Half of Frozen Four Filled, Half to Go

Half of the 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Hockey Frozen Four bracket has been filled.

North Dakota punched its ticket to Tampa with a 5-2 victory over Michigan on Saturday in the Midwest Regional final in Cincinnati, while Boston College outlasted Minnesota-Duluth, 3-2, in the Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass. UND, which last won the national title in 2000, will be playing in its third straight Frozen Four, while 2012 NCAA champion BC will return to the national semifinals after a one-year hiatus.

Two other NCAA regionals will conclude today, after getting underway yesterday. Ferris State advanced to the West Regional final in St. Paul, Minn. with a 5-4 overtime victory over St. Cloud State, while Denver ousted Boston University by a 7-2 score. Ferris and Denver will meet today at 5 p.m. ET for the right to face North Dakota in Florida on April 7.

At the East Regional in Albany yesterday, top overall seed Quinnipiac blanked RIT, 4-0, while UMass-Lowell edged Yale, 3-2, in OT. Quinnipiac and UMass-Lowell will face-off tonight at 7:30 p.m., with the winner to play BC in Tampa in two weeks time.

ADDENDUM: Denver scored three unanswered third-period goals to break a tie with Ferris in a 6-3 victory, while Quinnipiac spotted UML a one-goal lead before going on to win, 4-1. Quinnipiac will now face BC at 5 p.m. ET at Amalie Arena on April 7, followed by Denver-North Dakota at 8:30 p.m. ET, with both games to be shown on ESPN2.