Six conference championships, three overtimes, one NCAA bid thief. The men's college hockey season hit high gear Saturday night, with conference championships settled and tickets punched to the NCAA tournament, which concludes with the Frozen Four (April 7 and 9 at TD Garden in Boston).
But first, the field must be finalized and the bracket filled. That will happen during the NCAA selection show Sunday at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Regional play begins March 24.
The six conference champions and 10 at-large teams will make up the 16-team field. The at-large teams and seedings are determined largely by the PairWise rankings. So even though the field has yet to be announced, it's pretty clear who's in.
The winners of the six conference tournament finals held Saturday night, listed with their PairWise ranking, secured automatic bids:
Michigan, Big Ten (1)
Minnesota State, CCHA (2)
Minnesota Duluth, NCHC (5)
UMass, Hockey East (11)
Harvard, ECAC (18)
American International, Atlantic (20)
Harvard, which defeated Quinnipiac 3-2 in overtime, ended up being the only team to steal an NCAA at-large bid. With the Bobcats safely in the field even with a loss, Harvard's win meant one fewer at-large bid was available and essentially knocked Ohio State out.
Here are the top 10 at-large teams, with their PairWise rankings in parentheses:
Western Michigan (3)
Denver (4)
Minnesota (6)
North Dakota (7)
Quinnipiac (8)
Notre Dame (9)
St. Cloud State (10)
Michigan Tech (12)
UMass-Lowell (13)
Northeastern (14)
Matchups and regional placements will be announced Sunday night.
Conference tournament results
Atlantic
The top six seeds of the 10-team league get first-round byes. Seeds 7-10 play best-of-three first-round series. After a reseed, the top four seeds host best-of-three quarterfinal series. Winners move on to the semifinals.
First round, March 4-6: No. 9 Bentley swept No. 8 Niagara, 2-0; No. 7 Mercyhurst swept No. 10 Holy Cross, 2-0
Quarterfinals, March 11-13: No. 1 AIC swept No. 9 Bentley, 2-0; No. 7 Mercyhurst swept No. 2 Canisius, 2-0; No. 6 Air Force swept No. 3 Army, 2-0; No. 4 RIT won series with No. 5 Sacred Heart, 2-1
Semifinals, March 18: AIC 5 beat Mercyhurst, 5-4; Air Force beat RIT, 4-3
Final, March 19: AIC beat Air Force, 7-0
Big Ten
Regular-season champ Minnesota gets a bye into the semifinals. Seeds 2-7 play best-of-three quarterfinal series before the single-game semis and final, all on campus sites.
Quarterfinals, March 4-6: No. 2 Michigan swept No. 7 Michigan State, 2-0; No. 3 Notre Dame won series vs. No. 6 Wisconsin, 2-1; No. 5 Penn State won series at No. 4 Ohio State, 2-1
Semifinals, March 12: Minnesota beat Penn State, 3-2; Michigan beat Notre Dame, 2-1
Final, March 19: Michigan beat Minnesota, 4-3
CCHA
Best-of-three quarterfinals at the top four seeds, followed by single-game semifinals and final, all on campus sites
Quarterfinals, March 4-6: No. 1 Minnesota State swept No. 8 St. Thomas, 2-0; No. 2 Michigan Tech swept No. 7 Ferris State, 2-0; No. 3 Bemidji State won series vs. No. 6 Bowling Green, 2-1; No. 5 Northern Michigan won series at No. 4 Lake Superior State, 2-1
Semifinals, March 12: Minnesota State beat Northern Michigan, 8-1; Bemidji State beat Michigan Tech, 5-2
Final, March 19: Minnesota State beat Bemidji State, 2-1 OT
ECAC
Top four seeds receive first-round byes, with seeds 5-12 playing best-of-three series. After a reseed, the top four seeds host best-of-three quarterfinal series. Winners move on to single-game semifinals and final.
First round, March 4-6: No. 5 Colgate swept No. 12 Yale, 2-0; No. 6 Rensselaer won series vs. No. 11 Dartmouth, 2-1; No. 7 Union swept No. 10 Princeton, 2-0; No. 8 St. Lawrence won series vs. No. 9 Brown, 2-1
Quarterfinals, March 11-13: No. 5 Colgate won series at No. 4 Cornell, 2-1; No. 1 Quinnipiac swept No. 8 St. Lawrence, 2-0; No. 2 Clarkson swept No. 7 Union, 2-0; No. 3 Harvard won series with No. 6 Rensselaer, 2-1
Semifinals, March 18: Quinnipiac beat Colgate, 3-1; Harvard beat Clarkson, 5-3
Final, March 19: Harvard beat Quinnipiac, 3-2 OT
Hockey East
Single elimination throughout. Seeds 6-11 play in the first round, then the eight remaining teams are reseeded for the quarterfinals. Winners move on to the semifinals and final.
First round, March 9: No. 6 Merrimack beat No. 11 Maine, 6-2; No. 7 Providence beat No. 10 Vermont, 2-1; No. 8 Boston College beat No. 9 New Hampshire, 4-3 (OT)
Quarterfinals, March 12: No. 4 UConn beat No. 5 Boston University, 3-1; No. 1 Northeastern beat No. 8 Boston College, 3-2; No. 2 UMass beat No. 7 Providence, 4-2; No. 3 UMass Lowell beat No. 6 Merrimack, 7-2
Semifinals, March 18: UConn beat Northeastern, 4-1; UMass beat UMass Lowell, 3-1
Final, March 19: UMass beat UConn, 2-1 OT
NCHC
Top four seeds host best-of-three quarterfinal series, then winners move on to the single-game semifinals and final.
Quarterfinals, March 11-13: No. 1 Denver swept No. 8 Miami (Ohio), 2-0; No. 2 North Dakota swept No. 7 Colorado College, 2-0; No. 3 Western Michigan swept No. 6 Omaha, 2-0; No. 5 Minnesota Duluth swept No. 4 St. Cloud State, 2-0
Semifinals, March 18: Minnesota Duluth beat Denver, 2-0; Western Michigan beat North Dakota, 4-2
Final, March 19: Minnesota Duluth beat Western Michigan, 3-0