NCAA Hockey Tournament 2012 Bracket: Union Earns Top Seed In East Region; Cornell No. 4 In Midwest

Less than 24 hours after collecting their first ever ECAC Men's Hockey Championship, the Union Dutchmen from Schenectady, NY, earned the No. 1 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Hockey Tournament on Sunday. The announcement was made during ESPNU's Selection Show, which reviled the Dutchmen (24-7-7) playing the Michigan St. Spartans (19-15-4) in a first-round contest (3 p.m. ET on ESPNU) in Bridgeport, Conn. The winner will advance to play either the Miami (OH) Redhawks or UMass Lowell in the regional final on Saturday.

Meanwhile, in the Midwest Region the Cornell Big Red, who finished their regular season 17-8-7 and No. 13 in the PairWise rankings, earned an at-large berth and a No. 4 seed. Cornell will play the No. 1 seed Michigan Wolverines on Friday (8 p.m. ET on ESPNU). The winner moves on to play either No. 2 seed Ferris State Bulldogs or No. 3 seed Denver Pioneers in the regional finals in Green Bay, WI.

Overall, the Boston College Eagles earned the No. 1-overall seed and will face No. 4 Air Force Falcons in their first-round match-up. The winner advance to Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs or the Maine Black Bears.

The last No. 1 seeded was earned by the North Dakota Fighting Sioux who will face the Western Michigan Broncos. The winner will face either Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Boston Terriers.

The champions of each regional will move on to the Frozen Four in Tampa, FL, where the semifinals will be played on April 5th. The finals are on April 7th.

Here's a complete look at the NCAA Tournament 2012 bracket. For the TV schedule, click here.