ESPN to Cover Entire 2016 NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship

College Sports (Miscellaneous)

ESPN to Cover Entire 2016 NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship

  • March 25-27: Regional Semifinals and Finals
  • April 7 & 9: Frozen Four Semifinals and Championship Game
  • John Buccigross and Barry Melrose Call Frozen Four; Quint Kessenich and Victoria Arlen Report

ESPN will cover all 15 games from the 2016 NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship, which  begins with regional semifinals and finals (March 25-27) from Worcester, Ma., St. Paul, Minn., Albany, N.Y., and Cincinnati and concluding with the Frozen Four semifinals (April 7) and national championship (April 9) from Tampa, Fla. This is ESPN’s 37th year airing college hockey’s championship game, its 22nd televising the Frozen Four and 12th year covering every game from the tournament.

Regional Semifinals and Finals
The 16-team, single-elimination NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship begins with eight regional semifinals and four regional finals across ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNEWS and ESPN3. Quinnipiac is the overall No. 1 seed and will play in the Northeast Regional, St. Cloud State is the No. 2 seed and in the West, North Dakota is the No. 3 seed and in the Midwest and defending National Champion Providence is the No. 4 seed and in the Northeast. The complete bracket can be found here.

  • Midwest Regional: US Bank Arena in Cincinnati
    • Dates: March 25-26
    • Semifinal: Northeastern at 3 North Dakota
    • Semifinal: Notre Dame at Michigan
    • Networks: ESPNU and ESPN2
  • Northeast Regional: DCU Center in Worcester, Ma.
    • Dates: March 25-26
    • Semifinal: Minnesota-Duluth vs. No. 4 Providence
    • Semifinal: Harvard vs. Boston College
    • Networks: ESPN3 and ESPNU
  • West Regional: Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
    • Dates: March 26-27
    • Semifinal: Ferris State at No. 2 St. Cloud State
    • Semifinal: Boston University vs. Denver
    • Networks: ESPNEWS and ESPNU
  • East Regional: Times Union Center in Albany, N.Y.
    • Dates: March 26-27
    • Semifinal: RIT vs. No. 1 Quinnipiac
    • Semifinal: Yale vs. UMass-Lowell
    • Networks: ESPN3 and ESPNU

Frozen Four
The Frozen Four will be held at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. with the two semifinals on Thursday, April 7, on ESPN2 (5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.) and the Frozen Four National Championship on Saturday, April 9, on ESPN (8 p.m.). More details will be announced the week of the Frozen Four.

Every game of the 2016 Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship is available on WatchESPN.

ESPN NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship Commentators
ESPN’s lead hockey play-by-play commentator John Buccigross teams up with lead hockey analyst Barry Melrose to call the action in the Northeast Regional (Worcester, Mass.) and, for the fourth consecutive year, the Frozen Four. Quint Kessenich will, once again, be the reporter with Buccigross and Melrose at both the Northeast Regional and Frozen Four. Victoria Arlen will also be a part of the Frozen Four coverage, focusing on the untold stories of the participating teams and players off the ice.

Buccigross, the popular SportsCenter anchor, has developed a passionate following on Twitter (@Buccigross) through consistent college hockey dialogue with fans (#cawlidgehawkey) and by showcasing hockey throughout the country.

Melrose, who has been with ESPN 19 of the last 20 years and has been an analyst for several Frozen Fours, played 11 seasons in the NHL before leading the Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals as head coach.

Other ESPN broadcast tandems: Allen Bestwick and Colby Cohen (Midwest Regional), Clay Matvick and Sean Ritchlin (West Regional) and Kevin Brown and Billy Jaffe (East Regional). Both Jaffe and Ritchlin played at Michigan and Cohen played for Boston University, where he scored the game-winning goal in the 2009 National Championship Game.

Regional Semifinals and Finals

Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Network
Friday, March 25 2 p.m. Midwest Regional Semifinal: Northeastern vs. No. 3 North Dakota
Allen Bestwick and Colby Cohen
ESPNU
4:30 p.m. Northeast Regional Semifinal: Minnesota-Duluth vs. No. 4 Providence
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose, Quint Kessenich
ESPN3
5:30 p.m. Midwest Regional Semifinal:
Notre Dame vs. Michigan
Allen Bestwick and Colby Cohen
ESPNU
8 p.m. Northeast Regional Semifinal: Harvard vs. Boston College
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose, Quint Kessenich
ESPNU
Saturday, March 26 3 p.m. West Regional Semifinal:
Ferris State at No. 2 St. Cloud State
Clay Matvick and Sean Ritchlin
ESPNEWS
4 p.m. East Regional Semifinal:
RIT vs. No. 1 Quinnipiac
Kevin Brown and Billy Jaffe
ESPNU
6 p.m. Midwest Regional Final
Allen Bestwick and Colby Cohen
ESPN2
6:30 p.m. West Regional Semifinal:
Boston University vs. Denver
Clay Matvick and Sean Ritchlin
ESPNU
7:30 p.m. East Regional Semifinal:
Yale vs. UMass-Lowell
Kevin Brown and Billy Jaffe
ESPN3
9 p.m. Northeast Regional Final
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose, Quint Kessenich
ESPNU
Sunday, March 27 5 p.m. West Regional Final
Clay Matvick and Sean Ritchlin
ESPNU
7:30 p.m. East Regional Final
Kevin Brown and Billy Jaffe
ESPNU

 

Frozen Four

Thursday, April 7 5 p.m. Frozen Four Semifinal
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose, Quint Kessenich, Victoria Arlen
ESPN2
8:30 p.m. Frozen Four Semifinal
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose, Quint Kessenich, Victoria Arlen
ESPN2
Saturday, April 9 8 p.m. Frozen Four Championship
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose, Quint Kessenich, Victoria Arlen
ESPN

 

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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner

Derek Volner

I currently lead ESPN’s NFL Communications, including Monday Night Football, NFL Draft and studio programming. Previously, I did the same for ESPN’s vast college football portfolio. I have been with ESPN since 2013.
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