1988 NCAA Division III Men's Ice Hockey Tournament

The 1988 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 fifth time a national championship tournament at the Division III level had been held, in the 15th overall season of Division III hockey.  
== Format ==
Eight teams qualify for the tournament. 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. Previously, this format was used for only the quarterfinal round in 1986 and 1987. But for this year, it was expanded to all rounds. Also, if a game within the two game series was tied, there was no overtime, and the game went down as a tie. Previously, they had played one overtime period to determine a winner before a tie was officially named. 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 from March 11-13. The semifinals were also held at campus sites for the first time in the tournament's history, played March 18 and 19. The championship series was held March 25 and 26 at Murray Athletic Center of Elmira College, in Horseheads, New York. Because of the championship round being played a weekend later than before, the 3rd place game was discontinued.
== 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. This was the first tournament in which the West region received 4 bids, same as the East region. Previously, the East got 5 due to the greater number of teams in that region. The field comprised of 4 East teams and 4 West teams until 1996.
=== At-Large Bids ===
==== East ====
* Babson Beavers - ECAC East (5th appearance)
** (22-7-0)
* Elmira Soaring Eagles - ECAC West (2nd appearance)
** ECAC West Tournament Champions (23-4-0)
* Oswego Lakers - ECAC West (3rd appearance)
** (20-8-0)
* Plattsburgh Cardinals - ECAC West (4th appearance; later vacated)
** (23-11-0)
==== West ====
* Bemidji State Beavers - NCHA (4th appearance)
** (22-9-3)
* St. Thomas Tommies - MIAC (4th appearance)
** MIAC Tournament Champions (21-8-0)
* Wisconsin-River Falls Falcons - NCHA (2nd appearance)
** NCHA Tournament Champions (26-5-1)
* Wisconsin-Stevens Point Pointers - NCHA (1st appearance)
** (18-7-2)
== Misc. ==
* Four of the eight schools who earned bids appeared in the previous NCAA tournament.
* This is the 5th of 10 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Babson.
* This is the 4th of 5 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Bemidji State.
* This is the 4th of 4 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for Plattsburgh.
* This is the 1st of 8 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances for UW-Stevens Point.
* Pairings were determined strictly off of geography for the quarterfinal matches, leading to a western and eastern "side" of the bracket.
== Results ==
=== Quarterfinals ===
Held at campus sites
-Murray Athletic Center- Horseheads, NY
-Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena- Plattsburgh, NY
*MINIGAME*
-John S. Glas Field House- Bemidji, MN
-Hunt Arena- River Falls, WI
=== Semifinals ===
Held at campus sites
-Murray Athletic Center- Horseheads, NY
*MINIGAME*-Hunt Arena- River Falls, WI
=== Championship ===
Hosted by Elmira College: Murray Athletic Center- Horseheads, NY
*MINIGAME*
== Bracket ==
== Tournament Notes ==
* UW-River Falls wins its first-ever national title as a program.
* Elmira finishes as National Runner-Up for the first time in program history.
* Elmira becomes the first host team that makes the national championship game to lose said game.
* Bemidji State reaches its fifth consecutive Frozen Four.
* Babson reaches its second Frozen Four as a program.
* This was the first tournament in which there was no All-Tournament Team named.
* Plattsburgh State's appearance in the tournament would later be vacated in 1990 by the NCAA Committee on Infractions.
Category:1988 in hockey
Category:NCAA Division III Tournaments