Day One of 2026 NCAA Regionals Done

The first day of the 2026 NCAA Division I men's hockey championship is the books. Results from Thursday are as follows:

Sioux Falls, S.D. Regional 

• North Dakota 3, Merrimack 0 
• Quinnipiac 5, Providence 2

Worcester, Mass. Regional 

• Michigan State 2, Connecticut 1
• Wisconsin 5, Dartmouth 1

Michigan State will take on Wisconsin in the Worcester regional final on Saturday (4:30 p.m. ESPN 2), while North Dakota will face Quinnipiac in the Sioux Falls regional final later that same day (7:30 p.m., ESPN2).

The Albany, N.Y. and Loveland, Co. regionals get underway on Friday.

Minnesota Hires New Head Coaches

The University of Minnesota has found its new hockey head coaches. 

On the men's side, the Golden Gophers have hired Brett Larson, a Minnesota-Duluth alumnus who had helmed St. Cloud State since 2018-19. In eight seasons, he went 153-116-23 overall and led the Huskies to two NCHC titles and four NCAA tournament berths, including a national-runner-up finish in 2021. He began his coaching career as a player-coach with San Diego (WCHL) in 1999-2000, and later served as an assistant coach at his alma mater and as associate head coach at Ohio State before returning to UMD for three years prior to taking the reins at SCSU. Larson, 53, who hails from Duluth, and who has also worked as GM/head coach with Sioux City (USHL), is the 15th men's head coach ever at Minnesota, which finished 11-22-3 overall this past season.

Greg May has been tabbed as the third-ever head coach of the Golden Gophers women's program. An Augsburg College alumnus, May served as associate head coach at Minnesota the past three seasons, with the Gophers finishing 18-9-1 and skating in the NCAA tournament this past season. Prior to that, the Burnsville, Minn. native had served as men's head coach at his alma mater, going 41-15-2 overall in two seasons and making two NCAA Division III tournaments with the Auggies after a stint as director of hockey operations with the Gophers. May, 40, began his career as an assistant coach at Burnsville High School, before serving as head coach at both Farmington High School and the Blake School.

2026 Richter Award Finalists Named

The three finalists for the 2026 Mike Richter Award as the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's hockey were named last week. Player are listed by last name with their class, school, record, goals-against average and save percentage this season:

• Trey Augustine, Jr., Michigan State (23-8-1, 2.08, .929) 
• Michael Hrabal, Jr., UMass (19-9-1, 1.95, .937)
• Josh Kotai, Jr., Augustana (20-11-4,  1.99, .938)

Augustine is the only repeat Richter finalist this year. He and Hrabal have led their teams to this year's NCAA tournament, while Kotai just signed an entry-level professional contract with the NHL's New York Islanders. 

The winner of this year's Richter Award will be announced during the Frozen Four in Las Vegas next month.

Wisconsin Wins 2026 NCAA Women's Title

Claire Enright scored the tiebreaking goal with just over six minutes remaining in regulation, and the University of Wisconsin won its second straight NCAA Division I women's hockey national title with a 3-2 victory over archrival Ohio State University on Sunday in State College, Pa. It was the fourth straight meeting in the national title game between Wisconsin and OSU, with the Badgers now having won three of those.

Kelly Gorbatenko and Laney Potter staked Wisconsin to a 2-0 lead before the game was eight minutes old, with Adéla Šapovalivová assisting on both goals for the Badgers. The score remained unchanged until Kassidy Carmichael and Joceyln Amos tallied just over two minutes apart early in the third period for the Buckeyes, setting the stage for Enright's heroics with the final goal of her college career.

Ava McNaughton stopped 34 shots for the Badgers (35-4-2 overall), whose top-ranked power play went scoreless in six opportunities. Hailey MacLeod made 31 saves for the Buckeyes (36-5-0), who won 43 of 71 faceoffs overall but saw their 10-game winning streak dating back to Feb. 13 snapped.

It is the ninth national title overall for Wisconsin, all since 2006 with head coach and Badger alumnus Mark Johnson at the helm, and the most among NCAA schools all-time since the NCAA women's Division I tournament began in 2001. OSU, which won this year's WCHA title game over Wisconsin, was seeking its second national crown in three years, and third overall.

Also for Wisconsin, senior blueliner Caroline Harvey took home the Patty Kazmaier Award earlier in the week as the top NCAA Division I women's hockey player this season. The New Hampshire native, who helped the U.S. to a gold medal at last month's 2026 Olympic Winter Games, finished her final collegiate campaign with 18 goals and 46 assists for 64 points in just 33 games. She is the seventh Badger to win the Kazmaier Award, the most of any school, since its inception in 1998.

2026 NCAA Men's D-1 Hockey Field Set

The field for the 2026 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey championship is set. The matchups, times and TV outlets, per collegehockeynews.com:

Albany Regional (Friday, March 27)

1. Michigan vs. 4. Bentley, 5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN-U

2. Minnesota Duluth vs. 3. Penn State, 9 p.m. ET ESPN2

Loveland Regional (Friday, March 27)

1. Western Michigan vs. 4. Minnesota State, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN-U

2. Denver vs. 3. Cornell, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Sioux Falls Regional (Thursday, March 26)

1. North Dakota vs. 4. Merrimack, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

2. Providence vs. 3. Quinnipiac, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN+

Worcester Regional (Thursday, March 26)

1. Michigan State vs. 4. Connecticut, 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2

2. Dartmouth vs. 3. Wisconsin, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN-U

The top four overall seeds in order are Michigan, North Dakota, Michigan State, and defending national champion Western Michigan. Michigan, Bentley, Minnesota State, Denver, Dartmouth and Merrimack all advanced to this year's NCAAs by winning their respective conference championships, while the other 10 schools earned at-large berths.

The four regional winners will advance to the 2026 Frozen Four in Las Vegas on April 9 (5/8:30 p.m., ESPN 2), with the Albany champion playing the Loveland champion, and the Sioux Falls winner facing the Worcester winner. The national championship game will be contested two days later (5:30 p.m., ESPN).

2026 Conference Tournaments Continue

Friday's games moved NCAA Division I men's hockey closer to filling out its 2026 NCAA tournament field, with three conference semifinal rounds and one conference final taking place, while the national title tilt for women's hockey is all set.

In Hockey East, UConn defeated Boston College in overtime, 4-3, while Merrimack edged UMass, 2-0. In ECAC Hockey, Princeton outlasted two-time champion Cornell, 3-2, while Dartmouth blanked Clarkson, 4-0. In the CCHA, Minnesota State topped St. Thomas, 2-1, to win its fourth league playoff crown in five years.

Saturday will be championship night, as Merrimack will meet UConn to decide Hockey East, Princeton and Cornell will face off in ECAC Hockey, Sacred Heart will take on Bentley for the Atlantic Hockey America championship, Michigan will host Ohio State for Big Ten accolades, and Denver will skate against Minnesota-Duluth for NCHC honors. As with Minnesota State, the championship game winners will earn their respective conference's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Boston College, UMass, Clarkson, and St. Thomas have all been eliminated from NCAA consideration. 

On the NCAA Division I women's side, Wisconsin and Ohio State will meet on Sunday (4 p.m. ET, ESPNU) in State College, Pa. to decide the national champion in a rematch of the past three NCAA title games. Ohio State punched its ticket with a 5-0 shutout of Northeastern on Friday, while defending national champion Wisconsin upended host Penn State, 4-3, in OT.

ADDENDUM: Dartmouth Denver, Merrimack, Bentley, and Michigan all won their respective men's conference championships and earned automatic berths to the 2026 NCAA tournament. The NCAA selection show will be televised on Sunday (3 p.m., ET, ESPNU).

Top 10 Hobey Baker Award Finalists Named

The top 10 finalists for the 2026 Hobey Baker Memorial Award as the top player in NCAA Division I men's hockey have been announced (listed by last name with class, position, and 2025-26 stats to date): 

Trey Augustine, Jr., G, Michigan State (23-8-1, 2.09 GAA)

James Hagens, So., F, Boston College (23g-22a—45 pts.)

T.J. Hughes, Sr., F, Michigan (19-31—50)

Gavin McKenna, Fr. F, Penn State (15-36—51)

Max Plante, So., F, Minnesota Duluth (23-25—48)

Erik Pohlkamp, Jr., D, Denver (17-20—37)

Hayden Stavroff, So., F, Dartmouth (28-19—47)

Charlie Stramel, Sr., F, Michigan State (19-25—44)

Felix Trudeau, Sr., F, Sacred Heart (25-22—47)

Ethan Wyttenbach, Fr. F, Quinnipiac (24-34—58)

Wyttenbach leads the nation in points, while Stavroff is first in goals scored and McKenna is second in assists. Five of the finalist have already been drafted by National Hockey League teams, while McKenna is expected to go in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft. 

This year's Hobey Baker Award winner will be announced next month during the NCAA Frozen Four in Las Vegas.