2008 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament


The 2008 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament involved 16 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. The tournament began on March 28, 2008, and ended with the championship game on April 12.
Boston College, coached by Jerry York, won its third national title after consecutive runner-up finishes with a 4–1 victory in the championship game over Notre Dame [Fighting Irish men's ice hockey|Notre Dame], coached by Jeff Jackson.
Nathan Gerbe, junior forward for Boston College, scored five goals in the final two games and was named the Division I [men's ice hockey">Division I (NCAA)">Division I [men's ice hockey tournament|Frozen Four] Most Outstanding Player.
This was the first tournament in NCAA men's [ice hockey">National Collegiate Athletic Association">NCAA men's [ice hockey tournament|47 years] to have two teams from the same conference play in the opening round. This occurred due to the glut of WCHA teams that received 2nd- and 3rd-seeds in the regional divisions.
Starting with this year’s Frozen Four and ending with 2013 [NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament|2013], five of the next six tournaments featured at least one team making their first appearance in the Frozen Four, with 2011 [NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament|2011] being the only year to feature four teams with previous Frozen Four appearances.

Tournament procedure

The NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 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. Conference matchups are avoided in the first round; should five or more teams from one conference make the tournament, this guideline may be disregarded in favor of preserving the bracket's integrity.
The four regionals are officially named after their geographic areas. The following were the sites for the 2008 regionals:
;March 28 and 29
;March 29 and 30
Each regional winner advanced to the Frozen Four:
;April 10 and 12

Qualifying teams

The at-large bids, along with the seeding for each team in the tournament, were announced on Sunday, March 23. Six teams from the WCHA qualified for the tournament, a record for the number of teams from one conference.

Brackets

The number in parentheses denotes overall seed in the tournament.

East Regional – [Albany, New York]

West Regional – [Colorado Springs, Colorado]

Northeast Regional – [Worcester, Massachusetts]

Midwest Regional – [Madison, Wisconsin]

Frozen Four – [Pepsi Center], [Denver, Colorado]

denotes overtime period.

Results

East Region – Albany, New York">Times Union Center">Albany, New York

Regional semifinal

Regional Final

Northeast Region – Worcester, Massachusetts">DCU Center">Worcester, Massachusetts

Regional semifinal

Regional Final

Midwest Region – Madison, Wisconsin">Kohl Center">Madison, Wisconsin

Regional semifinal

Regional Final

West Region – [Broadmoor [World Arena (1998)|Colorado Springs, Colorado]]

Regional semifinal

Regional Final

Frozen Four – Denver, Colorado">Pepsi Center">Denver, Colorado

Semifinal

National Championship – Denver, Colorado">Pepsi Center">Denver, Colorado

Record by conference

[List of NCAA Division I [Men's Ice Hockey All-Tournament Teams|All-Tournament team]]

Frozen Four">NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament">Frozen Four

* Most Outstanding Player(s)