ESPN to Cover Entire 2015 NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship
Regional Action March 27-29; John Buccigross and Barry Melrose Call Frozen Four April 9 and 11
ESPN’s long-standing commitment to the NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship resumes in 2015 with coverage of every game for the 11th consecutive year, the Frozen Four for the 21st year and the Championship game for the 36th year.
The 2015 NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship begins with eight regional semifinals and four regional finals from March 27-29 across ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3. The Northeast Regional in Manchester, N.H., will begin on Friday, March 27, with Yale vs. No. 3 seed Boston University (2 p.m. ET on ESPNU), followed by Minnesota vs. Minnesota Duluth (5:30 p.m. on ESPNU). The Northeast Regional Final is set for Saturday, March 28, at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. The West Regional also begins March 27, which will showcase St. Cloud State vs. Michigan Tech (4:30 p.m. on ESPN3), followed by Quinnipiac vs. No. 2 seed North Dakota (8 p.m. on ESPNU). The West regional final is March 28 at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
The East and Midwest will hold its two respective semifinals on Saturday, March 28, and its finals Sunday, March 29. In the East Regional Semifinals, Boston College will play Denver (3 p.m. on ESPN2), followed by Providence vs. No. 4 seed Miami (Ohio) (6:30 p.m. on ESPNU). The East Regional Final is set for March 29 at 5 p.m. ET on ESPNU. In the Midwest Region, Rochester Institute of Technology will play the No. 1 seed Minnesota State Mankato in the first semifinal (4 p.m. on ESPNU), followed by Harvard vs. Omaha (7:30 p.m. on ESPN3). The Midwest Regional Final will be played on March 29, at 7:30 p.m.
The Frozen Four will be held at the TD Garden in Boston with the two semifinals on Thursday, April 9, on ESPN2 (5:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.) and the Frozen Four National Championship game on Saturday, April 11, on ESPN (7:30 p.m.). Additionally, ESPN3 will offer ESPN3 Surround for all three games, which will feature alternate camera angles and natural sound. Every game of the 2015 Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship is available on WatchESPN.
The complete 2015 NCAA Men’s Division I Ice Hockey Championship bracket can be found here.
ESPN NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship Commentators
ESPN’s lead hockey play-by-play commentator John Buccigross teams up with lead hockey analyst Barry Melrose to call the action in the East Regional (Providence, R.I.) and, for the third consecutive year, the Frozen Four. Quint Kessenich will, once again, be the reporter with Buccigross and Melrose at both the East Regional and Frozen Four.
Buccigross called ESPN’s entire regular season Big Ten hockey schedule in 2014-15. The popular SportsCenter anchor has developed a passionate following on Twitter (@Buccigross) through consistent college hockey dialogue with fans (#cawlidgehawkey) and by showcasing hockeythroughout the country. This year, ESPN will incorporate the makeshift hockey rinks highlighted by Buccigross, often on ponds or built in backyards, into its coverage. Fans can still tweet their photos and tag them#FrozenFour for potential use on air.
Melrose, who has been with ESPN 18 of the last 19 years and has been an analyst for several Frozen Fours, played 11 seasons in the NHL before leading the Los Angeles Kings to the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals as head coach.
Other ESPN broadcast tandems: Dan Parkhurst and Billy Jaffe (Northeast Regional), Clay Matvick and Sean Ritchlin (West Regional) and Ben Holden and Blake Geoffrion (Midwest Regional). Both Jaffe and Ritchlin played at Michigan and Geoffrion played at Wisconsin, where he earned the Hobey Baker Award in 2010.
2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship Programming Schedule
NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Championship — Regional Coverage
Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Location Network Fri, March 27 2 p.m. Northeast Regional – Semifinal
Yale vs. No. 3 Boston University
Dan Parkhurst and Billy JaffeVerizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, N.H. ESPNU 4:30 p.m. West Regional – Semifinal
St. Cloud State vs. Michigan Tech
Clay Matvick and Sean RitchlinScheels Arena, Fargo, N.D. ESPN3 5:30 p.m. Northeast Regional – Semifinal
Minnesota vs. Minnesota Duluth
Dan Parkhurst and Billy JaffeVerizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, N.H. ESPNU 8 p.m. West Regional – Semifinal
Quinnipiac vs. No. 2 North Dakota
Clay Matvick and Sean RitchlinScheels Arena, Fargo, N.D. ESPNU Sat, March 28 3 p.m. East Regional – Semifinal
Boston College vs. Denver
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose and Quint KessenichProvidence Civic Center, Providence, R.I. ESPN2 4 p.m. Midwest Regional – Semifinal
Rochester Institute of Technology vs. No. 1 Minnesota State-Mankato
Ben Holden and Blake GeoffrionCompton Family Ice Arena, South Bend, Ind. ESPNU 5:30 p.m. Northeast Regional – Final
Dan Parkhurst and Billy JaffeVerizon Wireless Arena, Manchester, N.H. ESPN2 6:30 p.m. East Regional – Semifinal
Providence vs. No. 4 Miami (Ohio)
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose and Quint KessenichProvidence Civic Center, Providence, R.I. ESPNU 7:30 p.m. Midwest Regional – Semifinal
Harvard vs. Omaha
Ben Holden and Blake GeoffrionCompton Family Ice Arena, South Bend, Ind. ESPN3 9 p.m. West Regional – Final
Clay Matvick and Sean RitchlinScheels Arena, Fargo, N.D. ESPNU Sun, March 29 5 p.m. East Regional – Final
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose and Quint KessenichProvidence Civic Center, Providence, R.I. ESPNU 7:30 p.m. Midwest Regional – Final
Ben Holden and Blake GeoffrionCompton Family Ice Arena, South Bend, Ind. ESPNU NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Frozen Four Coverage
Date Time (ET) Game/Commentators Location Network Thurs, April 9 5 p.m. Frozen Four – Semifinal No. 1
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose & Quint KessenichTD Garden, Boston, Mass. ESPN2 and ESPN3 Thurs, April 9 8:30 p.m. Frozen Four – Semifinal No. 2
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose & Quint KessenichTD Garden, Boston, Mass. ESPN2 and ESPN3 Sat, April 11 7:30 p.m. Frozen Four – Championship Game
John Buccigross, Barry Melrose & Quint KessenichTD Garden, Boston, Mass. ESPN and ESPN3
We’re done here.