Sizing up the men’s hockey bracket on the way to the Frozen Four
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Steve RichardsESPN
The NCAA men’s hockey tournament field is set, with 16 teams vying for a trip to Tampa, Florida, for the Frozen Four and a chance at the national championship.
The top four seeds include three of the sport’s most decorated programs — Minnesota, Michigan and defending champ Denver — plus a recent powerhouse in Quinnipiac, which has the best record in the country.
The 16-team field, which includes the six conference champions and 10 at-large teams, will compete in regional play Thursday and Friday, with the regional finals to be played Saturday and Sunday.
The Frozen Four will be at Amalie Arena in Tampa, with the national semifinals April 6 and the national championship game April 8.
Every game of the tournament will be on either ESPN 2, ESPNU or ESPNews and will be available to stream on the ESPN app.
Below are the pairings and schedules for the tournament and a team-by-team look at the field. The schedule will be updated with results as games are played. For a bracket that will update as games are completed, click here.
Schedule
All times Eastern
Manchester, New Hampshire, regional
Thursday: Western Michigan vs. Boston University, 2 p.m. (ESPN2); Cornell vs. Denver, 5:30 p.m. (ESPNews)
Saturday: Regional final, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)
Fargo, North Dakota, regional
Thursday: Minnesota State vs. St. Cloud State, 5 p.m. (ESPNU); Canisius vs. Minnesota, 9 p.m. (ESPN2)
Saturday: Regional final, 6:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Bridgeport, Connecticut, regional
Friday: Ohio State vs. Harvard, 2 p.m. (ESPNU); Merrimack vs. Quinnipiac, 5:30 p.m. (ESPNews)
Sunday: Regional final, 4 p.m. (ESPN2)
Allentown, Pennsylvania, regional
Friday: Michigan Tech vs. Penn State, 5 p.m. (ESPNU); Colgate vs. Michigan, 8:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
Sunday: Regional final, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Frozen Four
at Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
April 6: National semifinals, 5 and 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
April 8: National championship game, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)
Manchester regional
Denver (30-9-0)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost NCHC semifinal to Colorado College)
NCAA appearances: 32
Frozen Four appearances: 18 (nine national titles, last in 2022)
Last NCAA finish: Won national title over Minnesota State in 2022
Of note: Denver was rolling along, winning 11 of 12, before a stunning 1-0 loss to Colorado College in the NCHC semis likely snapped the team to attention. … Special teams could be a key for Denver’s quest to defend its national title. The Pioneers have the third-best power play in the country (26.6%), but their penalty kill ranks just 45th (78%).
Boston University (27-10-0)
How they got in: Won Hockey East championship
NCAA appearances: 38
Frozen Four appearances: 22 (five national titles, last in 2009)
Last NCAA finish: Lost first round to St. Cloud in 2021
Of note: First-year coach Jay Pandolfo was captain of BU’s national title team in 1995-96. … Freshman Lane Hutson, a Montreal Canadiens draft pick, scored the overtime winner in the Terriers’ Hockey East final win over Merrimack. He is the highest-scoring U19 defenseman (47 points) in the NCAA since Brian Leetch in 1986-87. … For some BU fans, a Frozen Four run is needed to erase the sting of the Terriers’ fourth-place finish in Boston’s beloved Beanpot.
Western Michigan (23-14-1)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost to Colorado College in NCHC quarterfinals)
NCAA appearances: 8
Frozen Four appearances: 0
Last NCAA finish: Lost to Minnesota in regional final in 2022
Of note: The Broncos are well rested after a surprising two-game sweep by Colorado College (13-22-3) in the NCHC quarterfinals (although it must be noted CC knocked off Denver in the semis as well). … Senior Jason Polin leads the nation with 29 goals and is second with 149 shots.
Cornell (20-10-2)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost to Harvard in ECAC semifinal)
NCAA appearances: 23
Frozen Four appearances: 8 (two national titles, last in 1970)
Last NCAA finish: Lost regional final to Providence in 2019
Of note: Cornell is tied with Minnesota State for second in the nation in scoring defense (2.0 goals per game), and the Big Red also can score (eighth with 3.4 goals per game), particularly on the man advantage (25.9%, fourth in NCAA).
Fargo regional
Minnesota (26-9-1)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost Big Ten final to Michigan)
NCAA appearances: 40
Frozen Four appearances: 22 (five national titles, last in 2003)
Last NCAA finish: Lost national semifinal to Minnesota Duluth in 2022
Of note: Much of last season’s Frozen Four team is back, but the Gophers have gotten a huge spark from freshmen Logan Cooley and Jimmy Snuggerud, who are 1-2 on the team in points and plus-minus (Cooley at 52, plus-34; Snuggerud at 49, plus-31). … Minnesota is 11-6 against teams in the NCAA field.
St. Cloud State (24-12-3)
How they got in: Won NCHC championship
NCAA appearances: 17
Frozen Four appearances: 2
Last NCAA finish: Lost first round to Quinnipiac in 2022
Of note: After a disappointing season last year, St. Cloud State looks to get back to the national title game after losing to UMass in 2021. … The battle-tested Huskies have won three of four against Denver. They went through a 1-5-3 stretch late in the regular season, but turned things around in the NCHC tournament.
Minnesota State (25-12-1)
How they got in: Won CCHA championship
NCAA appearances: 9
Frozen Four appearances: 2
Last NCAA finish: Lost national championship game to Denver in 2022
Of note: The Mavericks have been to the last two Frozen Fours, but their spot in the field this season was not fully secured before their stirring comeback OT win over Northern Michigan in the CCHA title game. They scored twice in the last 2:19 of regulation to tie it, then won on Zach Krajnik’s goal 1:08 into overtime.
Canisius (20-18-3)
How they got in: Won Atlantic Hockey championship
NCAA appearances: 2
Frozen Four appearances: 0
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Quinnipiac in 2013
Of note: The Golden Griffins emerged from an upset-filled tournament to claim the Atlantic’s automatic bid. Although checking in at No. 41 in the PairWise rankings, Canisius has at least one thing going for it — experience (albeit not on this stage). The Griffs are the second-oldest team in the country, with an average age of 23.2.
Bridgeport regional
Quinnipiac (30-4-3)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost ECAC semifinal to Colgate)
NCAA appearances: 9
Frozen Four appearances: 2
Last NCAA finish: Lost regional final to Michigan in 2022
Of note: Again led by Yaniv Perets (1.52 GAA), Quinnipiac put up absurd defensive numbers for the second straight season. This year, the Bobcats also scored 3.92 goals per game and the ECAC was much stronger.
Harvard (24-7-2)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost ECAC final to Colgate)
NCAA appearances: 27
Frozen Four appearances: 13 (one national title, in 1989)
Last NCAA finish: Lost first round to Minnesota State in 2022
Of note: The Crimson, who are in the top seven nationally in both goals scored and goals allowed per game, are led by junior Sean Farrell (1.58 points per game, second in the country). … Ted Donato, who keyed Harvard’s run to its lone national title in 1989, has led his alma mater to eight NCAA appearances in 18 seasons at the helm.
Ohio State (20-15-3)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost to Michigan in Big Ten semifinal)
NCAA appearances: 10
Frozen Four appearances: 2
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Denver in 2019
Of note: The Buckeyes take a ton of shots (1,378, second only to Penn State) and hung a 6-spot on Minnesota and a 7-spot on Michigan in early-season wins over the Gophers and Wolverines. But OSU also lost 7-3 to Michigan in the Big Ten tourney and was outscored 9-2 in a weekend sweep at Minnesota to close the regular season. … Ohio State has the best penalty kill in the country (89.5%).
Merrimack (23-13-1)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost to BU in Hockey East final)
NCAA appearances: 3
Frozen Four appearances: 0
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Notre Dame in 2011
Of note: The Warriors were the surprise team of the early season, getting well into the top 10 of the rankings, before a rough 2-8-1 stretch at the start of the new year. But they rebounded with a weekend sweep of Boston University and closed strong, securing the final at-large bid despite losing to the Terriers in overtime in the Hockey East championship game.
Allentown regional
Michigan (24-11-3)
How they got in: Won Big Ten championship
NCAA appearances: 40
Frozen Four appearances: 26 (nine national titles, last in 1998)
Last NCAA finish: Lost national semifinal to Denver in 2022
Of note: As has been the case of late, the Wolverines don’t lack for star power. Freshman sensation Adam Fantilli, the likely No. 2 pick in the upcoming NHL draft, leads the nation with 1.85 points per game, while sophomore defenseman Luke Hughes may well be wearing a New Jersey Devils uniform in a few weeks.
Penn State (21-15-1)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost to Ohio State in Big Ten quarterfinals)
NCAA appearances: 3
Frozen Four appearances: 0
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Denver in 2018
Of note: Penn State got off to a 9-0 start that included a 3-0 win over Michigan. The Nittany Lions also beat Minnesota and lost in OT to the Gophers and Wolverines, so they’ve hung with the big boys, but they’ll need to recapture their early mojo to make some noise. … PSU leads the country with 1,462 shots (nearly 40 per game) and is third in faceoff percentage (55%).
Michigan Tech (24-10-4)
How they got in: At-large bid (lost CCHA semifinal to Northern Michigan)
NCAA appearances: 15
Frozen Four appearances: 10 (three national titles, last in 1975)
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Minnesota Duluth in 2022
Of note: Michigan Tech’s best shot at making its first Frozen Four since 1981 is for senior goalie Blake Pietila to stand on his head. Pietila is fifth in the country with a 1.99 GAA, tied for third with a .929 save percentage and No. 1 with 10 shutouts.
Colgate (19-15-5)
How they got in: Won ECAC championship
NCAA appearances: 6
Frozen Four appearances: 1
Last NCAA finish: Lost in first round to Ferris State in 2014
Of note: Colgate, which entered the ECAC tournament at the No. 5 seed, won its first league title in more than 30 years and second ever by beating Harvard 3-2. Goalie Carter Gylander was the key for the Raiders with 34 saves, 14 in the third period.
Note: NCAA tournament and Frozen Four appearances since tournament began in 1948
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — New quarterback Tommy Castellanos led a punishing rushing attack for Florida State with 78 yards and a touchdown as the Seminoles stunned No. 8 Alabama 31-17 on Saturday, ending the Crimson Tide’s streak of 23 straight wins in season openers.
Coming off a 2-10 season, Florida State handed a crushing setback to Alabama, which was viewed as a College Football Playoff contender under second-year coach Kalen DeBoer.
Castellanos, a transfer from Boston College, made headlines over the summer after saying legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban wasn’t there to “save” the Tide vs. Florida State in their Week 1 matchup and that he doesn’t “see them stopping me.” He backed up that jab by spearheading FSU’s dominant ground attack while staying efficient through the air, finishing 9 of 14 passing for 152 yards.
Students and fans swarmed the field at Doak Campbell Stadium to celebrate the upset by the Seminoles, who closed as 13 1/2-point underdogs at ESPN BET.
Under new offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn — who spent eight seasons as Auburn’s head coach — Florida State was physical from the start, finishing with 230 rushing yards and averaging 4.7 yards per carry. The Seminoles averaged just 89.9 yards during their disastrous 2024 season.
The Crimson Tide had not dropped a season opener since losing 20-17 to UCLA in 2001 under Dennis Franchione, and this defeat will ratchet up the pressure on DeBoer from the demanding Tuscaloosa faithful. His predecessor, Nick Saban, led Alabama to six national titles.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning failed to live up to lofty expectations in his starting debut Saturday at Ohio State, but Texas coach Steve Sarkisian called the 14-7 loss just “one chapter” in Manning’s season.
With scouts from more than a dozen NFL teams watching, including the nearby Cleveland Browns, Manning was inconsistent, displaying flashes of promise tempered by mistakes. He completed 17 of 30 passes for 170 yards, 1 touchdown and an interception — an underwhelming day for a player some have already pegged as the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
He also entered the game as the Heisman Trophy favorite (+650) at ESPN BET Sportsbook.
“For Arch, the expectations were out of control on the outside,” Sarkisian said. “I’d say let’s finish the book before we judge him. That’s one chapter.”
Texas started slowly offensively, struggling to create big plays. Manning was 0-for-5 with an interception on throws of more than 5 yards in the first three quarters. Sarkisian and Manning sat together in the locker room at the half, though, and went over some film and made some adjustments. In the fourth quarter, Manning completed 4 of 7 passes for 105 yards and a touchdown on passes of more than 5 yards.
“They’ve got a good scheme,” Sarkisian said. “They’ve got a very smart secondary, and they made Arch work. I thought at halftime, Arch having a chance to really sit and look at the tape and understand some of the coverages they were playing, I think that helped him into the second half.”
Still, it was too little, too late. Texas had four drives that ended in turnovers on downs, its most since its 2017 season-opening loss to Maryland. The Longhorns failed to score on their two red zone drives, including a fourth-down stop just inches from the goal line that deflated a 15-play, 70-yard drive that ate up 6:54 in the third quarter.
“I felt like hey, we don’t give them a chance to sub to real big people,” Sarkisian said. “We went with the sneak. I think they got under us pretty good and kind of took Arch’s legs out from him. Hindsight’s 20/20. If I could do it all over again, we’d probably sub and they’d put their big guys, we’d put our big guys in and see if we could get in the end zone.”
Manning finished with an off-target percentage of 37%, the worst by a Texas quarterback in a game over the past decade, according to ESPN Research.
“It took us too long to get the ball down the field,” Manning said. “That starts with me. … They’re a good team, but I thought we beat ourselves a lot. That starts with me, and I’ve got to play better for us to win.”
Manning, whose running ability is one of his strongest assets, added 38 yards on 10 carries, with his longest run being a 15-yard burst. The Longhorns outgained Ohio State 166-77 on the ground, and Sarkisian said he’d like to incorporate Manning’s running ability earlier.
“I think when that happened, I felt like he started really playing,” Sarkisian said of Manning’s rushing. “And we saw some real flashes and glimpses of the type of player that he’s going to become here.”
Texas had four new starters on its offensive line, but Manning had ample time to throw. He occasionally executed passes with precision, and other attempts were high, low, or thrown behind his receiver.
“I felt like Arch had good time in the pocket to throw it,” Sarkisian said. “I felt like we were moving the line of scrimmage; we were running the ball. We just didn’t create explosive plays early in the game like we did in the second half of the game. … I think we could have thrown it better than we did, but we didn’t throw it the way we wanted to because of the O-line. I thought the O-line gave us ample protection and opportunities to throw the ball down the field.”
Texas won’t play another Power 4 opponent until Oct. 4 at Florida, and those within the Longhorns’ program agreed that the offensive issues are correctable before the SEC slate begins.
“We had opportunities to score points and we didn’t,” Sarkisian said. “We’ve got to make a couple of throws. We’ve got to make a couple catches. We’ve got to make a couple better calls, but those are things that are fixable for us and I feel confident in that.”
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Jake Trotter
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State opened its national title defense by playing dominant defense.
The third-ranked Buckeyes rattled quarterback Arch Manning and stuffed top-ranked Texas four times on fourth down on the way to a 14-7 victory Saturday at the Horseshoe.
Two of those fourth-down stops came inside the Ohio State 10-yard line.
Another came on Texas’ final possession. Manning found tight end Jack Endries on fourth-and-5. But Buckeyes star safety Caleb Downs wrapped Endries up two yards short of the first down to seal the win.
“The story of the game was the defense,” said Ohio State coach Ryan Day. “Those fourth-down stops were big.”
The Buckeyes defeated Texas with a fourth-down stop in last year’s CFP semifinal. Jack Sawyer stripped Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers on fourth-and-goal and scooped up the fumble for the game-clinching touchdown at the Cotton Bowl, propelling Ohio State to the national championship game.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes defense — featuring eight new starters and a new coordinator in Matt Patricia — came up big on fourth down again.
In the first half, Ohio State stopped Manning on a fourth-and-goal quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Texas finally got back inside the Ohio State 10. But cornerback Davison Igbinosun swatted away Manning’s fourth-down attempt in the end zone.
Texas scored a touchdown with 3:28 left to avoid being shut out for the first time in nine years, then got the ball back with just over two minutes remaining with a chance to tie. But after Texas pushed the ball to midfield, the Ohio State defense ended the threat with Downs’ one-on-one tackle of Endries.
“He was unbelievable back there as a field general,” Patricia said of Downs, one of three returning starters along with Igbinosun and linebacker Sonny Styles. “Guys stepped up to the challenge all the way across the board.”
This offseason, Patricia replaced Jim Knowles, who left the Buckeyes following the national championship to become defensive coordinator for rival Penn State. Patricia had won three Super Bowls with New England, including two as the Patriots’ defensive coordinator, but had never coached a college game until Saturday.
According to ESPN Research, Texas’ four turnovers on downs were the most in the game since a 2017 season-opening loss to Maryland.
“I thought the game plan was excellent,” Day said of the defense, “but the buy-in is what’s most important. What matters is the guys and warriors on the field believing in it. … The grittiness of our guys running around, there’s a lot we can build on.”
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