Men’s hockey will become an official Big Ten sport in the 2013-14 academic year, so with that in mind, the Big Ten Conference office announced Thursday that its tournaments will be held at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn., in 2014 and 2016, and at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Mich., in 2015 and 2017.

Playing in its first NCAA Frozen Four game since 2005, the Minnesota men’s hockey team was eliminated from the tournament with a 6-1 loss to No. 1 overall seed Boston College at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. The Eagles have handed the Gophers their last two NCAA Tournament losses. The Eagles (32-10-1) will carry an 18-game winning streak into Saturday night’s Frozen Four final against Ferris State, which beat Union College 3-1 in the first semifinal. Boston College is seeking its fifth national title. Minnesota (28-14-1) made its first Frozen Four appearance since 2005. Full bracket at NCAA.com. And read more at GopherSports.com.

Minnesota is in the Frozen Four for the first time since 2005. The Gophers, which beat North Dakota in the West Regional finals, take on No. 1 seed Boston College at 8 p.m. ET Thursday at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Beat Boston College, and Minnesota would play the Ferris State-Union winner at 7 p.m. ET Saturday. See GopherSports.com’s Frozen Four Preview and Frozen Four Central page, plus watch all of GopherAthletics YouTube videos.

Minnesota defeated North Dakota, 5-2, Sunday in the NCAA West Regional final to advance to the 2012 Frozen Four. The Gophers, who last made the Frozen Four in 2005, will play No. 1 seed Boston College in the national semifinals April 5 in Tampa. Ben Marshall, Erik Haula, Taylor Matson, Travis Boyd and Nate Condon all scored for the Gophers. Read the recap at GopherSports.com.

Minnesota moved on to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 7-3 victory over Boston University on Saturday at the Xcel Energy Center. The Gophers never trailed in the see-saw affair to capture their first tournament win in five calendar years. Minnesota will play North Dakota at 5:30 p.m. ET Sunday. Read the full recap at GopherSports.com and view the interactive NCAA bracket.

Minnesota, Michigan and Michigan State are three of the 16 men’s hockey teams in the NCAA Tournament that leads to the Frozen Four. Michigan (9), Minnesota (5), and Michigan State (3) have combined for 17 NCAA championships. There’s more info at NCAA.com’s hockey section, including a great interactive bracket with game times and TV info.