The six Division I conferences each hold a postseason tournament to determine which team earns their automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Atlantic Hockey
Format: The battle for the Jack Riley Memorial Trophy will play out on AHA campuses over four weekends in March with all 11 AHA teams competing for a berth in the single-game Atlantic Hockey Championship.
The 2024 Atlantic Hockey Postseason will open with single-game first round matchups with the No. 6, No. 7 and No. 8 seeds hosting the No. 11, No. 10 and No. 9 seeds, respectively, on March 2.
Best-of-three quarterfinal series March 8-10 with the No. 1 seed hosting the lowest remaining seed, the No. 2 seed hosting the second-lowest remaining seed, the No. 3 seed hosting the third-lowest remaining seed and the No. 4 seed hosting the No. 5 seed.
Semifinal best-of-three series will take place March 15-17 with the highest-seeded quarterfinal winner hosting the lowest-seeded quarterfinal winner and the second-highest remaining seed hosting the third-highest remaining seed.
The AHA Postseason will conclude March 23 when the two semifinal winners meet at the home of the highest-seeded semifinal winner for one game to determine Atlantic Hockey’s 2024 postseason champion.
More Information: AtlanticHockeyOnline.com
Big Ten
Format: The 2024 Big Ten Tournament begins March 8-10 with best-of-three series at campus sites. The top seed will earn a first-round bye and the No. 2-4 seeds will host the first-round series. The No. 1 seed and the other highest remaining seed will host single-game semifinals on March 16 and the highest remaining seed will host the championship contest on March 23.
More Information: BigTen.org
CCHA
Format: The top four teams following regular-season action will host the opening round of the CCHA Playoffs from March 8-10, with the winner of each best-of-three series advancing to the league semifinals. Both semifinals (March 16) and final (March 22) will be played as a single game at respective campus sites of the highest-seeded team.
The famed Mason Cup will be presented to the CCHA playoff champions, who will receive an automatic qualification to the 16-team NCAA Tournament.
More Information: CCHA.com
ECAC Hockey
Format: All 12 ECAC hockey programs will compete in the 2024 Men’s Hockey Championship. The 5-8 seeds will host 9-through-12 in a a one-game matchup the weekend of March 8-9.
The advancing teams will be re-seeded and travel to the 1-4 seeds for quarterfinal best-of three-series the weekend of March 15-17.
The semifinals will take place on March 22 followed by the championship game on March 23 at the historic Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, N.Y.
More Information: ecachockey.com
Hockey East
Format: The Hockey East Men’s Tournament remains an all-in format in 2024. Seeds six, seven, and eight will host seeds 11, 10, and nine, respectively, in the opening round set for Wednesday, March 13. After a reseeding, the top three seeds will host the winners of the opening round while the four seed will host the five seed in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 16.
The Hockey East Men’s Championship Semifinals and Final will return to the TD Garden in Boston on March 22-23, 2024.
More Information: HockeyEastOnline.com
National Collegiate Hockey Conference
Format: The 2024 NCHC Tournament will once again consist of four best-of-three quarterfinal series, held on campus sites, on the first weekend after regular-season play (March 15-17, 2024), followed by the Frozen Faceoff on March 22-23, 2024 at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn.
The top four seeds host the bottom four seeds in the best-of-3 series, with the four quarterfinal series winners advancing to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff for the two semifinal games on Friday, March 22. The championship game is then set for Saturday night, March 23.
More Information: NCHChockey.com
