2009 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
2009 NCAA Men's Division I
Ice Hockey Tournament

2009 Frozen Four logo
Teams	16
Finals site	Verizon Center Washington, D.C.
Champions	Boston University Terriers (5th title)
Runner-up	Miami RedHawks (1st title game)
Semifinalists	Bemidji State Beavers (1st Frozen Four) Vermont Catamounts (2nd Frozen Four)
Winning coach	Jack Parker (3rd title)
MOP	Colby Cohen (Boston University)
Attendance	135,631
← 2008  NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournaments 2010 →

The 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Tournament was a big ice hockey competition. Sixteen college teams played in a special knockout style to find the best team in the country. This exciting tournament started on March 27, 2009. It ended with the championship game on April 11.

The Boston University Terriers won the championship. Their coach was Jack Parker. They beat the Miami University team 4–3 in an exciting overtime game. This was Boston University's fifth national title. It was their first win since 1995.

The championship game went into overtime for the thirteenth time in NCAA history. The last time this happened was in 2002. Colby Cohen, a sophomore defenseman for Boston University, scored the winning goal in overtime. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Frozen Four.

How the Tournament Worked

The 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Ice Hockey Championship was a single-elimination tournament. This means if a team lost, they were out! Sixteen teams from six different college hockey groups (conferences) took part. A special committee chose and ranked all 16 teams. They put them into four groups of four teams.

The teams that won their conference championships automatically got a spot in the NCAA Championship. The committee tried to make sure the games were fair. They also wanted to make sure lots of fans would come to watch. If a city was hosting a regional game, their local team would play there. The top four teams in the tournament were given special rankings. They were placed so that the best teams would meet in the final rounds.

The four regional tournaments were named after their locations. Here's where they were held:

• East Regional: Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Games were on March 27 and 28.
• West Regional: Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Games were on March 27 and 28.
• Midwest Regional: Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Games were on March 28 and 29.
• Northeast Regional: Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. Games were on March 28 and 29.

The winner from each regional tournament moved on to the "Frozen Four." The Frozen Four is the final part of the tournament.

• Frozen Four: Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.. Games were on April 9 and 11.

Teams That Played

The teams chosen for the tournament were announced on March 22, 2009. Two conferences, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and Hockey East, each had four teams in the tournament. ECAC Hockey and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) each had three teams. Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America (CHA) each had one team.

Regional Games

The number in parentheses shows the team's overall ranking in the tournament. An asterisk (*) means the game went into overtime.

East Regional – Bridgeport, Connecticut

In the East Regional, Air Force surprised everyone by beating the top-ranked Michigan team. Vermont also won their game against Yale. In the regional final, Vermont beat Air Force in a double-overtime thriller to move on to the Frozen Four.

Northeast Regional – Manchester, New Hampshire

In the Northeast Regional, Boston University showed their strength by scoring 8 goals against Ohio State. New Hampshire won a close overtime game against North Dakota. Boston University then beat New Hampshire in the regional final to earn their spot in the Frozen Four.

West Regional – Minneapolis, Minnesota

In the West Regional, Miami defeated the higher-ranked Denver team. Minnesota-Duluth won their game against Princeton in overtime. Miami then continued their winning streak, beating Minnesota-Duluth in the regional final to advance to the Frozen Four.

Midwest Regional – Grand Rapids, Michigan

In the Midwest Regional, Bemidji State pulled off a big upset, beating the second-ranked Notre Dame team. Cornell also won their game against Northeastern. Bemidji State then continued their amazing run, beating Cornell in the regional final to make it to the Frozen Four.

Frozen Four – Verizon Center, Washington, DC

National Semifinals

On April 9, the four regional winners met in Washington, D.C. for the Frozen Four.

• Boston University 5, Vermont 4: This was a very close game! Boston University managed to win by just one goal.
• Miami 4, Bemidji State 1: Miami played a strong game and defeated the surprising Bemidji State team.

National Championship Game

The final game was played on April 11, 2009, between Boston University and Miami. It was an incredibly exciting match!

Miami was leading 3-1 with less than a minute left in the game! But Boston University made an incredible comeback. They scored two goals in the last minute to tie the game 3-3. This sent the game into overtime. In overtime, Colby Cohen scored the winning goal for Boston University. This gave them the national championship!

Tournament Results by Conference

This table shows how well teams from each college hockey conference did in the tournament.

Tournament Awards

After the tournament, special teams were chosen to honor the best players.

Frozen Four All-Tournament Team

• Goaltender: Kieran Millan (Boston University)
• Defensemen: Colby Cohen* (Boston University), Kevin Roeder (Miami)
• Forwards: Nick Bonino (Boston University), Colin Wilson (Boston University), Tommy Wingels (Miami)
• Most Outstanding Player: Colby Cohen (Boston University)