional – Worcester, Massachusetts===
===Frozen Four – Pepsi Center, Denver, Colorado===
==Record by conference==
Conference 	# of Bids	Record	Win %	Regional Finals	Frozen Four	Championship Game	Champions
WCHA 	6 	3–6 	.333 	2 	1 	- 	-
CCHA 	4 	7–4 	.636 	4 	2 	1 	-
ECAC Hockey 	2 	1–2 	.333 	1 	- 	- 	-
Hockey East 	2 	4–1 	.800 	1 	1 	1 	1
Atlantic Hockey	1 	0–1 	.000 	- 	- 	- 	-
CHA 	1 	0–1 	.000 	- 	- 	- 	-
==All-Tournament Team==
===Frozen Four===
* G: John Muse (Boston College)
* D: Mike Brennan (Boston College)
* D: Kyle Lawson (Notre Dame)
* F: Kevin Deeth (Notre Dame)
* F: Nathan Gerbe* (Boston College)
* F: Ben Smith (Boston College)
* Most Outstanding Player(s)
==See also==
*2008 Frozen Four
==References==
;General
* 
;Specific
Category:2008 in hockey
Category:NCAA Division I Tournaments