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Denver, Top-Seeded Michigan, join North Dakota, Wisconsin at 20206 Frozen Four: Puck Drop

Your daily briefing on what's going on in college hockey, everything from the assists on the ice to the Zamboni.
Christopher Walsh|
Denver celebrates defeating Western Michigan 6-2 in the Loveland Regional to advance to the 2026 Frozen Four.
Denver celebrates defeating Western Michigan 6-2 in the Loveland Regional to advance to the 2026 Frozen Four. | Michael Ciaglo/Denver Athletics
  1. 5 Final Takeaways From Regionals
  2. Puck Drop: Monday, March 30, 2026
  3. 2026 NCAA Regionals Final Results
  4. Frozen Four
  5. Hockey Quote of the Day
  6. We'll Leave You With This ...

Double overtime between Denver and Western Michigan? Not this time. Not even close.

Although the two NCHC rivals played two double-overtime postseason games last year, and were meeting for the sixth time this season — splitting four regular-season games and the Pioneers won in overtime in the NCHC semifinals — Denver left no doubt and scored four first-period goals en route to a 6-2 victory at Blue Arena on Sunday.

Also advancing to the Frozen Four was No. 1-ranked Michigan, which jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first period, but managed to hold on against comeback-minded Minnesota Duluth for a 4-3 victory in the Albany Regional finals.

UMD outshot Michigan 33-27 in the game and 16-6 in the final period. Jayden Perron scored the game-winning goal 3:07 into the third for his 40th point of the year, but that that point it made the sore 4-1. Ty Hanson and Scout Truman scored for the Bulldogs to set up a wild final three minutes.

Will Horcoff, Adam Valentini and Jayden Perron scored the first period goals for the Wolverines, who have won seven straight and have had the best record in Division I since Christmas (17-3-1).

Freshman Kyle Chyzowski a career-high three points with two goals and one assist). Juniors Kieran Cebrian and Eric Pohlkamp, and freshman Brendan McMorrow both had a goal and assist. Senior center Samu Salminen and junior left wing Sam Harris also scored. Zach Bookman and Theo Wallberg had the goals for the reigning champions.

"We've been in their shoes before," Denver coach David Carle said. "It's really hard with a target on your back while you're being the defending champions. They lost two key [defensemen] early in the year and the way they developed the coaching staff—the respect we have for them, with an excellent team and excellent program."

5 Final Takeaways From Regionals

1. The Frozen Four features the four programs that have won the most national championships in college hockey.

Denver: 10 (1958, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1969, 2004, 2005, 2017, 2022, 2024)
Michigan: 9 (1948, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1964, 1996, 1998)
North Dakota: 8 (1959, 1963, 1980, 1982, 1987, 1997, 2000, 2016)
Wisconsin: 6 (1973, 1977, 1981, 1983, 1990, 2006)

2. All four Outstanding Player of the Regionals awards went to a goaltender, three of whom were freshmen. Michigan's Jack Ivankovic made 30 saves against UMD, and the Denver's Johnny Hicks extended his unbeaten streak to 14 (13-0-1) since taking over as the starter.

3. Minnesota Duluth sophomore Max Plante finished his season with 25 goals and 27 assists, 52 points, while his brother Zam had 20 goals on 29 assists, for 49 points. They combined for 302 shots on goal, and 11 game-winning goals.

4. The Pioneers have reached the Frozen Four for the third straight year, and four of the last five seasons. They won the national title in both 2022 and 2024. DU also has the longest winning streak of the teams heading to Las Vegas, having won the last nine games, and longest unbeaten streak at 15 (14-0-1).

5. A big key to Denver advancing was that the Pioneers were only called for one penalty in both the regional semifinals and finals. That could be a huge factor against Michigan, as the Wolverines lead the nation in power-play percentage. Denver was 32nd in penalty minutes, while Michigan had the second-most this season.

Puck Drop: Monday, March 30, 2026

• With just eight games remaining in the regular season, and having fallen to third in the Pacific Division, the Vegas Golden Knights fired head coach Bruce Cassidy and replaced him with former Maine right winger John Tortorella. The first the American-born NHL coach to reach 500 wins was previously the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Rangers, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers. His career NHL record is 770 wins, 648 losses (165 in overtime), and 37 ties. He won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004.

• Curtiss Sturgeon scored with 3:16 left in overtime as Hamilton College won its first Division III national title. It defeated three-tie reigning champion Hobart College 2-1 at the Adirondack Bank Center at Utica Memorial Auditorium (about 17 minutes away from campus). Luke Tchor go the other goal for Hamilton (23-5-2), While Hobart just missed on a perfect season (30-1).

• The UW-River Falls women's hockey team became just the third team in Division III history to win three straight national championships by defeating Nazareth University 4-0. Middlebury College (2004–06) and Plattsburgh State (2014–17) were the others. Joe Cranston's teams have compiled an overall record of 87-4-2 during that stretch.

• The Seattle Torrent (PWHL) have activated captain Hilary Knight from long-term injured reserve after she suffered a lower-body injury sustained in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. To make room for the former Wisconsin standout, former Minnesota State forward Brooke Bryant to the team’s Reserve Player List. For more check out Breakaway On SI.

• The latest move in the women's transfer portal, Minnesota Duluth freshman goaltender Sophia Villanueva is heading to Bemidji State.

• As expected, Michigan State's Porter Martone signed his entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. He's just one of five freshmen in Spartans history to reach 50 points. Meanwhile, Merrimack goaltender Max Lundgren, who led the Warriors to the Hockey East championship and NCAA tournament, signed an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins. "This is a dream since I was a little kid, to sign an NHL contact," he said.

2026 NCAA Regionals Final Results

Worcester Regional
At DCU Center
Semifinals
Thursday, March 26
No. 3 Michigan State 2, Connecticut 1
Wisconsin 5, Dartmouth 1
Finals
Saturday, March 28
Wisconsin 4, No. 3 Michigan State 3 (OT)

Sioux Falls Regional
At Denny Sanford Premier Center
Semifinals
Thursday, March 26
Quinnipiac 5, Providence 2
No. 2 North Dakota 3, Merrimack 0
Finals
Saturday, March 28
No. 2 North Dakota 5, Quinnipiac 0

Albany Regional
At MVP Arena
Semifinals
Friday, March 27
No. 1 Michigan 5, Bentley 1
Minnesota Duluth 3, Penn State 1
Finals
Sunday, March 29
No. 1 Michigan 4, Minnesota Duluth 3

Loveland Regional
At Blue Arena
Friday, March 27
No. 4 Western Michigan 3, Minnesota State 1
Denver 5, Cornell 0
Finals
Sunday, March 29
Denver 6, No. 4 Western Michigan 2

Frozen Four

At Las Vegas
T-Mobile Arena
All times Eastern
Thursday, April 9
No. 2 North Dakota vs. Wisconsin, 5 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 Michigan vs. Denver, 8:30 p.m., ESPN2

Championship
Saturday, April 11
Semifinal winners, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2

Hockey Quote of the Day

"Ed [Belfour] came in as this small town, Manitoba kid. It didn't take us long to figure out he was something else. He was the most competitive athlete any of us had ever been around and that was infectious."
UND teammate Tarek Howard

We'll Leave You With This ...

The 52nd Annual FDNY vs. NYPD Heroes Hockey Game at UBS Arena was played on Sunday. Here's a taste of how the charity event went.

The NYPD won 3-2, its first in the annual game since 2015-16.

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Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of Alabama Crimson Tide On SI, which first published as BamaCentral in 2018, and is also the publisher of the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt sites . He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004 and is the author of 27 books including “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Nick Saban vs. College Football.” He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

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