Earlier this week, the NCAA unveiled future locations for several sports. Among them is future locations for the NCAA Division I Men’s Hockey Championship.
Next year’s Frozen Four at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, was previously announced, but we now know where the 16-team field will travel to first for the regional tournament round. Frequent tournament host cities Worcester, Mass. and Bridgeport, Conn. return, while new sites in Allentown, PA. and Sioux Falls, S.D. enter the fold. Allentown, PA will host the Midwest Regional, which is strange because cities in the Midwest Regional are usually located in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, or Minnesota. The University of North Dakota has worked for three years with officials in Sioux Falls to introduce college hockey to South Dakota and their bid proved to be successful. The 2017 National Champions will host a Regional for the second of three straight years in Sioux Falls, playing host this year and 2019 in Fargo.
Detroit will host the Frozen Four at Little Caesars Arena in 2020. It will be the fourth different facility in Detroit to host the championship rounds, following Olympia Stadium (1977, 1979), Joe Louis Arena (1985, 1987 and 1990) and Ford Field (2010). The arena is still under construction and will be completed in time for the start of the NHL season.
In 2019, KeyBank Center in Buffalo will host the Froxen Four the second time. The first Buffalo played host was 2003, when Minnesota won its most recent championship. Following Detroit, the 2021 championship will head to Pittsburgh for the second time. PPG Paints Arena previously hosted the Frozen Four in 2013. Boston’s TD Garden will return as host for the fourth time in 2021, one more than Boston Garden in its entirety.
2018
East Regional (March 23-25): DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.
Northeast Regional (March 23-25): Webster Bank Arena, Bridgeport, Conn.
Midwest Regional (March 23-25): PPL Center, Allentown, Pa.
West Regional (March 23-25): Premier Center, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Frozen Four (April 5-7): Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, Minn. (previously announced)
2019
East Regional (March 29-31): Dunkin’ Donuts Arena, Providence, R.I.
Northeast Regional (March 29-31): SNHU Arena, Manchester, N.H.
Midwest Regional (March 29-31): PPL Center, Allentown, Pa.
West Regional (March 29-31): Scheels Center, Fargo, N.D.
Frozen Four (April 11-13): KeyBank Center, Buffalo, N.Y.
2020
Frozen Four (April 9-11): Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Mich.
2021
Frozen Four (April 8-10): PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pa.
2022
Frozen Four (April 7-9): TD Garden, Boston, Mass.
Source: USCHO
