2024 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament

2024 NCAA Division III men's
ice hockey tournament
Teams13
Finals site
ChampionsHobart (2nd title)
Runner-upTrinity (3rd title game)
Semifinalists
Winning coachMark Taylor (2nd title)
MOPAustin Mourar (Hobart)
Attendance1,736 (final)

The 2024 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament was the culmination of the 2023–24 season, the 39th such tournament in NCAA history. Hobart successfully defended its championship by defeating Trinity 2–0.[1] They became the first team to win consecutive championships since St. Norbert in 2011 and 2012.

Qualifying teams

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In January, the NCAA approved the addition of a 13th bid for this season's NCAA tournament.[2] The move was done to keep the ratio of 1:6.5 bids per Division III programs and, with the revival of MCLA, that necessitated 13 teams being part of the tournament field. The selection process remained unchanged and teams were sill selected according to the following manner: (Pool A) nine teams received bids as a result of being conference tournament champions from conferences that possessed an automatic bid, (Pool C) four additional teams received at-large bids based upon their records.[3]

East West
Seed School Conference Record Berth Type Appearance Last Bid Seed School Conference Record Berth Type Appearance Last Bid
1 Hobart (1) NEHC 25–2–1 Tournament Champion 13th 2023 1 St. Norbert (3) NCHA 22–6–0 Tournament Champion 21st 2022
2 Trinity (2) NESCAC 21–3–1 Tournament Champion 9th 2022 2 Adrian NCHA 22–6–1 At-Large 12th 2023
3 Utica (4) UCHC 23–2–3 Tournament Champion 5th 2023 3 Wisconsin–Stevens Point WIAC 21–5–2 Tournament Champion 17th 2023
4 Plymouth State MASCAC 23–2–2 Tournament Champion 7th 2023 4 St. Olaf MIAC 16–9–2 Tournament Champion 3rd 2022
5 Elmira NEHC 19–7–1 At-Large 17th 2022
6 Geneseo State SUNYAC 21–5–0 At-Large 10th 2022
7 Curry CCC 20–5–1 At-Large 6th 2023
8 Endicott CCC 17–5–5 Tournament Champion 4th 2023
9 Cortland State SUNYAC 18–8–2 Tournament Champion 1st Never

Format

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The tournament featured four rounds of play. All rounds were single-game elimination.

Because there were four western bids, those teams were all placed into the same bracket. The remaining nine (eastern) teams were arranged so that the top three teams received byes into the quarterfinal round. The eastern teams that began in the first round were sorted as follows: the fourth eastern seed would play the ninth eastern seed with the winner advancing to play the third eastern seed; the fifth eastern seed would play the eighth eastern seed with the winner advancing to play the second eastern seed; the sixth eastern seed would play the seventh eastern seed with the winner advancing to play the first eastern seed. The four brackets were arranged so that the winner of the one containing the first overall seed would play the winner of the bracket with the fourth overall seed. The higher-seeded team played host in all first round and quarterfinal matches.

Bracket

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First round
March 9
Quarterfinals
March 16
Semifinals
March 21
National Championship
March 23
            
E2 Trinity (2) 2
E5 Elmira 0
E5 Elmira 5
E8 Endicott 2
E2 Trinity (2) 2
W2 Adrian 1
W1 St. Norbert (3) 5
W4 St. Olaf 2
W1 St. Norbert (3) 3
W2 Adrian 5
W2 Adrian 4
W3 Wisconsin–Stevens Point 0
E2 Trinity (2) 0
E1 Hobart (1) 2
E1 Hobart (1) 4****
E7 Curry 3
E6 Geneseo State 0
E7 Curry 3
E1 Hobart (1) 3
E3 Utica (4) 1
E3 Utica (4) 4
E4 Plymouth State 1
E4 Plymouth State 5
E9 Cortland State 2

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

[1]

  • G: Damon Beaver (Hobart)
  • D: Austin Mourar* (Hobart)
  • D: John Campomenosi (Trinity)
  • F: Tanner Hartman (Hobart)
  • F: Luke Aquaro (Hobart)
  • F: James Barbour (Trinity)

* Most Outstanding Player(s)

Record by conference

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Conference # of Bids Record Win % Quarterfinals Frozen Four Championship Game Champions
NEHC 2 4–1 .800 2 1 1 1
NCHA 2 3–2 .600 2 1 - -
CCC 2 1–2 .333 1 - - -
SUNYAC 2 0–2 .000 - - - -
NESCAC 1 2–1 .667 1 1 1 -
UCHC 1 1–1 .500 1 1 - -
MASCAC 1 1–1 .500 1 - - -
MIAC 1 0–1 .000 - - - -
WIAC 1 0–1 .000 - - - -

References

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  1. ^ a b "NCAA D-III Men's Hockey Championship Game: Hobart goes back to back, downs Trinity 2-0". USCHO. March 23, 2024. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
  2. ^ "NCAA approves addition of 13th team to Division III men's hockey tournament, starting with 2024 event". USCHO. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  3. ^ "2024 NCAA DIII men's ice hockey championship: Selection show information, schedule". NCAA.com. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
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