The road to the Frozen Four has been paved.
After the 16-team field for the 2024 NCAA men’s hockey tournament was finalized on Saturday, the official matchups and schedule were released on Sunday during ESPN’s selection show.
Boston College secured the No. 1 overall seed, followed by Boston University as the second seed, the University of Denver as the third, and Michigan State as the fourth, making them the top seeds in their respective regionals.
In regional play, the No. 1 seed faces the No. 4 seed, while the No. 2 seed competes against the No. 3 seed. The winners of those matchups then advance to face each other in another regional game, with that winner then moving on to the Final Four.
Regional play begins on Thursday and concludes on March 31. The Frozen Four will take place April 11-13 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Several top prospects for the 2024 NHL Draft will be featured in the tournament, including projected first-overall pick Macklin Celebrini of Boston University. Other featured prospects from Sportsnet’s latest draft rankings include Artyom Levshunov (Michigan State) and Zeev Buium (Denver).
The 16 teams also feature many prospects already drafted to the NHL, such as Anaheim Ducks prospect Cutter Gauthier (Boston College); Arizona Coyotes prospect Michael Hrabal (UMass); Columbus Blue Jackets prospect Gavin Brindley (Michigan); Chicago Blackhawks prospects Frank Nazar (Michigan), Oliver Moore (Minnesota) and Sam Rinzel (Minnesota); Minnesota Wild prospect Charlie Stramal (Wisconsin); San Jose Sharks prospect Will Smith (Boston College); Washington Capitals prospect Ryan Leonard (Boston College) and Winnipeg Jets prospect Rutger McGroarty (Michigan).