It was held between March 18 and 24, 1979, and concluded with Minnesota defeating North Dakota 4–3.
The NCAA gave four teams automatic bids into the tournament.
The NCAA also had the ability to add up to 4 additional teams as it saw fit and chose to include the CCHA tournament champion as well.
The ECAC champion was seeded as the top eastern team while the WCHA co-champion that finished highest in the regular season was given the top western seed.
All matches were Single-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game and the losers playing in a consolation game.