The road to the 2026 men’s Frozen Four is set, with Big Ten champion Michigan slotted as the No. 1 overall seed.
The Wolverines, who are in search of their first national championship since 1998, will make their 42nd NCAA tournament appearance, tying Minnesota for the most all time. The other three No. 1 seeds in the 16-team field are Big Ten regular-season champion Michigan State, and defending national champion Western Michigan and North Dakota of the NCHC.
The six winners of their conference tournaments earned automatic berths, with the next top 10 teams in the NPI rankings filling out the NCAA field. The four regional winners will advance to the Frozen Four at Las Vegas on April 9 and 11.
Every game of the men’s hockey tournament will air on the ESPN networks and will stream live on the ESPN App. The Frozen Four semifinals will air on ESPN2 and the final airs on ESPN.
Below is the complete schedule for the tournament and a look at each of the 16 teams in the field.
Schedule
All times Eastern.
Worcester (Mass.) Regional
Semifinals, Thursday
No. 1 Michigan State vs. No. 4 UConn, 1:30 p.m., ESPN2
No. 2 Dartmouth vs. No. 3 Wisconsin, 5 p.m., ESPNU
Final, Saturday
Semifinal winner, Time TBD
Sioux Falls (S.D.) Regional
Semifinals, Thursday
No. 2 Providence vs. No. 3 Quinnipiac, 5 p.m., ESPN+
No. 1 North Dakota vs. No. 4 Merrimack, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
Final, Saturday
Semifinal winners, Time TBD
Albany (N.Y.) Regional
Semifinals, Friday
No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Bentley, 5:30 p.m., ESPNU
No. 2 Minnesota Duluth vs. No. 3 Penn State, 9 p.m., ESPN2
Final, Sunday
Semifinal winners, Time TBD
Loveland (Colo.) Regional
Semifinals, Friday
No. 1 Western Michigan vs. No. 4 Minnesota State, 2:30 p.m. ESPNU
No. 2 Denver vs. No. 3 Cornell, 6 p.m., ESPN+
Final, Sunday
Semifinal winner, Time TBD
FROZEN FOUR
at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
National semifinals, April 9
5 and 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
National final, April 11
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Teams at a glance
Records, statistics entering NCAA tournament
Worcester Regional
No. 1 Michigan State
Record: 25-8-2
NPI ranking: 3
How the Spartans got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-3-2 (lost to Ohio State in Big Ten semifinal)
NCAA history: 30th appearance; seeking 12th Frozen Four and fourth national title (last won in 2007) … Third straight NCAA appearance after 11-year absence … Lost to Cornell in first round as No. 1 seed in 2025.
Fast fact: Michigan State’s roster features four first-round NHL draft picks and 15 draft picks overall, both the most among tournament teams.
No. 2 Dartmouth
Record: 23-7-4
NPI ranking: 6
How the Big Green got here: ECAC champion
Last 10 games: 6-1-3 (beat Princeton in ECAC final)
NCAA history: Fifth appearance; seeking fifth Frozen Four and first national title … First NCAA appearance since 1980.
Fast fact: Sophomore Hayden Stavroff, an undrafted NHL free agent, leads the country with 29 goals. He has seven goals and five assists in his last eight games.
No. 3 Wisconsin
Record: 21-12-2
NPI ranking: 12
How the Badgers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-4 (lost to Ohio State in Big Ten quarterfinal)
NCAA history: 29th appearance; seeking 13th Frozen Four and seventh national title (last won in 2006) … In the NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons under coach Mike Hastings.
Fast fact: Wisconsin’s season has been a bit of a roller coaster, with a 14-2-2 start and 6-2 finish but a 2-7 stretch in between. The Badgers lost 7-1 to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament the last time they took the ice.
No. 4 UConn
Record: 20-12-5
NPI ranking: 14
How the Huskies got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 3-5-2 (lost to Merrimack in Hockey East final)
NCAA history: Second appearance; seeking first Frozen Four and first national title … Recorded program’s first NCAA victory last year, beating Quinnipiac in first round before falling to Penn State in regional final.
Fast fact: UConn rebounded from a 1-4-2 closing stretch of the regular season to advance to the Hockey East final, then made the NCAA field as the last at-large team.
Albany Regional
No. 1 Michigan
Record: 29-7-1
NPI ranking: 1
How the Wolverines got here: Big Ten champion
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (beat Ohio State in Big Ten final)
NCAA history: 42nd appearance; seeking 29th Frozen Four and 10th national title (last won in 1998) … Missed tournament last year after making four straight appearances.
Fast fact: Michigan is the highest-scoring team in the country (4.57 goals per game) and has the best power play (31% conversion rate). The Wolverines converted two of three chances in the Big Ten final against Ohio State.
No. 2 Minnesota Duluth
Record: 23-14-1
NPI ranking: 8
How the Bulldogs got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost to Denver in NCHC final)
NCAA history: 16th appearance; seeking ninth Frozen Four and fourth national title (last won in 2019) … First NCAA appearance — and first winning season — since 2022 … Had made eight straight tournaments before that.
Fast fact: The Bulldogs’ special teams are just that: They are second nationally in power play conversions (29.9%) and third in penalty killing (89.3%).
No. 3 Penn State
Record: 21-13-2
NPI ranking: 9
How the Nittany Lions got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 3-5-2 (lost to Michigan in Big Ten semifinal)
NCAA history: Sixth appearance; seeking second Frozen Four and first national title … Defeated 1-seed Maine and 2-seed UConn in 2025 regionals before losing to Boston University in national semifinal … All six NCAA appearances have come in the last 10 years.
Fast fact: Highly touted freshman Gavin McKenna, expected to be the No. 1 pick in June’s NHL draft, ranks second in the country with 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 34 games.
No. 4 Bentley
Record: 23-11-5
NPI ranking: 23
How the Falcons got here: Atlantic Hockey champion
Last 10 games: 7-3 (beat St. Thomas in Atlantic final)
NCAA history: Second appearance; seeking first Frozen Four and first national title … Lost 3-1 to top overall seed Boston College in last year’s tournament.
Fast fact: Bentley hasn’t lost in nine overtime games this season (4-0-5).
Sioux Falls Regional
No. 1 North Dakota
Record: 27-9-1
NPI ranking: 2
How the Fighting Hawks got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-2-1 (lost to Minnesota Duluth in NCHC semifinals)
NCAA history: 36th appearance; seeking 23rd Frozen Four and ninth national title (last won in 2016) … Fifth NCAA appearance in the last seven years.
Fast fact: North Dakota has only two regulation losses since Nov. 28: 3-2 vs. Denver on Jan. 17 and 5-1 to Minnesota Duluth in the NCHC tournament.
No. 2 Providence
Record: 23-10-2
NPI ranking: 7
How the Friars got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-3-0 (lost to Merrimack in Hockey East quarterfinals)
NCAA history: 17th appearance; seeking sixth Frozen Four and second national title (won in 2015) … Lost to Denver in first round as 2-seed in 2025 tournament. … Second straight NCAA appearance after five-year absence.
Fast fact: The Friars rolled to their first regular-season Hockey East title, going 14-2 to close their schedule before losing to No. 8 seed Merrimack 3-2 in overtime in the conference quarterfinals.
No. 3 Quinnipiac
Record: 26-9-3
NPI ranking: 10
How the Bobcats got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-4 (lost to Clarkson in ECAC quarterfinals)
NCAA history: 12th appearance; seeking fourth Frozen Four and second national title (won in 2023) … Lost to UConn in first round of 2025 tournament … Sixth straight NCAA appearance and 11th in 14 seasons.
Fast fact: Ethan Wyttenbach, a 19-year-old freshman, leads the NCAA with 58 points (24 goals, 34 assists) in 38 games. He was a fifth-round pick of the Calgary Flames in last year’s NHL draft.
No. 4 Merrimack
Record: 21-15-2
NPI ranking: 19
How the Warriors got here: Hockey East champion
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (beat UConn in Hockey East final)
NCAA history: Fourth appearance; seeking first Frozen Four and first national title … First NCAA bid since 2023 (first-round loss to Quinnipiac)
Fast fact: Sophomore goalie Max Lundgren leads the country with 1,109 saves (.920 percentage). He made a career-high 49 stops, 22 in the third period, in the Warriors’ win in the Hockey East championship game.
Loveland Regional
No. 1 Western Michigan
Record: 26-10-1
NPI ranking: 4
How the Broncos got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-2-1 (lost to Denver in NCHC semifinals)
NCAA history: 11th appearance; seeking second Frozen Four and second national title (won last year) … Defeated Denver in national semifinals and Boston University in championship game in 2025.
Fast fact: Western Michigan faced one of the toughest schedules in the country, going 9-6 against ranked opponents.
No. 2 Denver
Record: 25-11-3
NPI ranking: 5
How the Pioneers got here: NCHC champion
Last 10 games: 9-0-1 (beat Minnesota Duluth in NCHC final)
NCAA history: 34th appearance; seeking 20th Frozen Four and 11th national title (last won in 2024) … Defeated overall No. 1 seed Boston College in regional final last year before losing to Western Michigan in national semifinal … Has reached Frozen Four three of the last four seasons.
Fast fact: No one is hotter than the Pioneers, who extended their unbeaten streak to 13 (12-0-1) in winning the NCHC championship with a 4-3 double overtime victory over Minnesota Duluth.
No. 3 Cornell
Record: 22-10-1
NPI ranking: 11
How the Big Red got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost to Princeton to ECAC semifinals)
NCAA history: 26th appearance; seeking ninth Frozen Four and third national title (last won in 1970) … Beat 1-seed Michigan State in first round last year before losing to Boston University in regional final … Has made eight of the last nine tournaments, with first-year coach Casey Jones picking up where longtime coach Mike Schafer left off.
Fast fact: Cornell has the stingiest defense in the country, allowing 1.94 goals per game.
No. 4 Minnesota State
Record: 22-10-7
NPI ranking: 13
How the Mavericks got here: CCHA champion
Last 10 games: 6-2-2 (beat St. Thomas in CCHA final)
NCAA history: 12th appearance; seeking third Frozen Four and first national title … Eighth tournament appearance in the last nine years … Lost to eventual national champion Western Michigan in double overtime in first round of last year’s tourney.
Fast fact: The Mavericks are in the tournament for the second straight year under Luke Strand after making the field in nine of 11 seasons under Mike Hastings, who left after the 2020-21 season to coach Wisconsin.
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