2026 Regionals Done, Frozen Four Set

The regional finals from the 2026 NCAA Division I men's hockey championship are finished. Results from Saturday and Sunday are as follows:

Worcester, Mass. Regional (March 28) 

Wisconsin 4, Michigan State 3 (OT)

Sioux Falls, S.D. Regional (March 28) 

North Dakota 5, Quinnipiac 0

Albany, N.Y. Regional (March 29)  

Michigan 4, Minnesota-Duluth 3

Loveland, Col. Regional (March 29)  

Denver 6, Western Michigan 2

The 2026 NCAA Frozen Four field is now set. Wisconsin will face off with North Dakota in the first national semifinal in Las Vegas on April 9 (5 p.m. ET, ESPN 2), while Michigan will take on Denver in the second semifinal (8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2). The winners will meet in the national championship game on April 11 (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN).

 

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.

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).

Day 3 of NCAA Regionals Finished

Two of the 2024 NCAA Division I men's hockey regionals are finished, and two national semifinal spots have been filled.

In Springfield, Mass. on Saturday, Denver rebounded from a one-goal deficit to edge Cornell, 2-1, at the MassMutual Center. Sam Harris' goal with four seconds left in the second period broke a 1-1 tie and stood up as the game-winner for DU (30-9-3 overall). The Pioneers, who avenged a regional loss to Cornell (22-7-6) from last year, are now headed to the NCAA Frozen Four for the second time in three seasons, and the fifth time in nine years. Matt Davis made 24 saves in net for DU, while Ian Shane had 16 stops for the Big Red in its season finale.

In Sioux Falls, S.D., yesterday, Boston University came back from two goals down early on to oust Minnesota, 6-3, at the Denny Sanford Premier Center. Macklin Celebrini set up three goals for the Terriers (28-9-2), who got goals from six different skaters and 25 stops from Mathieu Caron. Bryce Brodzinski notched a goal and an assist, and Justen Close made 32 saves for the Golden Gophers in their last game of the year. BU, which also got some payback for a Frozen Four loss to Minnesota (23-11-5) last spring in Tampa, will now face Denver in one of two Frozen Four semifinals on April 11 in St. Paul. 

The Providence and Maryland Heights, Mo., regionals conclude with their finals on Sunday, with those two winners also headed to Minnesota in two weeks' time for the Frozen Four.

2024 NCAA Men's Hockey Bracket Revealed

The bracket for the 2024 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey championship was announced last night. The 16-team tournament gets underway this weekend at four regional sites.

Providence, R.I. (March 29 and 31)

1. Boston College
8. Wisconsin
9. Quinnipiac
16. Michigan Tech

Maryland Heights, Mo. (March 29 and 31)
4. Michigan State
6. North Dakota
10. Michigan
13. Western Michigan

Sioux Falls, S.D. (March 28 and 30)
2. Boston University
7. Minnesota
11. Omaha
15. RIT

Springfield, MA. (March 28 and 30)
3. Denver
5. Maine
12. Cornell
14. Massachusetts

(Numbers indicate overall seed)

The top seed in each regional will play the lowest seed in the regional semifinals, with the middle seeds in each regional playing each other. The semifinal winners will meet in the regional final two days later. The four regional winners will advance to the Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minn., on April 11, with the winners of those two contests to meet for the national title on April 13. The television schedule for all games can be found here.

Quinnipiac is the defending national champion, having bested Minnesota in the title game last year in overtime in Tampa. Boston University and Michigan also made last year's Frozen Four, while Cornell, Michigan Tech, North Dakota and Western Michigan all qualified for last year's tournament. 

Boston College is the top seed in this year's  tournament, and is making its first appearance in the NCAAs since 2021.  Michigan State is appearing in the nationals for the first time since 2012, as is Maine. Massachusetts won the NCAA title in 2021, while Denver did so in 2022.

Maryland Heights is hosting a regional for the first time, although the venue only seats 2,500 spectators.

Augustana, ASU Moving Forward with New Arenas

Last week, Augustana University broke ground on its new arena in Sioux Falls, S.D. that will host an NCAA Division I men's hockey team. The Vikings are slated to begin play at the 3,000-seat Midco Arena in 2023-24.

Late last month, Arizona State University announced that it had finished topping off its own new facility. The hockey Sun Devils are scheduled to move in to the as-yet-unnamed 5,000 seat arena in Tempe, Ariz. beginning with the 2022-23 campaign.

Notre Dame, UMD Punch Tickets to 2018 Frozen Four

Two of the four spots in the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Frozen Four have been claimed.

Notre Dame won the NCAA East Regional in Bridgeport, Conn. on Saturday with a 2-1 win over Providence, while Minnesota-Duluth outlasted Air Force by the same score in the West Regional final in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The other two national semifinal berths will be decided on Sunday. The Northeast Regional final in Worcester, Mass. will feature Boston University against Michigan (4 p.m. ET, ESPN2), while the Midwest Regional final in Allentown, Pa. will match Ohio State against defending national champion Denver (6:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU).

BU defeated Cornell, 3-1, on Saturday, while Michigan edged Northeastern, 3-2. Ohio State beat Princeton, 4-2, for its first NCAA tournament victory in 20 years, while Denver dropped Penn State, 5-1, in a rematch from last year.

The NCAA Frozen Four will be held on March 5 and 7 in St. Paul, Minn. The BU/Michigan winner will meet Notre Dame in one semifinal, while the Ohio State/Denver winner will face UMD in the other.

Air Force Emerges on First Day of 2018 NCAA Tournament

The first day of the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship is in the books.

At the West Regional in Sioux Falls, S.D., 16th-seeded Air Force pulled off another national tournament shocker by besting top-seeded St. Cloud State, 4-1. It’s only the second time ever in Division I men’s hockey that the 16th seed defeated the No. 1 seed in the nationals. In the other West semifinal, Minnesota-Duluth edged Minnesota State, 3-2, in overtime, and will meet Air Force in the regional final on Saturday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2).

At the East Regional in Bridgeport, Conn., Notre Dame outlasted upstart Michigan Tech, 4-3, in overtime, while Providence made a first-period power play goal stand up in a 1-0 victory over Clarkson. The Fighting Irish and the Friars will face off Saturday (6 p.m. ET, ESPNU) for the right to go to the Frozen Four.

The other two regionals get underway on Saturday. At the Northeast Regional in Worcester, Mass., Boston University will face Cornell (1 p.m. ET, ESPNews) before Michigan encounters Northeastern (4:30 p.m. ET, ESPNews). At the Midwest Regional in Allentown, Pa., Princeton will meet Ohio State (3:30 p.m. ESPNU) before defending national champion Denver takes on host school Penn State (7 p.m., ESPN3).

Projected 2018 NCAA Hockey Tournament Bracket

My projection for the field for the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship, which will be announced on Sunday (Noon ET, ESPNU):

March 23-24

East Regional (Bridgeport, Conn.)
Boston University vs. Cornell {3}
Providence vs. Clarkson

West Regional (Sioux Falls, S.D.)
Air Force vs. St. Cloud State {1}
Minnesota-Duluth vs. Minnesota State

March 24-25

Midwest Regional (Allentown, Penn.)
Michigan Tech vs. Notre Dame {2}
Penn State* vs. Denver

Northeast Regional (Worcester, Mass.)
Princeton vs. Ohio State {4}
Michigan vs. Northeastern

Overall seed numbers in { }
* Regional host institution

Of course, as always, the selection committee may decide on other match-ups, to maximize attendance and such. Other prognosticators have said Boston University will be headed to Worcester, due to proximity. The Terriers used to be the host team there, before Holy Cross took over—but hey, Northeastern is from Boston, too.

The winners of the four regionals will advance to the 2018 NCAA Frozen Four on April 5-7 in St. Paul, Minn., to decide the 2018 Division I men's national champion. Denver is the defending champion, having defeated Notre Dame and Minnesota-Duluth last year in Chicago.

ADDENDUM: The actual bracket can be found here. Both BU and Northeastern are headed to Worcester. along with Michigan. Princeton and Ohio State will face off in Allentown, while Notre Dame and Michigan Tech will play in Bridgeport.