NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament explained


Pixels:	125px
Sport:	College ice hockey
Founded:	1984
Champion:	Hobart Statesmen (2)
Most Champs:	Middlebury (8)
Classification:	Division III
Website:	NCAA.com

The NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament is an annual tournament to determine the top men's ice hockey team in NCAA Division III. The Division III championship was contested from 1984 through 2019, but then suspended due to COVID-19. The tournament resumed in the spring of 2022. The most successful team has been the Middlebury Panthers with eight titles.

Champions

Year	Winning team	Coach	Losing team	Coach	Score	Location	Finals venue
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			8–0	Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			5–1	Achilles Rink
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"	(vacated)		8–5	John S. Glas Field House
	align=center style=";"	(vacated)		align=center style=";"			8–3	Murray Athletic Center
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			7–1, 3–5, 3–0	Murray Athletic Center
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			3–3, 3–2	Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena
	align=center style=";"	(2)		align=center style=";"			10–1, 3–6, 1–0	K.B. Willett Arena
	align=center style=";"	(3)		align=center style=";"			6–2	Murray Athletic Center
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			7–3	Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena
	align=center style=";"	(4)		align=center style=";"			4–3 (OT)	Aldrich Arena
	align=center style=";"	(2)		align=center style=";"			6–4	Wessman Arena
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			1–0	Nelson Recreation Center
	align=center style=";"	(2)		align=center style=";"			3–2	W.H. Hunt Arena
	align=center style=";"	(3)		align=center style=";"			3–2	Nelson Recreation Center
	align=center style=";"	(4)		align=center style=";"			2–1	Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena
	align=center style=";"	(5)		align=center style=";"			5–0	Kreitzberg Arena
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			2–1	Wessman Arena
	align=center style=";"	(2)		align=center style=";"			6–2	Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			3–2 (OT)	Kenyon Arena
	align=center style=";"	(2)		align=center style=";"			2–1	Kreitzberg Arena
	align=center style=";"	(6)		align=center style=";"			1–0 (OT)	Kreitzberg Arena
	align=center style=";"	(7)		align=center style=";"			5–0	Kenyon Arena
	align=center style=";"	(8)		align=center style=";"			3–0	Murray Athletic Center
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			4–3 (OT)	Wessman Arena
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			4–1	Herb Brooks Arena
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			4–1	Herb Brooks Arena
	align=center style=";"	(3)		align=center style=";"			2–1 (2OT)	Herb Brooks Arena
	align=center style=";"	(2)		align=center style=";"			4–3	Ridder Arena
	align=center style=";"	(3)		align=center style=";"			4–1	Herb Brooks Arena
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			5–3	Herb Brooks Arena
	align=center style=";"	(4)		align=center style=";"			3–1	Androscoggin Bank Colisée
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			5–2	Ridder Arena
	align=center style=";"	(5)		align=center style=";"			5–1	Herb Brooks Arena
	align=center style=";"	(4)		align=center style=";"			4–1	Utica Memorial Auditorium
	align=center style=";"	(5)		align=center style=";"			3–2 (2OT)	Herb Brooks Arena
	align=center style=";"	(6)		align=center style=";"			3–2 (OT)	K.B. Willett Arena
	Canceled due to COVID-19		LECOM Harborcenter
	NONE †
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			5–2	Herb Brooks Arena
	align=center style=";"			align=center style=";"			3–2 (OT)	Raymond J. Bourque Arena
	align=center style=";"	(2)		align=center style=";"			2–0	Koeppel Community Center
2025						TBA	TBA
2026							Utica Memorial Auditorium

Note: from 1988 through 1990 the championship round was a 2-game series where the first team to three points won (2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie). If the two teams remained tied after 2 games a 20-minute mini-game was held to determine the winner. Mini-game results are in italics.
† Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA did not hold any division III tournament during the 2020–21 season.

Team titles

Team	Number	Years Won
Middlebury	8	1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2006
Wisconsin–Stevens Point	6	1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 2016, 2019
St. Norbert	5	2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018
Norwich	4	2000, 2003, 2010, 2017
Hobart	2	2023, 2024
Plattsburgh State	2	1992, 2001
Wisconsin–River Falls	2	1988, 1994
Adrian	1	2022
Babson	1	1984
Bemidji State	1	1986
Neumann	1	2009
Oswego State	1	2007
RIT	1	1985
Trinity	1	2015
Wisconsin–Eau Claire	1	2013
Wisconsin–Superior	1	2002

Host cities

City	Number	Years Hosted
Lake Placid, New York	8	2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2022
Elmira, New York	4	1987, 1988, 1991, 2006
Middlebury, Vermont	4	1995, 1997, 2002, 2005
Northfield, Vermont	3	1999, 2003, 2004
Rochester, New York	3	1984, 1989, 2001
Superior, Wisconsin	3	1994, 2000, 2007
Minneapolis, Minnesota	2	2011, 2015
Plattsburgh, New York	2	1992, 1998
Stevens Point, Wisconsin	2	1990, 2019
Bemidji, Minnesota	1	1986
Beverly, Massachusetts	1	2023
Buffalo, New York	1	2020
Hartford, Connecticut	1	2024
Lewiston, Maine	1	2014
Maplewood, Minnesota	1	1993
River Falls, Wisconsin	1	1996
Schenectady, New York	1	1985
Utica, New York	1	2017

Performance by team

The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament:

Not fielding a division III team
First round (2 teams starting in 2002, 4 teams starting in 2006, 6 teams starting in 2009, 8 teams starting in 2017, 10 teams starting in 2024)
Quarterfinals
Frozen Four
National Runner-up
National Champion
The team achieved the placement shown, but the participation was later vacated. These vacated appearances are not included in the total columns.

Note: The field for the 2020 tournament was announced shortly before its cancellation.

Beginning in 2002, teams that received byes into the quarterfinal round are underlined.

School	Conference as of 2024		QF	F4	CG	CH
School	Conference as of 2024
		14	14	11	9	8
		17	16	11	10	6
		21	21	12	9	5
		20	20	13	6	4
		20	18	11	4	2
		11	10	6	3	2
		13	9	5	2	2
		16	15	8	5	1
		13	12	9	4	1
		12	12	7	4	1
		12	10	6	3	1
		9	6	4	3	1
		5	5	5	2	1
		16	14	5	1	1
		3	3	1	1	1
		2	1	1	1	1
		17	12	2	2	0
		17	15	5	1	0
		10	8	4	1	0
		5	5	3	1	0
		4	4	2	1	0
		3	2	2	1	0
		6	6	1	1	0
		2	1	1	1	0
		8	6	3	0	0
		9	6	2	0	0
		4	4	2	0	0
		4	3	2	0	0
		5	5	2	0	0
		5	5	1	0	0
		6	3	1	0	0
		3	3	1	0	0
		4	2	1	0	0
		2	2	1	0	0
		2	1	1	0	0
		2	1	1	0	0
		1	1	1	0	0
		7	5	0	0	0
		6	5	0	0	0
		6	4	0	0	0
		4	2	0	0	0
		2	2	0	0	0
		2	2	0	0	0
		2	2	0	0	0
		7	1	0	0	0
		4	1	0	0	0
		2	1	0	0	0
		1	1	0	0	0
		1	1	0	0	0
		1	1	0	0	0
		1	1	0	0	0
		1	1	0	0	0
		1	1	0	0	0
		1	1	0	0	0
		3	0	0	0	0
		1	0	0	0	0
		1	0	0	0	0
		1	0	0	0	0
		1	0	0	0	0
		1	0	0	0	0
School	Conference		QF	F4	CG	CH

No appearances

The following is a list of current Division III teams that have yet to make a tournament appearance.

School	Conference	First season
		2020
		2023
		2019
		2022
		2015
		1974 ^†
		1994
		2013
		2003
		2018
		2008
		1981 ^†
		2024
		1971 ^†
		1997
		2018
		1987
		1972 ^†
		2007
		2013
		1998
		2022
		1983 ^†
		1972 ^†
		2017
		1947 ^‡
		2018
		1908 ^‡
		1981 ^†
		1974 ^†
		2019
		1967 ^†

† Teams were eligible for either the Division II tournament (1978-1984) or the NAIA Tournament (1968-1984).
‡ From 1948 to 1965, teams were also eligible for the Division I tournament.

References

General

Web site: Division III Men's Ice Hockey Record Book . NCAA . Aug 27, 2019.
Web site: NCAA Division III men's hockey tournament . USCHO.com . Aug 27, 2019.
News: College Hockey Stats . August 27, 2019.