Hockey's Championship Weekend Wraps with Women's Title, Men's Brackets: Puck Drop

Brackets for Men's 2026 NCAA Tournament
2026 NCAA Tournament Schedule
Puck Drop: Monday, March 23, 2026
Hockey Quote of the Day
We'll Leave You With This ...

The national championship in women's hockey pretty much came down to what was widely expected, a No. 1 vs. 2 matchup between Ohio State and Wisconsin decided by one goal. For the fourth straight year, that's exactly what happened.

The reigning champion Badgers got it as Claire Enright scored the game-winning goal with 6:18 to go in regulation as Wisconsin captured its ninth national title in program history, and fifth championship over the past seven years.

Wisconsin goaltender Ava McNaughton was named the Most Outstanding Player after stopping 34 out of 36 shots. Kelly Gorbatenko and Laney Potter to give the Badgers a 2-0, lead, but the Buckeyes came back with goals by Kassidy Carmichael and Jocelyn Amos to tie the game in the third period.

Shot were almost even, 36-34 in favor of Ohio State, but the Buckeys had six penalties while Wisconsin was called for one. McNaughton was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Caroline Harvey, Kirsten Simms and Laila Edwards, along with Ohio State's Emma Peschel and Penn State's Tessa Janecke.

CLAIRE ENRIGHT, ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! 😮‍💨@BadgerWHockey takes back the lead!#WFrozenFour x 🎥 ESPNU pic.twitter.com/3qcXvQBCLh
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 22, 2026

It's the first time a team has repeated as the NCAA women's hockey national champion since Clarkson won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018. Every national championship played since then has been won by either Wisconsin or Ohio State.

Fifth-year forward Lacey Eden became the first player in women’s hockey history to win four national championships. Harvey, Edwards, Simms and McNaughton were also on gold-medal winning Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

That moment when you win the NINTH Natty in program history >>>>> #WFrozenFour x @BadgerWHockey pic.twitter.com/X3Jx1DWt27
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 22, 2026

Brackets for Men's 2026 NCAA Tournament

There were no surprises at the top of the NCAA Tournament brackets revealed Sunday, with the top four teams all from the West.

Some items of note about the brackets and pairings:

• Denver and Cornell are meeting for the third time in four years in regionals.

• For the first time in 45 years no team from the Beanpot made the NCAA Tournament.

• There are three New England teams in the Sioux Falls regional along with North Dakota. The showdown between Providence and Quinnipiac, which are located about an hour and 45 minutes apart, will be played roughly 1,300 miles away in South Dakota.

• Yes, Western Michigan and Denver are again on a collision course. Last year they went to double-overtime in the NCHC and National Tournaments, and they just went to overtime in the NCHC semifinals.

The official brackets:

Albany Region
1. Michigan
2. Minnesota Duluth
3. Penn State
4. Bentley

Loveland Region
1. Western Michigan
2. Denver
3. Cornell
4. Minnesota State

Sioux Falls Region
1. North Dakota
2. Providence
3. Quinnipiac
4. Merrimack

Worcester Region
1. Michigan State
2. Dartmouth
3. Wisconsin
4. Connecticut

For those wondering, we did not see eye-to-eye with the committee in one respect with our final bracketology and thought it would place No. 11 Cornell in the Albany Region for the local attendance boost. Instead it opted to keep No. 9 Penn State in Albany, which is a five-hour drive from campus, and sent No. 12 Wisconsin to Worcester.

2026 NCAA Tournament Schedule

All times Eastern
Regional semifinals
Thursday, March 26
No. 3 Michigan State vs. Connecticut, ESPN2, 1:30 p.m.
Dartmouth vs. Wisconsin, ESPNU, 5 p.m.
Providence vs. Quinnipiac, ESPN+, 5 p.m.
No. 2 North Dakota vs. Merrimack, ESPN2, 8:30 p.m.

Friday, March 27
No. 4 Western Michigan vs. Minnesota State, ESPNU, 2:30 p.m.
No. 1 Michigan vs. Bentley, ESPNU, 5:30 p.m.
Denver vs. Cornell, ESPN+, 6 p.m.
Minnesota Duluth vs. Penn State, ESPN2, 9 p.m.

Regional finals
Saturday, March 28
Sioux Falls Regional final
Worcester Regional final

Sunday, March 29
Albany Regional final
Loveland Regional final

Men's Frozen Four
At Las Vegas
Thursday, April 9
Semifinals, ESPN2
Saturday, April 11
Final, 7:30 p.m., ESPN2

Puck Drop: Monday, March 23, 2026

• Former St. Cloud State captain Tyson Gross made his NHL debut with the Calgary Flames against the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning. The home team won 4-3 in overtime.

ROOKIE LAP FOR TYSON GROSS 🔥 pic.twitter.com/W4ilvKR2F2
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 22, 2026

• Minnesota is set to promote Greg "Boom" May to be the new head coach of the women's hockey team. May has been the associate head coach since 2023. For more check out Minnesota Gophers On SI.

• The Wisconsin women's hockey team will host a "welcome back" event for fans Monday at LaBahn Arena. The event starts at 6:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m.. Admission is free.

• Jessi Pierce, 37, a contributor to NHL.com for the past 10 seasons and a fixture at Minnesota Wild games died Saturday, along with her three children in a fire at her home.

We are heartbroken and join the State of Hockey in mourning the tragic loss of Jessi and her children. May they rest in peace 💔. pic.twitter.com/H8L8Wgu6l4
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) March 22, 2026

Hockey Quote of the Day

23 “It’s not about me.”
Mark Johnson after Wisconsin’s 9th title

We'll Leave You With This ...

Your 2025-26 National Champions pic.twitter.com/uxmdXQWR95
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) March 23, 2026