Washington, D.C., Detroit, St. Paul, Minn., and Tampa, Fla., have landed Frozen Fours for 2009-2012, respectively, and University of Maine men’s hockey coach Tim Whitehead likes the choices.

“It’s exciting. We’re certainly getting a great cross-section geographically,” said Whitehead. “They’re clearly trying to spread out into nontraditional [college hockey] areas. Hockey is expanding throughout the country and it’s obviously important to continue to gain exposure in other markets.”

The 2009 Frozen Four will be played at the MCI Center, the home of the NHL’s Washington Capitals. The 2010 Frozen Four will be the first one ever held at an indoor football stadium as it will be played at Ford Field, the home of the NFL’s Detroit Lions.

St. Paul’s Xcel Energy Center, which hosted the 2002 Frozen Four and is the only one of the four to have previously hosted one, is the home of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild. The St. Pete Times Forum, home of the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, will provide the Deep South with its first-ever Frozen Four in 2012.

Those four bids were accepted by the NCAA’s Ice Hockey Committee. The TD Banknorth Garden in Boston and the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia were the other two finalists from among 13 bids.

“Pro hockey has a foothold in all of those cities and it’s great to get college hockey in those areas,” said Whitehead.

He also said having a Frozen Four in a nontraditional area will be good for youth hockey in those spots as well.

Whitehead said the only venue that concerns him is Ford Field, which can hold anywhere from 65,000 for football to 80,000 for basketball.

“But I’m sure they’ve done their research and they’ve made sure ice won’t be a problem. If that’s the case, it’s pretty exciting to think you’ll have a Frozen Four at an arena with 65,000 seats. I’m sure I can warm up to that,” said Whitehead.

Next year’s Frozen Four will be held at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, the 2007 Frozen Four will be at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, and the 2008 event will be at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Next year’s regional tournament sites will be Albany, N.Y., Worcester, Mass., Green Bay, Wis., and Grand Forks, N.D. In 2007, the regionals will be held in Rochester, N.Y., Manchester, N.H., Grand Rapids, Mich., and Denver.