Interactive Tournament Bracket

WESTFIELD, Mass. -- After winning the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Hockey Tournament on Saturday, the Salem State Vikings received a bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament where they will play the Norwich Cadets in the opening round on March 12.

Salem State (16-9-2) capped off a season that saw them take home a share of the MASCAC regular season crown and a trip to the league title game to face off with the Plymouth State Panthers, the other regular season champion. The Vikings came out on top, 5-1, earning their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1995. Chris Mastropietro netted a hat trick for Salem State and was named Tournament MVP. 

Norwich (19-6-3) received one of four at-large bids and enters the NCAA Tournament fresh off an ECAC Championship loss to Babson, 2-1. This is the fifth straight season the Cadets will be making a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Last season, they made it to the semifinals but fell to Oswego State, 6-3.

A total of 11 teams compete in the tournament with seven coming from automatic qualifiers and four from at-large bids. 

The winner of the Salem State/Norwich match-up will move on to play the winner of SUNY Geneseo/Nichols on March 15. The four quarterfinal winners will advance to Lewiston, Maine, at the Androscoggin Bank Colisée for the semifinal and championship games, which will be conducted March 21-22. Bowdoin and the Maine Sports Commission will host the championship.