The field is set for the 2019 NCAA Div. I men’s hockey tournament and plenty of BCHL grads will be participating.
In total there are 69 former BCHL players competing for a spot in the Frozen Four. Of the 16 teams competing, 15 have at least one BCHL grad in the lineup and eight schools boast five or more, the most being Quinnipiac with 12.
The Penticton Vees lead the way with nine alums as 16 of the 17 BCHL teams have at least one grad vying for a national championship. There are also eight former BCHL players who are NHL draft picks.
Click here for a complete tournament bracket. The 2019 Frozen Four will take place from Apr. 11 to 13 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y.
Here is a list of the opening-round matchups and the BCHL alums on each team with their former BCHL team in brackets and NHL team affiliate in Italics (when applicable).
No. 1 St. Cloud State Huskies vs. American International Yellow Jackets – Friday, Mar. 29, 4:30 p.m. PST, Fargo, N.D.
Huskies: Jeff Smith (Powell River Kings), Patrick Newell (Penticton Vees), Easton Brodzinski (Penticton Vees)
Yellow Jackets: Kyle Stephan (Wenatchee Wild), Blake Christensen (Wenatchee Wild), Darius Davidson (Surrey Eagles), Elijah Barriga (Salmon Arm Silverbacks), Shawn McBride (Victoria Grizzlies)
Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Denver Pioneers – Friday, Mar. 29, 1 p.m. PST, Fargo, N.D.
Buckeyes: Ryan O’Connell (Penticton Vees/Toronto Maple Leafs)
Pioneers: Devin Cooley (Wenatchee Wild), Griffin Mendel (Penticton Vees), Brett Stapley (Vernon Vipers/Montreal Canadiens), Tyler Ward (Merritt Centennials), Kohen Olischefski (Chilliwack Chiefs), Liam Finlay (Vernon Vipers), Jarid Lukosevicius (Powell River Kings), Slava Demin (Wenatchee Wild/Vegas Golden Knights), Ryan Barrow (Langley Rivermen), Michael Corson (Cowichan Valley Capitals)
No. 4 Massachusetts Minutemen vs. Harvard Crimson – Friday, Mar. 29, 12 p.m. PST, Manchester, N.H.
Minutemen: Kurt Keats (Powell River Kings), Jacob Pritchard (Powell River Kings)
Crimson: Colton Kerfoot (Coquitlam Express), R.J. Murphy (West Kelowna Warriors), Benjamin Solin (Nanaimo Clippers), Justin Szeto (Langley Rivermen), Viktor Dombrovskiy (Prince George Spruce Kings), Lewis Zerter-Gossage (Penticton Vees)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Clarkson Golden Knights – Friday, Mar. 29, 3:30 p.m. PST, Manchester, N.H.
Fighting Irish: Nick Leivermann (Penticton Vees/Colorado Avalanche)
Golden Knights: Connor McCarthy (Chilliwack Chiefs), Chris Klack (Penticton Vees), Jamie Collins (Nanaimo Clippers), Jordan Schneider (Langley Rivermen), Devin Brosseau (Nanaimo Clippers)
No. 3 Minnesota State Mavericks vs. Providence Friars – Saturday, Mar. 30, 10 a.m. PST, East Providence, R.I.
Mavericks: Zak Galambos (Wenatchee Wild), Edwin Hookenson (Nanaimo Clippers), Jacob Berger (Merritt Centennials)
Friars: Vincent Desharnais (Chilliwack Chiefs/Edmonton Oilers), Brandon Duhaime (Merritt Centennials/Minnesota Wild), Scott Conway (Penticton Vees), Kyle Koopman (West Kelowna Warriors), Vimal Sukumaran (Chilliwack Chiefs)
Cornell Big Red vs. Northeastern Huskies – Saturday, Mar. 30, 1:30 p.m. PST, East Providence, R.I.
Big Red: Joe Leahy (Salmon Arm Silverbacks), Cam Donaldson (Powell River Kings), Yanni Kaldis (Nanaimo Clippers), Kyle Betts (Powell River Kings), Matt Cairns (Powell River Kings/Edmonton Oilers), Michael Regush (Merritt Centennials), Tristan Mullin (Powell River Kings), Matthew Galajda (Victoria Grizzlies)
Huskies: None
No. 2 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs vs. Bowling Green Falcons – Saturday, Mar. 30, 1 p.m. PST, Allentown, Pa.
Bulldogs: Jarod Hilderman (Penticton Vees)
Falcons: Trevor St-Jean (Langley Rivermen)
Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Quinnipiac Bobcats – Saturday, Mar. 30, 4:30 p.m. PST, Allentown, Pa.
Sun Devils: Gage Mackie (Surrey Eagles), Jordan Sandhu (Vernon Vipers), Jake Clifford (Merritt Centennials), P.J. Marrocco (Chilliwack Chiefs), Brett Gruber (Victoria Grizzlies), Evan DeBrouwer (Prince George Spruce Kings)
Bobcats: Michael Lombardi (West Kelowna Warriors), Ethan de Jong (Prince George Spruce Kings), Chase Priskie (Salmon Arm Silverbacks/Washington Capitals), Luke Shiplo (Vernon Vipers), Nick Jermain (Merritt Centennials), T.J. Friedmann (Victoria Grizzlies), Craig Martin (Trail Smoke Eaters), Scott Davidson (Chilliwack Chiefs), Zach Metsa (Merritt Centennials), Desi Burgart (Surrey Eagles), Odeen Tufto (Vernon Vipers), Andrew Shortridge (Vernon Vipers)