1995 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

The 1995 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 12th time a national championship tournament at the Division III level had been held, in the 22nd 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 10 and 11. The semifinal and final rounds were held March 24 and 25 at Duke Nelson Arena of the Middlebury College, in Middlebury, Vermont.
== 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. Both the East and West regions each received four bids to the tournament.
For just the second season, the NESCAC allowed its teams to play in national tournament. However, as part of the conference rule changes, such teams could only play in one postseason tournament. As a result, Middlebury, who won the ECAC East championship, elected not to play in their conference tournament in the hope that they would receive a bid to the NCAA tournament. Middlebury was ultimately selected for the tournament. Williams, the prior year, also skipped the ECAC East conference tournament, but was not selected for the NCAA tournament.
=== At-Large Bids ===
==== East ====
* Fredonia Blue Devils - SUNYAC (2nd appearance)
** SUNYAC Tournament Champion (23-3-4)
* Middlebury Panthers - ECAC East (1st appearance)
** (18-2-2)
* Plattsburgh Cardinals - SUNYAC (8th appearance; 5th not including vacated appearances)
** (20-7-2)
* Salem State Vikings - ECAC East (6th appearance)
** ECAC East Tournament Champions (17-5-1)
==== West ====
* Saint Mary's Cardinals - MIAC (2nd appearance)
** MIAC Tournament Champions (18-9-2)
* Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons - NCHA (5th appearance)
** (16-9-4)
* Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers - NCHA (8th appearance)
** (13-11-7)
* Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets - NCHA (4th appearance)
** (21-7-1)
== Misc. ==
* Five of the eight schools who earned bids appeared in the previous NCAA tournament.
* This the 8th of 8 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for UW-Stevens Point.
* This is the 4th of 4 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Salem State.
* This is the 4th of 6 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for UW-Superior.
* This is the 3rd of 4 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for UW-River Falls.
* This is the 1st of 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Middlebury.
* This is the first NCAA Tournament without Elmira since 1989.
* Pairings were determined strictly off of geography for the quarterfinal matches
== Results ==
=== Quarterfinals ===
Held at campus sites
-Duke Nelson Arena- Middlebury, VT
-Saint Mary's Ice Arena- Winona, MN
-Steele Hall Ice Arena- Fredonia, NY
*MINIGAME*
-Slinto S. Wessman Arena- Superior, WI
=== Semifinals ===
Hosted by Middlebury College: Duke Nelson Arena- Middlebury, VT
=== Third Place ===
Hosted by Middlebury College: Duke Nelson Arena- Middlebury, VT
=== Championship ===
Hosted by Middlebury College: Duke Nelson Arena- Middlebury, VT
== Bracket ==
== Tournament Notes ==
* Middlebury wins the program's first national title in its first NCAA tournament appearance.
** This also marks the first NESCAC school selected for the tournament after the conference relaxed its postseason rules.
* Fredonia finishes as National Runner-Up, the highest mark in program history, and makes its second consecutive Frozen Four.
* This is the first all-eastern National Championship game since 1987.
* UW-River Falls makes the Frozen Four for the third consecutive year, and fourth in program history, dropping to 3-1 in national semifinal games.
* UW-Superior makes the Frozen Four for the third time in program history, and third time in four years.
** UWS earns its 2nd Fourth Place Finish in program history.
* Middlebury becomes the first ECAC East team to win the national title.
** Babson won the first Division III title in 1984, but it was before the ECAC broke into separate conferences.
* Middlebury becomes the first program to win the national title in their first NCAA appearance since Babson in the initial Division III tournament.
* No All-Tournament Team or Tournament MVP was named.
**
Category:1995 in hockey
Category:NCAA Division III Tournaments