For New England college hockey fans, this is a special NCAA Tournament.
Of the 16 teams that will begin play this week, eight hail from the six-state region, including four Massachusetts schools.
Six Hockey East schools advanced. Representing the league will be Boston College, Boston University, Maine, Providence, UConn and UMass. Add in Bentley and Quinnipiac and half the field resides in New England.
The field has a little bit of everything for local fans.
Powerhouses? Boston College, despite falling to Northeastern in the Hockey East quarterfinals, is the No. 1 overall seed. Joining the Eagles in the tournament is crosstown rival Boston University. Both schools have captured five national championships. Denver leads with 10.
Cinderella stories? Bentley University, under the direction of coach Andy Jones, qualified for their first national tournament by rallying to defeat Holy Cross to capture the Atlantic Hockey crown and the automatic bid.
This will be Bentley’s first appearance in the big dance. Also making its tournament debut is UConn, which advanced all the way to the Hockey East championship game before falling to Maine at the TD Garden.
Grabbing the top seeds in the four regionals were BC, Western Michigan, Maine and Michigan State.
The four regional champions will advance to the Frozen Four, which will be held in St. Louis on April 10 and 12.
Here’s a look at each regional.
Heading to the SNHU Center in Manchester, N.H., are BC, Bentley, Providence and Denver.
Play will begin Friday. At 2 p.m., BC (26-7-2) will battle Bentley (23-14-2). ESPNU will carry the game. The Eagles will try to shake off the rust after being stunned by Northeastern. Providence (21-10-5) and Denver (29-11-1) will clash at 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+).
Scheels Arena in Fargo, N.D., will host Western Michigan, Minnesota State, Minnesota and UMass.
Western Michigan (30-7-1) and Minnesota State (27-8-3) will meet Thursday at 5 p.m. (ESPNU), with Minnesota (25-10-4) vs. UMass (20-13-5) to follow at 8:30 p.m (ESPN2).
The PPL Center in Allentown, Pa., will feature Maine, Penn State, UConn and Quinnipiac.
Two intriguing matchups. In an all-Connecticut clash, UConn (22-11-4) will battle Quinnipiac (24-11-2) at 5 p.m. (ESPNU), while Maine (24-7-6) will face Penn State (20-13-4) on ESPN2 at 8:30 p.m.
Michigan State, Cornell, Boston University and Ohio State will try to advance at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.
At 2 p.m., BU (21-13-2) will encounter Ohio State (24-13-2) on ESPNU, while Michigan State (26-6-4) vs. Cornell (18-10-6) will follow at 5:30 p.m. (ESPN+).