Boston College grabs overall top seed, Frozen Four field announced

Mar 18, 2012 - 5:52 PM Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - The NCAA men's ice hockey committee announced the 16-team championship field on Sunday with Boston College grabbing the top overall seed.

Boston College (29-10-1) will begin its trek to the Frozen Four against Air Force (21-10-7) in nearby Worcester. Defending national champion Minnesota- Duluth (24-9-6), the No. 2 seed in the Northeast Region, starts with a matchup against Maine (23-13-3).

Michigan (24-12-4), the No. 2 overall seed, will take on Cornell (18-8-7) in Green Bay. Ferris State (23-11-5) got the second seed in the Midwest Region and will play Denver (25-13-4).

Union (24-7-7) heads to the East Region in Bridgeport and is the third overall seed. They will do battle with Michigan State (19-15-4). The other matchup in Bridgeport pits Miami (OH) (24-14-2) against UMass-Lowell (23-12-1).

North Dakota (25-12-3) is the No. 1 seed in the West Region, where they will face Western Michigan (21-13-6) in Saint Paul. Boston University (23-14-1) will take on Minnesota (26-13-1).

First-round games in the East and Midwest regionals will take place on March 23 with the championship contests slated for March 24. The Northeast and West regionals will hold first-round games on March 24 and each region's two winners will square off on March 25.

The Frozen Four will take place on April 5 in Tampa, Florida. The championship game is slated for April 7 at 7 p.m. (et).

Denver defeated North Dakota, 4-1, in the 2005 national championship game. Colorado College and Minnesota also skated in the Frozen Four in Columbus, Ohio.

Minnesota-Duluth needed overtime to beat Michigan in last year's championship game.