A Comprehensive History of NCAA Hockey Frozen Four Locations

The NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship is a single-elimination competition that has determined the collegiate national champion since the inaugural 1948 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament. The culmination of the college hockey season each spring is the Frozen Four, where the NCAA crowns its national champion. The Frozen Four only refers to the semifinals, but the tournament consists of four rounds. The annual NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to determine the top men's team in Division I. Like other Division I championships, it is the highest level of NCAA men's hockey competition. The tournament features 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.

The Genesis of the Frozen Four (1948-1957)

In the landscape of college hockey, a structured framework was notably absent. There were no conferences, no rankings, and no established history to guide the sport. The inaugural Frozen Four, which also served as the national championship, took place from March 18-20, 1948. Remarkably, these three games constituted the entirety of the NCAA men's hockey tournament. Nevertheless, they culminated in the crowning of the first national champion, the University of Michigan Wolverines.

Michigan's path to the title involved a 6-4 overtime victory over Boston College in the semifinal. Dartmouth secured their spot in the final with an 8-4 triumph over Colorado College. In the championship game, Dartmouth initially held a 4-2 lead. However, Michigan rallied, tying the game before the end of the second period with goals from Wally Grant and Gordon McMillan. The Wolverines then dominated the final period, outshooting Dartmouth 18-8. Grant, McMillan, Wally Gacek, and Ted Greer all contributed goals as head coach Vic Heyliger secured the first of his six national titles.

The selection process for the initial tournament was straightforward, with the committee simply choosing the top two teams from the East and West, which were all independent.

The Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colorado, served as the original home for the first 10 years, and 11 times overall, of the Frozen Four. This enclosed indoor arena also hosted numerous high-profile figure skating events. It closed in March 1994.

Frozen Four Locations and Results: 1948-1957

1948: Michigan, Dartmouth, Boston College, Colorado College; at Colorado Springs, Colorado
1949: Boston College, Dartmouth, Michigan, Colorado College; at Colorado Springs, Colorado
1950: Colorado College, Boston University, Michigan, Boston College; at Colorado Springs, Colorado
1951: Michigan, Brown, Boston University, Colorado College; at Colorado Springs, Colorado
1952: Michigan, Colorado College, Yale, St. Lawrence; at Colorado Springs, Colorado
1953: Michigan, Minnesota, Rensselaer, Boston University; at Colorado Springs, Colorado
1954: Rensselaer, Minnesota, Michigan, Boston College; at Colorado Springs, Colorado
1955: Michigan, Colorado College, Harvard, St. Lawrence; at Colorado Springs, Colorado
1956: Michigan, Michigan Tech, St. Lawrence, Boston College; at Colorado Springs, Colorado
1957: Colorado College, Michigan, Clarkson, Harvard; at Colorado Springs, Colorado

Expansion and Shifting Landscapes (1958-1975)

As conferences grew and developed, the ECAC and WCHA dominated the field until the CCHA formed in 1971. It still took five years to change the tournament format, and it wasn't until 1981 that at-large bids were formally included.

Frozen Four Locations and Results: 1958-1975

1958: Denver, North Dakota, Clarkson, Harvard; at Minneapolis
1959: North Dakota, Michigan State, Boston College, St. Lawrence; at Troy, N.Y.
1960: Denver, Michigan Tech, Boston University, St. Lawrence; at Boston
1961: Denver, St. Lawrence, Minnesota, Rensselaer; at Denver
1962: Michigan Tech, Clarkson, Michigan, St. Lawrence; at Utica, N.Y.
1963: North Dakota, Denver, Clarkson, Boston College; at Chestnut Hill, Mass.
1964: Michigan, Denver, Rensselaer, Providence; at Denver
1965: Michigan Tech, Boston College, North Dakota, Brown; at Providence, R.I.
1966: Michigan State, Clarkson, Denver, Boston University; at Minneapolis
1967: Cornell, Boston University, Michigan State, North Dakota; at Syracuse, N.Y.
1968: Denver, North Dakota, Cornell, Boston College; at Duluth, Minn.
1969: Denver, Cornell, Harvard, Michigan Tech; at Colorado Springs, Colorado
1970: Cornell, Clarkson, Wisconsin, Michigan Tech; at Lake Placid, N.Y.
1971: Boston University, Minnesota, Denver, Harvard; at Syracuse, N.Y.
1972: Boston University, Cornell, Wisconsin, Denver; at Boston
1973: Wisconsin, Denver, Boston College, Cornell; at Boston
1974: Minnesota, Michigan Tech, Boston University, Harvard; at Boston
1975: Michigan Tech, Minnesota, Boston University, Harvard; at St. Louis

The Rise of New Programs and Tournament Expansion (1976-1990)

Up until 1976, the NCAA tournament invited two teams from each of the two major regions: East and West. Initially, all teams were invited based upon their regular season performance with the NCAA selection committee occasionally deferring to an in-season or unofficial tournament to make their selection easier. Over time, as each of the two regions became dominated by single conferences, the selection committee would just choose the top two teams from each of the two leagues or, when held, the champion(s) and runners-up of the conference tournaments. During the first three decades of the national tournament other conferences did exist, however, most of these were either unofficial or contained teams that were largely regarded as inferior (MIAC for example) and were ignored by the selection committee. Things began to change in the 70s when several new programs joined the top level of play. For the first half of the decade, the NCAA tournament continued its recent pattern of only inviting two teams from both ECAC Hockey and the WCHA. However, after several years of petitioning by the new league, the selection committee finally changed the tournament format for the 1976 series. While it could continue to invite two teams from the more established leagues, the committee gave itself the ability to invite up to 4 additional teams to the tournament as it saw fit. Under this policy, the CCHA tournament champion was given a de facto automatic bid but the committee was reticent to include any additional teams in the field. After failing to use most of the additional slots made available by the rule chance, the NCAA tournament was expanded into three full rounds in 1981.

Frozen Four Locations and Results: 1976-1990

1976: Minnesota, Michigan Tech, Brown, Boston University, at Denver
1977: Wisconsin, Michigan, Boston University, New Hampshire; Detroit, Mich.
1978: Boston University, Boston College, Bowling Green, Wisconsin; at Providence, R.I.
1979: Minnesota, North Dakota, Dartmouth, New Hampshire; at Detroit
1980: North Dakota, Northern Michigan, Dartmouth, Cornell; at Providence, R.I.
1981: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan; at Duluth, Minn.
1982: North Dakota, Wisconsin, Northeastern, New Hampshire; at Providence, R.I.
1983: Wisconsin, Harvard, Providence, Minnesota; at Grand Forks, N.D.
1984: Bowling Green, Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota, Michigan State; at Lake Placid, N.Y.
1985: Rensselaer, Providence, Minnesota Duluth, Boston College; at Detroit
1986: Michigan State, Harvard, Minnesota, Denver; at Providence, R.I.
1987: North Dakota, Michigan State, Minnesota, Harvard; at Detroit
1988: Lake Superior State, St. Lawrence, Maine, Minnesota; at Lake Placid, N.Y.
1989: Harvard, Minnesota, Michigan State, Maine; St. Paul, Minn.
1990: Wisconsin, Colgate, Boston College, Boston University; at Detroit

Refining the Selection Process (1991-2002)

At the time, with just one large conference comprising all eastern teams, the ECAC subdivided itself into three regions. The conference's tournament champion as well as the two division champions from the other groups would receive automatic bids. For the west, the WCHA would continue to name two tournament co-champions who would each receive an automatic bid while the single CCHA champion would also receive an automatic bid. Within two years this cumbersome policy was abandoned and the NCAA tournament would only offer a single automatic bids to each of the three conferences with the rest of the field being made up of at-large bids. Beginning in 1981, when at-large bids were first officially introduced, the selection of teams that were offered bids was based upon their national rankings in polls. These were primarily done by some combination of head coaches and sports writers and tended to favor more established programs. In the early 1990s, the selection committee began to try and compare teams objectively by instituting a new ranking system. Some of the initial rankings that resulted were decried as some of the tournament invitees possessed arguably subpar records and their inclusion pushed out teams that were widely regarded as superior, such as Brown in 1993.

Frozen Four Locations and Results: 1991-2002

1991: Northern Michigan, Boston University, Maine, Clarkson; St. Paul, Minn.
1992: Lake Superior State, Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State; at Albany, N.Y.
1993: Maine, Lake Superior State, Boston University, Michigan; at Milwaukee
1994: Lake Superior State, Boston University, Harvard, Minnesota; at St. Paul, Minn.
1995: Boston University, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota; at Providence, R.I.
1996: Michigan, Colorado College, Boston University, Vermont; at Cincinnati, Ohio
1997: North Dakota, Boston University, Colorado College, Michigan; at Milwaukee
1998: Michigan, Boston College, New Hampshire, Ohio State; at Boston
1999: Maine, New Hampshire, Boston College, Michigan State; at Anaheim, Calif.
2000: North Dakota, Boston College, Maine, St. Lawrence; at Providence, R.I.
2001: Boston College, North Dakota, Michigan, Michigan State; at Albany, N.Y.
2002: Minnesota, Maine, New Hampshire, Michigan; St. Paul, Minn.

The Modern Era (2003-2025)

Since then, at-large bids were offered to teams based upon their PairWise ranking which provided a single number for each program based upon several categories. The categories were altered and changed over time with each receiving different weights or priorities, however, by 2014 the system was largely seen by the committee as sufficient and went unchanged for several years afterwards. Starting in 2003, the four teams seeded No.

Frozen Four Locations and Results: 2003-2025

2003: Minnesota, New Hampshire, Cornell, Michigan; at Buffalo, N.Y.
2004: Denver, Maine, Boston College, Minnesota Duluth; at Boston
2005: Denver, North Dakota, Colorado College, Minnesota; at Columbus, Ohio
2006: Wisconsin, Boston College, Maine, North Dakota; at Milwaukee
2007: Michigan State, Boston College, Maine, North Dakota; at St. Louis
2008: Boston College, Notre Dame, Michigan, North Dakota; at Denver
2009: Boston University, Miami, Bemidji State, Vermont; at Washington, D.C.
2010: Boston College, Wisconsin, Miami, RIT; at Detroit
2011: Minnesota Duluth, Michigan, Notre Dame, North Dakota; at St. Paul, Minn.
2012: Boston College, Ferris State, Minnesota, Union; at Tampa
2013: Yale, Quinnipiac, UMass Lowell, St. Cloud State; at Pittsburgh
2014: Union, Minnesota, Boston College, North Dakota; at Philadelphia
2015: Providence, Boston University, North Dakota, Omaha; at Boston
2016: North Dakota, Quinnipiac, Boston College, Denver, at Tampa
2017: Denver, Minnesota Duluth, Notre Dame, Harvard; at Chicago
2018: Minnesota Duluth, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan; St. Paul, Minn.
2019: Minnesota Duluth, Massachusetts, Providence, Denver; at Buffalo, N.Y.
2020: No NCAA Tournament (COVID-19 Pandemic); scheduled for Detroit
2021: Massachusetts, St. Cloud State, Minnesota State, Minnesota Duluth, at Pittsburgh, Pa.
2022: Denver, Minnesota State, Michigan, Minnesota; at Boston
2023: Quinnipiac, Minnesota, Michigan, Boston University; at Tampa, Fla.
2024: Denver, Boston College, Boston University, Michigan ; at St. Paul, Minn.
2025: Western Michigan, Boston University, Denver, Penn State; at St. Louis.

Champions and Records

Coach Vic Heyliger's Michigan teams won six of the first nine national championships, and was the runner-up in each of those three when they didn't win. Denver leads all schools with five championships since 2000. Boston College has four. Minnesota Duluth has three.

Read also: Crafting Your NCAA Profile

In 2025, sophomore winger Owen Michaels (Northville, Mich.) scored twice in the final period â his third and fourth goals of the Frozen Four â to lift Western Michigan to its first NCAA Championship with a 6-2 victory over Boston University in the NCAA Frozen Four title game at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo.

At the conclusion of each tournament both an all-tournament team and 'Most Outstanding Player in Tournament' is named.

The Frozen Four Experience

Over time, the Frozen Four has become more than just the games â itâs a weekend long celebration of college hockey. Thousands of fans attend year after year, regardless of the teams involved, creating crowds filled with dozens of different jerseys.

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