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

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2009 NCAA Men's Division I
Ice Hockey Tournament
2009frozenfour.jpg
2009 Frozen Four logo
Teams 16
Finals site
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 blue dots show where the regional games were played. The red dot shows where the Frozen Four was held in Washington, D.C.

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:

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

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.

East Regional – Bridgeport Northeast Regional – Manchester
Seed School Conference Record Berth type Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Michigan (4) CCHA 29–11–0 At-large bid 1 Boston University (1) Hockey East 31–6–4 Tournament champion
2 Yale ECAC Hockey 24–7–2 Tournament champion 2 North Dakota WCHA 24–14–4 At-large bid
3 Vermont Hockey East 20–11–5 At-large bid 3 New Hampshire Hockey East 19–12–5 At-large bid
4 Air Force Atlantic Hockey 27–10–2 Tournament champion 4 Ohio State CCHA 23–14–4 At-large bid
West Regional – Minneapolis Midwest Regional – Grand Rapids
Seed School Conference Record Berth type Seed School Conference Record Berth type
1 Denver (3) WCHA 23–11–5 At-large bid 1 Notre Dame (2) CCHA 31–5–3 Tournament champion
2 Minnesota-Duluth WCHA 21–12–8 Tournament champion 2 Northeastern Hockey East 25–11–4 At-large bid
3 Princeton ECAC Hockey 22–11–1 At-large bid 3 Cornell ECAC Hockey 21–9–4 At-large bid
4 Miami CCHA 20–12–5 At-large bid 4 Bemidji State CHA 18–15–1 Tournament champion

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

Regional semifinals
March 27
Regional final
March 28
           
1 Michigan (4) 0
4 Air Force 2
4 Air Force 2
3 Vermont 3*
3 Vermont 4
2 Yale 1

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

Regional semifinals
March 28
Regional final
March 29
           
1 Boston University (1) 8
4 Ohio State 3
1 Boston University (1) 2
3 New Hampshire 1
3 New Hampshire 6
2 North Dakota 5

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

Regional semifinals
March 27
Regional final
March 28
           
1 Denver (3) 2
4 Miami 4
4 Miami 2
2 Minnesota-Duluth 1
3 Princeton 4
2 Minnesota-Duluth 5

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

Regional semifinals
March 28
Regional final
March 29
           
1 Notre Dame (2) 1
4 Bemidji State 5
4 Bemidji State 4
3 Cornell 1
3 Cornell 3
2 Northeastern 2

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
April 9
National championship
April 11
           
NE1 Boston University (1) 5
E3 Vermont 4
NE1 Boston University (1) 4
W4 Miami 3
W4 Miami 4
MW4 Bemidji State 1

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!

April 11, 2009 Boston University 4 – 3 (OT)
(1–0, 0–1, 2–2, 1–0)
Miami Verizon Center, Washington, D. C.
Attendance: 18,512
Scoring Summary
Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score
1st BU Chris Connolly (10) Warsofsky and Gryba 15:15 1–0 BU
2nd MIA Gary Steffes (11) Miele and Palmer 22:01 1–1
3rd MIA Tommy Wingels (11) Camper 52:31 2–1 MIA
MIA Trent Vogelhuber (2) Kaufman 55:52 3–1 MIA
BU Zach Cohen (13) – EA Bonino and Yip 59:00 3–2 MIA
BU Nick Bonino (18) – EA Gilroy and Higgins 59:42 3–3
Overtime BU Colby Cohen (8) – GW Shattenkirk and Connolly 71:47 4–3 BU
Penalty Summary
Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM
1st BU Eric Gryba Tripping 2:23 2:00
BU Vinny Saponari Cross–Checking 5:19 2:00
MIA Chris Wideman Holding 12:01 2:00
BU John McCarthy Roughing 12:01 2:00
BU Eric Gryba Cross–Checking 15:46 2:00
MIA Tommy Wingels Hooking 19:48 2:00
2nd BU Brandon Yip Holding 23:13 2:00
MIA Justin Mercier Tripping 26:09 2:00
BU Colby Cohen Cross–Checking 37:17 2:00
3rd BU Colby Cohen Slashing 45:51 2:00
BU Jason Lawrence Slashing 53:38 2:00

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.

Conference Number of Teams Record (Wins–Losses) Win Percentage Teams in Regional Finals Teams in Frozen Four Teams in Championship Game Champions
Hockey East 4 7–3 .700 3 2 1 1
CCHA 4 3–4 .429 1 1 1
ECAC Hockey 3 1–3 .250 1
WCHA 3 1–3 .250 1
Atlantic Hockey 1 1–1 .500 1
CHA 1 2–1 .667 1 1

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)
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