Much like their basketball brethren, the NCAA Division I men's ice hockey committee is giving regionalization a try.

That was the clear message sent when the pairings for the 2002 NCAA Tournament were released Sunday night.

	Jed Ortmeyer and Michigan edged rival Michigan State for the CCHA title, giving the Wolverines an opener on home ice in Ann Arbor.

New Hampshire (29-6-3), ranked No. 1 in the nation, received the top seed in the East Regional and Denver (32-7-1) was installed as the No. 1 seed in the West. The other two schools that received first-round byes in the 12-team field were West No. 2 Minnesota (29-8-4) and East No. 2 Boston University (25-9-3).

Rounding out the East field in order are Maine, Cornell, Quinnipiac and Harvard, while the rest of the West has Michigan State, Michigan, St. Cloud State and Colorado College.

"It's a good bracket," committee chair Jack McDonald said. "We're pleased and I think in the midst of all that's gone on in the world, the regionalization for this year is going to ensure safety and hopefully two (regional) sellouts."

Based on U.S. College Hockey Online's PairWise rankings, Cornell was the final at-large team to make the field and Alaska-Fairbanks was the first team to miss the cut.

Tournament plays begins Friday in the West at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich., with No. 3 Michigan State (27-8-5) facing No. 6 Colorado College (26-12-3) at 4:30 p.m. ET. The winner will move on to face the WCHA runner-up Gophers on Saturday at 4 p.m. ET. The other first-round game in the West has No. 4 Michigan (26-10-5) "hosting" No. 5 St. Cloud State (29-10-2) at 8 p.m. ET. The winner faces the WCHA champion Pioneers on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET.

"Without question that's the biggest challenge right now, that Michigan has a game in their own building," McDonald said. "So there's probably a little bit of discomfort knowing that and it's probably something that certainly will be discussed by the coaches and administrators this spring."

Play in the East Regional opens Saturday at the Centrum Centre in Worcester, Mass., with No. 3 Maine (23-10-7) meeting No. 6 Harvard (15-14-4) at noon ET. The Crimson, making their first NCAA appearance since 1994, received the ECAC automatic bid by beating Cornell 4-3 in double overtime in the conference championship. The winner will move on to face the Terriers on Sunday at noon ET.

The second game in the East has No. 4 Cornell (24-7-2) taking on No. 5 Quinnipiac (20-12-5) at 3:30 p.m. ET. Quinnipiac, making its first NCAA appearance, beat Mercyhurst on Saturday to earn the MAAC automatic bid. The winner will play the Hockey East champion Wildcats on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

"The fans that go to Ann Arbor and Worcester are going to see the very best in their regions," McDonald said. "Being a native Easterner, the East Region in Worcester will bring back memories of the old ECACs at the Boston Garden.

"And it's very possible that for the first time in the history of the NCAA championships that all three sites will sell out -- both the regionals and the Frozen Four. We've had attendance records and sellouts at the Frozen Four but we've never sold out all three, which would be an incredible statement, particularly as we hopefully move to the 16-team bracket next year."

Missing from the field are the last two national champions -- Boston College and North Dakota -- both of which have met in the championship the past two years.

The two winners from each regional advance to the Frozen Four at the Xcel Energy Center on April 4 (ESPN2) in St. Paul, Minn., with the championship game set for April 6 at 7 p.m. ET (ESPN).

"What is nice is that your final game is going to be East vs. West," McDonald said, "which I think is very attractive for the fans, for the coaches, for television, for the sport."