The road to the 2025 men’s Frozen Four heats up as the sport’s six leagues crown tournament champions in the last step before the NCAA tournament.
The six conference tournament champs will earn spots in the NCAA field, with 10 at-large teams (based on the PairWise rankings) rounding out the 16-team field. The NCAA tournament bracket will be revealed March 23 on ESPNU and ESPN+.
Regional play begins March 27, with regional finals March 29 and 30, and the Frozen Four will be in St. Louis on April 10 and 12. All games will air on the ESPN networks and stream on ESPN+.
Below is each conference’s tournament schedule, which will be updated with results as games are played, along with a look at the NCAA picture of each league. (All times ET.)
Every game of the Hockey East and ECAC tournaments, plus every NCAA tournament game, will be available on ESPN+. Subscribe to watch.
Atlantic Hockey
Bentley clinched the first NCAA appearance in the program’s 26th season, and the second with Andy Jones as coach. Holy Cross, which won its first regular-season title since 2006, advanced to the semifinals at the expense of AIC, which did its best to extend its time as a Division I program but lost in overtime in Game 3.
Quarterfinals, March 7-9
(best of three)
No. 8 AIC at No. 1 Holy Cross
Game 1: AIC 3, Holy Cross 2
Game 2: Holy Cross 3, AIC 2
Game 3: Holy Cross 4, AIC 3 (OT)
Holy Cross wins series 2-1
No. 5 Army at No. 4 Niagara
Game 1: Army 3, Niagara 2 (2 OT)
Game 2: Niagara 4, Army 3
Game 3: Army 4, Niagara 3 (OT)
Army wins series 2-1
No. 6 Canisius at No. 3 Bentley
Game 1: Bentley 4, Canisius 0
Game 2: Bentley 2, Canisius 0
Bentley wins series 2-0
No. 7 Air Force at No. 2 Sacred Heart
Game 1: Sacred Heart 4, Air Force 1
Game 2: Air Force 3, Sacred Heart 2 (2 OT)
Game 3: Sacred Heart 4, Air Force 1
Sacred Heart wins series 2-1
Semifinals, March 14-16
(best of three)
Army at Holy Cross
Game 1: Holy Cross 3, Army 2 (OT)
Game 2: Holy Cross 5, Army 1
Holy Cross wins series 2-0
Bentley at Sacred Heart
Game 1: Bentley 5, Sacred Heart 2
Game 2: Bentley 3, Sacred Heart 0
Bentley wins series 2-0
Final, March 22
Bentley 6, Holy Cross 3
Big Ten
Penn State closed the regular season as hot as any team in the country, playing its way to the right side of the PairWise bubble. Michigan was not as fortunate, as the bubble burst for the Wolverines when the ECAC became a two-bid league with Quinnipiac’s loss in the conference semifinals. Tournament champ Michigan State has secured the No. 2 overall seed, while Minnesota and Ohio State are also in the field.
Quarterfinals, March 7-9
(best of three)
No. 5 Penn State at No. 4 Michigan
Game 1: Penn State 6, Michigan 5 (OT)
Game 2: Penn State 5, Michigan 2
Penn State wins series 2-0
No. 6 Wisconsin at No. 3 Ohio State
Game 1: Wisconsin 4, Ohio State 1
Game 2: Ohio State 3, Wisconsin 2 (OT)
Game 3: Ohio State 3, Wisconsin 2
Ohio State wins series 2-1
No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 2 Minnesota
Game 1: Notre Dame 3, Minnesota 2
Game 2: Minnesota 4, Notre Dame 2
Game 3: Notre Dame 4, Minnesota 1
Notre Dame wins series 2-1
Semifinals, March 15
No. 1 Michigan State 1, Notre Dame 0
Ohio State 4, Penn State 3 (OT)
Final, March 22
Michigan State 4, Ohio State 3 (2 OT)
CCHA
Minnesota State, which pulled away from the pack by going 6-0-1 in its last seven regular-season games, had secured the CCHA automatic bid even before winning the championship game as its opponent in the final, St. Thomas, is not eligible for the NCAAs as it transitions from Division III to Division I. No at-large candidates here.
Quarterfinals, March 7-9
(best of three)
No. 8 Lake Superior at No. 1 Minnesota State
Game 1: Minnesota State 4, Lake Superior 1
Game 2: Minnesota State 3, Lake Superior 2
Minnesota State wins series 2-0
No. 5 Michigan Tech at No. 4 Bowling Green
Game 1: Bowling Green 2, Michigan Tech 1 (OT)
Game 2: Bowling Green 4, Michigan Tech 0
Bowling Green wins series 2-0
No. 6 Ferris State at No. 3 St. Thomas
Game 1: St. Thomas 7, Ferris State 3
Game 2: St. Thomas 4, Ferris State
St. Thomas wins series 2-0
No. 7 Bemidji State at No. 2 Augustana
Game 1: Augustana 3, Bemidji State 1
Game 2: Bemidji State 4, Augustana 3
Game 3: Bemidji State 3, Augustana 2 (OT)
Bemidji State wins series 2-1
Semifinals, March 15
Minnesota State 4, Bemidji State 0
St. Thomas 3, Bowling Green 1
Final, March 21
Minnesota State 4, St. Thomas 2
ECAC
Cornell is back in the NCAA field for the third consecutive year as the ECAC champion, while Quinnipiac did enough to earn an at-large spot.
First round
March 7
No. 8 Brown 3, No. 9 Princeton 2
No. 7 Harvard 5, No. 10 Rensselaer 2
March 8
No. 5 Dartmouth 6, No. 12 St. Lawrence 2
No. 6 Cornell 5, No. 11 Yale 1
Quarterfinals, March 14-16
(best of three)
Brown at No. 1 Quinnipiac
Game 1: Quinnipiac 4, Brown 1
Game 2: Quinnipiac 4, Brown 0
Quinnipiac wins series 2-0
Harvard at No. 2 Clarkson
Game 1: Clarkson 3, Harvard 2
Game 2: Harvard 3, Clarkson 2 (OT)
Game 3: Clarkson 2, Harvard 1 (OT)
Clarkson wins series 2-1
Cornell at No. 3 Colgate
Game 1: Cornell 4, Colgate 1
Game 2: Cornell 3, Colgate 0
Cornell wins series 2-0
Dartmouth at No. 4 Union
Game 1: Dartmouth 3, Union 2
Game 2: Dartmouth 7, Union 2
Dartmouth wins series 2-0
Semifinals, March 21
at Lake Placid, N.Y.
Cornell 3, Quinnipiac 2 (OT)
Clarkson 4, Dartmouth 1
Final, March 22
at Lake Placid, N.Y.
Cornell 3, Clarkson 1
Hockey East
Boston College’s status as the No. 1 team in the country is secure despite the Eagles’ upset loss to Northeastern in the quarterfinals, while the Huskies’ loss to Maine in the semis eliminated a potential bid stealer. Maine won its sixth Hockey East title — and its first since 2004 — while runner-up UConn will make its first NCAA appearance despite its loss to the Black Bears. Boston University, Providence and UMass will give Hockey East six teams in the NCAA field of 16.
First round, March 12
No. 6 UMass 2, No. 11 Vermont 1
No. 7 UMass-Lowell 3, No. 10 New Hampshire 2 (OT)
No. 9 Northeastern 3, No. 8 Merrimack 2 (2 OT)
Quarterfinals
March 14
No. 4 UConn 3, No. 5 Providence 1
March 15
Northeastern 3, No. 1 Boston College 1
No. 2 Maine 7, UMass-Lowell 1
No. 3 Boston University 3, UMass 2 (OT)
Semifinals, March 20
at Boston
UConn 5, BU 2
Maine 4, Northeastern 3 (2 OT)
Finals, March 21
at Boston
Maine 5, UConn 2
NCHC
Both Western Michigan and Denver are safely in the NCAA field. Western Michigan has hopes of earning a No. 1 seed, while the Pioneers will be defending their national title.
Quarterfinals, March 14-16
(best of three)
No. 8 St. Cloud State at No. 1 Western Michigan
Game 1: Western Michigan 6, St. Cloud 2
Game 2: Western Michigan 6, St. Cloud 2
Western Michigan wins series 2-0
No. 7 Minnesota Duluth at No. 2 Arizona State
Game 1: Arizona State 4, Minnesota Duluth 3
Game 2: Arizona State 6, Minnesota Duluth 5 (OT)
Arizona State wins series 2-0
No. 6 Colorado College at No. 3 Denver
Game 1: Colorado College 3, Denver 1
Game 2: Denver 6, Colorado College 3
Game 3: Denver 9, Colorado College 2
Denver wins series 2-1
No. 5 North Dakota at No. 4 Omaha
Game 1: North Dakota 3, Omaha 2
Game 2: North Dakota 3, Omaha 2
North Dakota wins series 2-0
Semifinals, March 21
at St. Paul, Minnesota
Denver 4, Arizona State 2
Western Michigan 4, North Dakota 2
Finals, March 22
at St. Paul, Minnesota
Western Michigan vs. Denver, 8:30 p.m.
