The NCAA gave four teams automatic bids into the tournament. The twoECAC teams that reached theECAC tournament final received bids as did the twoWCHAco-champions. The NCAA also had the ability to add up to 4 additional teams as it saw fit and chose to include theCCHAtournament champion as well.
The four automatic qualifiers were seeded according to pre-tournament finish. The ECAC champion was seeded as the top eastern team while the WCHA co-champion that finished highest in the regular season was given the top western seed. The second eastern seed was slotted to play the top western seed and vice versa. Because an at-large bid was offered to a western school they were placed in a first-round game with the second western seed to determine the final semifinalist. The first-round game was played at the home venue of the second seed while all succeeding games were played at theOlympia inDetroit, Michigan. All matches wereSingle-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game and the losers playing in a consolation game.
