(Photo Credit: Justin Lambert)
2009 NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament Bracket | Selection Show Photo Gallery | Video: Vermont Reacts to NCAA Tournament Berth

BURLINGTON, Vt. – The University of Vermont men’s hockey team has earned a No. 3 seed for the 2009 NCAA Tournament and will face second-seeded Yale (24-7-2) in the opening round of the East Regional at Bridgeport Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn., on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The NCAA bid is the fourth in the school history for the Catamounts, who last made the tournament in 1997.

Vermont (20-11-5) learned its opponent and destination during the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament Selection Show that aired on ESPN2 during a gathering with fans and the media at Tuckaway’s Pub at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington.

The other half of the East Regional bracket has top-seed Michigan (29-11-0) meeting fourth-seeded Air Force (27-10-2) on Friday at 3 p.m. The winners of the Vermont-Yale and Michigan-Air Force match-ups will meet in the East Regional championship game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The winner of the East Regional will advance to the 2009 Frozen Four at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The Frozen Four is set for April 9-11.

2008-09 marks the first time in school history that Vermont has had the men’s hockey team as well as the men’s and women’s basketball teams earn postseason tournament berths in the same season. The women’s basketball team is a 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and meets top-ranked and undefeated Connecticut in the opening round today. The men’s basketball team plays at Oregon State on Monday in the second round of the College Basketball Invitational.

Vermont, Notre Dame and Ohio State are the only three Division I schools in the country to have their men’s hockey team and men’s and women’s basketball teams qualify for postseason tournaments.

Vermont is 1-4 all-time in the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament. The Catamounts lone win is against Lake Superior State, 2-1, at Knickerbocker Arena (now known as the Times Union Center) in Albany, N.Y., in 1996 to earn a spot in the Frozen Four. Vermont went on to lose to Colorado College, 4-3, in double overtime in the Frozen Four at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Vermont’s first-ever NCAA Tournament berth came in 1988. The Catamounts dropped a pair of games at Bowling Green in the opening round to be eliminated. UVM also advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1997. That season the Catamounts lost to Denver, 6-3, in the opening round of the East Regional at the Worcester Centrum in Worcester, Mass.

Ticket information for the East Regional at Bridgeport Arena at Harbor Yard will follow in a separate release. Check back to www.UVMathletics.com for complete information.

VERMONT ALL-TIME NCAA TOURNAMENT RESULTS
March 18, 1988 at Bowling Green (NCAA First Round) – L, 5-1
March 19, 1988 at Bowling Green (NCAA First Round) – L, 5-1
March 23, 1996 vs. Lake Superior State (NCAA Quarterfinals) – W, 2-1
March 28, 1996 vs. Colorado College (Frozen Four) – L, 4-3 (2ot)
March 21, 1997 vs. Denver (NCAA First Round) – L 6-3