1997 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

The 1997 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 14th time a national championship tournament at the Division III level had been held, in the 24th 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 14 and 15. The semifinal and final rounds were held March 21 and 22 at Duke Nelson Arena of 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. There was no official limit to how many schools could come from each region. This year, the East received five bids, and the West received three.
=== At-Large Bids ===
==== East ====
* Elmira Soaring Eagles - ECAC West (8th appearance)
** (15-8-4)
* Middlebury Panthers - ECAC East (3rd appearance)
** (18-3-2)
* Norwich Cadets - ECAC East (2nd appearance)
** (20-4-2)
* Plattsburgh Cardinals - SUNYAC (9th appearance; 6th not including vacated appearances)
** SUNYAC Tournament Champions (22-5-2)
* RIT Tigers - ECAC West (7th appearance)
** ECAC West Tournament Champions (21-5-2)
==== West ====
* Saint John's Johnnies - MIAC (2nd appearance)
** MIAC Tournament Champions (24-5-0)
* St. Norbert Green Knights - NCHA (1st appearance)
** (20-8-1)
* Wisconsin-Superior Yellowjackets - NCHA (6th appearance)
** NCHA Tournament Champions (21-7-2)
== Misc. ==
* Four of the eight schools who earned bids appeared in the previous NCAA tournament.
* This is the 6th of 6 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for UW-Superior.
* This is the 3rd of 13 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Middlebury.
* This is the 2nd of 7 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for RIT.
* This is the 1st of 6 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Plattsburgh.
* This is the first NCAA Tournament without UW-River Falls since 1992.
* Pairings were determined strictly off of geography for the quarterfinal matches.
== Results ==
=== Quarterfinals ===
Held at campus sites
-Duke Nelson Arena- Middlebury, VT
-Herb Brooks National Hockey Center- St. Cloud, MN
-Slinto S. Wessman Arena- Superior, WI
*MINIGAME*
-Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena- Plattsburgh, NY
=== 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 third national title and third consecutive championship.
* Middlebury becomes the second program to win three consecutive titles, the first being UW-Stevens Point, from 1989-1991.
* In UW-Superior's fourth consecutive Frozen Four berth (fifth all-time), they finish as National Runner-Up for the second time in program history, and second time in four years.
* Saint John's makes its first Frozen Four as a program, earning Third Place.
* SJU becomes the highest finisher in MIAC history, and the first MIAC program to advance in the NCAA Tournament in 12 seasons.
** Previously, the MIAC had only made one Frozen Four in history. (Augsburg in 1984, who beat a fellow MIAC team in St. Thomas)
* Norwich clinches the program's first Frozen Four in just its second appearance in the national tournament.
* Middlebury becomes the second program to win two titles on home ice. (Plattsburgh, though 1987's was vacated.)
* No All-Tournament Team or Tournament MVP was named.
*
Category:1997 in hockey
Category:NCAA Division III Tournaments