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The 2025 men’s Frozen Four started with two newcomers and two blue bloods. The championship game will feature one of each.

In the title game, Western Michigan, making its Frozen Four debut, will face Boston University, which is in the national title game after losing in the semifinals the last two years, Saturday night at 7:30 ET on ESPN2 and ESPN+.

In the first semifinal Thursday night, Western Michigan knocked off defending national champion Denver 3-2 in double overtime on Owen Michaels’ second goal of the game 26 seconds into the second extra period. The Broncos held a 2-0 lead after dominating the first 40 minutes, but the Pioneers turned the tables in the third period and tied the game at 17:21 on Jared Wright’s goal off a scramble out front.

In the nightcap, BU used a pair of goals in a dominant second period, from Jack Hughes and Cole Eiserman, to eliminate Penn State 3-1. The Terriers are seeking the sixth national title in program history, but the first in 16 years. The Nittany Lions were making their Frozen Four debut.

Every NCAA tournament game will be available on ESPN+. Subscribe to watch.

Below is the schedule for entire tournament, which will be updated with results as games are played, plus highlights from the Frozen Four games, features of the top storylines of the tournament and a look at each of the 16 teams.

Jump to a section:
Frozen Four highlights
Top storylines | Teams at a glance

Schedule

All times Eastern

Toledo (Ohio) Regional

Semifinals, March 27
Boston University 8, Ohio State 3
Cornell 4, Michigan State 3

Final, March 29
Boston University 3, Cornell 2 (OT)

Boston University wins Toledo Regional

Fargo (N.D.) Regional

Semifinals, March 27
Western Michigan 2, Minnesota State 1 (2 OT)
UMass 5, Minnesota 4 (OT)

Final, March 29
Western Michigan 2, UMass 1

Western Michigan wins Fargo Regional

Manchester (N.H.) Regional

Semifinals, March 28
Boston College 3, Bentley 1
Denver 5, Providence 1

Final, March 30
Denver 3, Boston College 1

Denver wins Manchester Regional

Allentown (Penn.) Regional

Semifinals, March 28
UConn 4, Quinnipiac 1
Penn State 5, Maine 1

Final, March 30
Penn State 3, UConn 2 (OT)

Penn State wins Allentown Regional

FROZEN FOUR
at Enterprise Center, St. Louis

National semifinals, April 10
Western Michigan 3, Denver 2 (2 OT)
Boston University 3, Penn State 1

National championship game, April 12
Western Michigan vs. Boston University, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2

Highlights

BU-PENN STATE

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0:35

Jack Hughes gives Boston University early lead

Jack Hughes scores to give Boston University a 1-0 lead over Penn State.

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0:46

Cole Eiserman doubles Terriers’ lead

Cole Eiserman scores to give Boston University a 2-0 lead over Penn State.


WESTERN MICHIGAN-DENVER

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0:52

Jared Wright ties the score late for Denver

Denver’s Jared Wright pokes the puck past the goalie to help the Pioneers tie the score late in the third period.

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0:32

Owen Michaels’ wrister adds to Western Michigan’s lead

Western Michigan’s Owen Michaels finds the net on a wrister to give the Broncos a 2-0 lead in the second period.

Tournament storylines

‘Till the rafters ring’: Maine’s resurgence has its fans believing again

Once a perennial power, the Black Bears fought through tragedy and tough times to be a Frozen Four contender 25 years after their last national title. Read more

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8:17

The Maine awakening

It’s been 18 years since Maine hockey’s last Frozen Four appearance, but as John Buccigross reports, a resurgence up in Orono has the Black Bears sights set on a return to St. Louis.


‘Have fun out there’: A simple message keeps Trey Augustine on his game

The Spartans goaltender, who hopes to lead his team to its first national title since 2007, recalls his late grandfather’s words every time he steps on the ice. Read more

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6:13

The legacy and lineage of Trey Augustine

Jen Lada profiles the Spartans’ superstar goaltender, Trey Augustine, focusing on his relationship with his inspiration and namesake.


Top seed Boston College plays with Gaudreaus, Voce close to hearts

Three former Eagles — Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Gaudreau and Tony Voce — died this past summer. This year’s team, which has been No. 1 in the country most of the season, looks to win a national championship in their memory. Read more

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9:44

Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau forever BC hockey family

Jeremy Schaap reports on how the Eagles are honoring the legacies of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.


Roundtable: Teams and players to watch, plus Frozen Four picks

Are BC and Michigan State on a collision course for a title game matchup? What lower seed will be the toughest out? And who will make it to St. Louis? Andrew Raycroft and Sean Ritchlin break it all down. Read more

Teams at a glance

(Statistics entering NCAA tournament)

Toledo Regional

No. 1 Michigan State

Record: 26-6-4

PairWise rating: No. 2

How the Spartans got here: Big Ten champion

Last 10 games: 6-3-1

History lesson: This is Michigan State’s 29th NCAA appearance. The Spartans have been to the Frozen Four 11 times and have won three national titles, the last in 2007. Michigan State lost to Michigan in the regional finals last season, which was its first time in the tournament since 2012.

No. 2 Boston University

Record: 21-13-2

PairWise rating: 7

How the Terriers got here: At-large bid

Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost Hockey East semifinal to UConn)

History lesson: This is BU’s 40th NCAA appearance, including three of the past four years. The Terriers have been to the Frozen Four 24 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2009. The Terriers lost in overtime to Denver in the national semifinals last season, the second straight year they lost in the national semis.

No. 3 Ohio State

Record: 24-13-2

PairWise rating: 10

How the Buckeyes got here: At-large bid

Last 10 games: 5-5 (lost Big Ten final to Michigan State)

History lesson: This is Ohio State’s 12th NCAA appearance and its second in three years. The Buckeyes have been to the Frozen Four twice, most recently in 2018, and have never won the national title.

No. 4 Cornell

Record: 18-10-6

PairWise rating: 17

How the Big Red got here: ECAC champion

Last 10 games: 8-2

History lesson: This is Cornell’s 27th NCAA appearance, including the past three years in a row. The Big Red have been to the Frozen Four eight times and have won the national championship twice, most recently in 1970. Cornell lost to Denver in the regional finals last season.


Fargo Regional

No. 1 Western Michigan

Record: 30-7-1

PairWise rating: 4

How the Broncos got here: NCHC champion

Last 10 games: 8-2

History lesson: This is Western Michigan’s 10th NCAA appearance, including the past four years. The Broncos lost in overtime to Michigan State in the first round last season, falling to 1-10 all time in NCAA tournament play.

No. 2 Minnesota

Record: 25-10-4

PairWise rating: 5

How the Golden Gophers got here: At-large bid

Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost Big Ten quarterfinal series to Notre Dame)

History lesson: This is Minnesota’s 42nd NCAA appearance, including the past five years. The Gophers have been to the Frozen Four 23 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2003. Minnesota lost to Boston University in the regional finals last season.

No. 3 UMass

Record: 20-13-5

PairWise rating: 11

How the Minutemen got here: At-large bid

Last 10 games: 5-2-3 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to BU in overtime)

History lesson: This is UMass’ seventh NCAA appearance, including five of the past six tournaments. The Minutemen have been to the Frozen Four twice and won one national title, in 2021. UMass lost to Denver in double overtime in the first round of last year’s tournament.

No. 4 Minnesota State

Record: 27-8-3

PairWise rating: 14

How the Mavericks got here: CCHA champion

Last 10 games: 9-0-1

History lesson: This is Minnesota State’s 12th NCAA appearance, including six of the last seven tournaments. The Mavericks have been to the Frozen Four twice and are still looking for their first national championship. Minnesota State didn’t make the tournament last year and lost to St. Cloud State in the first round in 2023.


Manchester Regional

No. 1 Boston College

Record: 26-7-2

PairWise rating: 1

How the Eagles got here: At-large bid

Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to Northeastern)

History lesson: This is BC’s 39th NCAA appearance. The Eagles have been to the Frozen Four 26 times and have won five national titles, the last in 2012. BC lost to Denver 2-0 in last year’s championship game after not making the tournament the previous two years.

No. 2 Providence

Record: 21-10-5

PairWise rating: 8

How the Friars got here: At-large bid

Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to UConn)

History lesson: This is Providence’s 16th NCAA appearance, its first since 2019. The Friars have been to the Frozen Four five times and won the national title once, in 2015.

No. 3 Denver

Record: 29-11-1

PairWise rating: 9

How the Pioneers got here: At-large bid

Last 10 games: 7-3 (lost NCHC final to Western Michigan in double overtime)

History lesson: This is Denver’s 34th NCAA appearance, including 15 of the past 16 tournaments. The Pios have been to the Frozen Four 18 times and won 10 national titles, the most ever. Denver beat BC for the national championship last season, its second title in three years.

No. 4 Bentley

Record: 23-14-2

PairWise rating: 22

How the Falcons got here: Atlantic champion

Last 10 games: 8-2

History lesson: This is Bentley’s first NCAA appearance in the program’s 26th season in Division I and the second year with Andy Jones as coach. The Falcons have set a school record for victories and are enjoying their first winning season since 2020.


Allentown Regional

No. 1 Maine

Record: 24-7-6

PairWise rating: 3

How the Black Bears got here: Hockey East champion

Last 10 games: 6-2-2

History lesson: This is Maine’s 21st NCAA appearance. The Black Bears have been to the Frozen Four 11 times and have won two national titles, the last in 1999. Maine lost to Cornell in the first round last season, its first tournament appearance since 2012.

No. 2 UConn

Record: 22-11-4

PairWise rating: 6

How the Huskies got here: At-large bid

Last 10 games: 8-1-1 (lost Hockey East final to Maine)

History lesson: This is UConn’s first NCAA appearance in the program’s 27 years in Division I. The Huskies set a school record for wins as a Div. 1 team in Mike Cavanaugh’s 11th season at the helm.

No. 3 Quinnipiac

Record: 24-11-2

PairWise ranking: 12

How the Bobcats got here: At-large bid

Last 10 games: 7-3 (lost ECAC semifinal to Cornell in overtime)

History lesson: This is Quinnipiac’s 11th NCAA appearance, including each of the last six tournaments. The Bobcats have been to the Frozen Four three times and won one national title, in 2023. Quinnipiac lost to Boston College in overtime in the regional finals last season.

No. 4 Penn State

Record: 20-13-4

PairWise rating: 13

How the Nittany Lions got here: At-large bid

Last 10 games: 7-2-1 (lost Big Ten semifinal to Ohio State in overtime)

History lesson: This is Penn State’s fifth NCAA appearance. In 2023, the Nittany Lions lost in the regional finals to Michigan in overtime. Penn State has never been to the Frozen Four.

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Bowman secures pole for Cup race at Bristol

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Bowman secures pole for Cup race at Bristol

BRISTOL, Tenn. — A little ray of sunshine was all Alex Bowman needed to secure the pole position for Sunday’s Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Well, not quite all. Bowman also had to turn a blistering lap in his No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet during Saturday’s time trials at the 0.533-mile short track, and he did just that.

Bowman covered the distance in 14.912 seconds (128.675 mph) — the fastest lap ever run at Bristol in the NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen car. That was good enough to hold off fellow Chevrolet driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (128.563 mph) by 0.013 seconds to secure the top starting spot for the ninth Cup Series race of the season.

It wasn’t just the Busch Light Pole Award that had Bowman salivating. Extensive tire wear in the practice session that preceded qualifying compared to last year’s spring event in Thunder Valley, where tire fall-off was a crucial aspect of the competition.

“I think we’re all much more prepared than we were last spring,” said Bowman, who ran his lap under favorable cloud cover — with the sun coming out shortly after his qualifying attempt and warming the track slightly on an otherwise chilly day.

“I’m excited for a tire management race. It’s going to be a lot of fun. We’ll see what we’ve got,” he added.

“We started practice with rubber already on the track from the Xfinity cars, peeled it right up and sawed the tires right off. Yeah, confusing why we’re doing it again when we didn’t do it in the fall.

“It’s going to be warmer tomorrow. Maybe that changes it. It’s really difficult to say. I think it’s going to be like that [the spring race], but we’ll find out together, I think.”

Kyle Larson (128.511 mph) qualified third after winning the pole position for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race earlier in the day. Denny Hamlin, winner of the past two Cup events, was fourth in the fastest Toyota at 128.460 mph, and Ryan Blaney topped all other Ford drivers with a fifth-place qualifying lap at 128.305 mph.

In seven of the past eight Cup races at Bristol, the winner has come from the top five spots on the starting grid — two from the pole and two from the second starting position.

Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell claimed the sixth and seventh starting spots, with AJ Allmendinger, Carson Hocevar and Justin Haley claiming eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively.

Kyle Busch was 15th fastest in qualifying, but he spun off Turn 4 on his second lap and flat-spotted his tires. Joey Logano, who qualified immediately after Busch, broke loose off Turn 2 and smacked the outside wall with the right rear of his No. 22 Team Penske Ford. Logano will start 38th on Sunday.

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NASCAR’s appeal rips ruling for MJ’s 23XI Racing

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NASCAR's appeal rips ruling for MJ's 23XI Racing

In response to the preliminary injunctions granted to 23XI Racing — owned by Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin — and Front Row Motorsports, NASCAR filed a brief on Friday urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to reverse the decision.

In the appeal, NASCAR contends that 23XI and Front Row sought and received injunctions binding them to the 2024 charter agreement despite contending that the charter violates antitrust law.

NASCAR asserted that U.S. District Judge Kenneth D. Bell misapplied antitrust laws and portrayed the release of claims as standard business practice, not anti-competitive conduct. NASCAR argued that businesses, per case law, have a right to choose the terms and conditions of their agreements and that it’s the teams’ choice to accept or decline those terms.

Per the appeal, NASCAR went on defend exclusivity agreements with racetracks and limited non-compete clauses, emphasizing their importance in cost control and consistency for race operations and media rights.

NASCAR presented 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports as investments by entrepreneurs such as Jordan, contrasting them with antitrust cases involving athletes restricted by monopolistic environments.

In the appeal, NASCAR explained its competitiveness in attracting capital, fans and owners, citing high turnover and the need for continual investment.

Meanwhile, 23XI and Front Row in court filings have maintained that NASCAR’s business practices are monopolistic and anticompetitive and deny teams a fair shake.

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Officials: Ex-LSU WR Lacy died in apparent suicide

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Officials: Ex-LSU WR Lacy died in apparent suicide

Former LSU receiver Kyren Lacy, who was found dead Saturday night in Houston, died in an apparent suicide in his car while being pursued by authorities, according to a Harris County (Texas) sheriff’s report released Sunday.

According to Harris County authorities, police responded to a call from a female family member who said Lacy had discharged a firearm into the ground during a verbal argument late Saturday night. When they arrived on the scene they learned that the suspect, Lacy, had fled in a vehicle.

Authorities say their pursuit of Lacy ended when Lacy crashed. When officers approached the vehicle to extract Lacy, they say he had died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the report said.

Lacy, 24, was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders. He had been facing criminal charges stemming from a fatal car accident in Louisiana in December.

“We’re saddened to learn of the tragic passing of former LSU football student-athlete Kyren Lacy,” LSU said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones, as well as his former teammates and coaches impacted by his passing.”

In a social media post Sunday, Lacy’s father, Kenny Lacy, urged parents to check in on their children’s mental health from an early age.

“Our lives have changed forever and this will never be ok, but God needed my baby more than he was needed here,” Kenny Lacy wrote on Facebook. “This has to be the biggest pill our families have had to swallow but I know the love and compassion in our families will get us through.”

Kyren Lacy was accused of causing a crash that killed a 78-year-old man Dec. 17 and then fleeing the scene without rendering aid or calling authorities. On Jan. 12, he turned himself in to authorities, was jailed and then released on $151,000 bail, according to police records.

Lafourche (Louisiana) Parish Sheriff’s Office records indicated that Lacy was charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run with death and reckless operation of a vehicle. A grand jury was to begin hearing evidence in the case Monday.

“It is with profound sorrow that we confirm the tragic passing of Kyren Lacy. First and foremost, we ask that the public and the media give his family the space and time they need to grieve this unimaginable loss in peace,” Lacy’s attorney, Matthew Ory, said in a statement to ESPN’s Mark Schlabach.

Ory added that he was “very confident the evidence, after being fully collected and reviewed, would lead to a declination of charges” and that, “we will be demanding a full and transparent review of how this investigation was conducted and why.”

Lacy declared for the NFL draft Dec. 19, two days after the crash, and did not play in LSU’s win over Baylor in the Texas Bowl. He participated in March at LSU’s pro day and was ranked as high as the No. 6 receiver prospect in the draft by ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. in December. Lacy was not ranked among the top 10 available wide receivers in Kiper’s most recent Big Board, which was published last month.

Lacy played three seasons at LSU after starting his career at Louisiana. Lacy had his best season last year when he caught 58 passes for 866 yards and a team-leading nine touchdowns.

Information from ESPN’s Chris Low and Adam Schefter and The Associated Press was included in this report.

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