No. 1, Top Tier Appear Set Per Latest College Hockey Bracketology: Puck Drop

2026 NCAA Tournament Projections March 15
Puck Drop: Monday, March 16, 2026
AHA Tournament
Big Ten Tournament
CCHA Tournament
ECAC Tournament
Hockey East Tournament
NCHC Tournament
Women’s NCAA Tournament
Hockey Quote of the Day
We'll Leave You With This ...

Just when you think you have a grip on things in college hockey ...

We welcome you to our second-to-last bracketology of the 2025-26 college hockey season, and our latest projections for the upcoming NCAA Tournament. There will only be a handful of games this upcoming week, as conference tournaments wrap up and league championship are won, however, they won't have too much of an impact on projections — with one major exception.

Each tournament conference winner gets the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Up until now we've been speculating on which team that will be, knowing that there will upsets and surprises. Next week we'll know.

Regardless, with North Dakota, Michigan State and Western Michigan losing in their respective tournament semifinals, Michigan has wrapped up the top seed in the NCAA Tournament regardless of what the Wolverines do in the Big Ten Tournament championship game. It also means that the top four spots are probably locks as well, as you no longer need to pencil in those four teams as the regional top seeds but can them down in ink.

With that bit of news, let's begin:

Automatic bids: We still don't know the tournament winners, and until now we've gone with the team atop the standings as our automatic bid. That obviously won't work with this edition of bracketology, so it'll be the team highst in the regular-season standings among those still playing in the league tournament. For example, top-seeded Providence was knocked out of the Hockey East Tournament by Merrimack in overtime, so Massachusetts is our automatic bid team.

Consequently, our six automatic-bid teams are, in order of conference, Bentley (AHA), Big Ten (Michigan), Minnesota State (CCHA), Cornell (ECAC), Massachusetts (Hockey East) and Denver (NCHC). In terms of National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index, which is being used to select the at-large teams and seed the tournament, they're, in order, No. 25, 1, 17, 9, 13 and 5.

At-large teams: Any team that finishes in the top 10 is a lock. They are, in order, North Dakota, Michigan State, Western Michigan, Minnesota Duluth, Providence, Dartmouth and Penn State.

There's room for three more teams: Quinnipiac (which we're ready to call a lock despite getting swept by Clarkson; if there's a way the Bobcats don't get in the field of 16 we haven't foudn it) , Wisconsin and our last team in the field. St. Thomas.

The first four out: Connecticut, Augustana, Boston College and Ohio State. The Huskies and Eagles are set to play in a Hockey East semifinal, and the Buckeyes are in the Big Ten championship game.

Seedings: Per NPI, the seedings in this scenario:

1 Michigan
2 North Dakota
3 Michigan State
4 Western Michigan
5 Denver
6 Minnesota Duluth
7 Providence
8 Dartmouth
9 Cornell
10 Penn State
11 Quinnipiac
12 Wisconsin
13 Massachusetts
14 St. Thomas
15 Minnesota State
16 Bentley

Tiers: This is often overlooked but is actually a really important step in the process. Teams aren't supposed to be moved of their tier, which is what you hear all the analysts talk about with the NCAA Basketball Tournament selections. It's crucial to keeping bracket integrity.

As previously mentioned, we already know the first tier for this year's tournament. The rest? Not so much.

Tier 1 Michigan, North Dakota, Michigan State, Western Michigan
Tier 2 Denver, Minnesota Duluth. Providence, Dartmouth
Tier 3 Cornell. Penn State. Quinnipiac, Wisconsin
Tier 4 Massachusetts, St. Thomas, Minnesota State, Bentley

Brackets: Base on the seedings the team are placed into four regionals with pure brackets, meaning 1, 8, 9, 16 together, etc.

1 Michigan, 8 Dartmouth, 9 Cornell, 16 Bentley
2 North Dakota, 7 Providence, 10 Penn State, 15 Minnesota State
3 Michigan State, 6 Minnesota Duluth, 11 Quinnipiac, 14 St. Thomas
4 Western Michigan, 5 Denver 12 Wisconsin, 13 Massachusetts

The first thing that has to be checked is if there are any potential first-round matchups between conference team, which needs to be avoided. There's only one, Dartmouth and Cornell, which are both in the ECAC, so the initial protocol is to swap the lower one with the nearest team, in this case Penn State, as Cornell is on a tier edge.

Venues: This is the tricky part, and we 're going to do it with an eye toward the final factor, attendance (and in a way to cut to the chase a little). The four sites are Albany, N.Y., Loveland, Colo., Sioux Falls, S.D., and Worcester, Mass. Regional hosts in the tournament must play at their site, which in this case there's one, Denver. Consequently, Western Michigan's group is placed in Loveland.

Normally we'd simply go Michigan to Albany, North Dakota to Sioux Falls, and Michigan State to Worcester, however, the only school near Albany, the Big Red, just got switched into UND's bracket. That's not desirable because it would likely translate to lousy attendance at one of those regionals. If we take another step following that initial move and swap Cornell and Quinnipiac we're both getting away from our original bracket but also just moved the only New England school out of the Worcester Regional.

The selection committee could do that, but instead we're going for plan B. Instead of swapping Cornell and Penn State on the third tier, the move is made on the second tier with Dartmouth and Providence. The overall locations work better, plus we make a final tweak at the end on the fourth tier with Massachusetts and St. Thomas to get a second local draw for Worcester.

2026 NCAA Tournament Projections March 15

Albany: 1 Michigan vs. 16 Bentley; 7 Providence vs. 9 Cornell
Loveland: 4 Western Michigan vs. 14 St. Thomas; 5 Denver vs. 12 Wisconsin
Sioux Falls: 2 North Dakota vs. 15 Minnesota State; 8 Dartmouth vs.10 Penn State
Worcester: 3 Michigan State vs. 13 Massachusetts; 6 Minnesota Duluth vs. 11 Quinnipiac

It'll be interesting to see how different this looks in a week, after the conference championships.

Puck Drop: Monday, March 16, 2026

• The U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team won its fifth-straight Paralympic Winter Games gold medal with a 6-2 victory over Canada at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan. With it, the U.S. became the first country to win the gold in men's, women's and Paralympics in the same year. Jack Wallace had three goals and an assist and was named tournament MVP. ... During its five tournament games the U.S. outscored opponents 46-6.

Jack Wallace delivers for Team USA. 🇺🇸🏒 pic.twitter.com/UrpWudeQgW
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) March 15, 2026

• With Boston University's season wrapping up, the Washington Capitals signed prospect Cole Hutson to a three-year, entry-level contract. the defenseman was a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.

• Over the weekend, Augustana goaltender Josh Kotai was named the CCHA player of the year. He started all 26 conference games for the Vikings, going 14-8-4 with a 1.87 goals-against average and a league-best .941 save percentage. .

• The ECAC announced the Goaltending Ken Dryden Goalie of the Year award winner as Cornell’s Alexis Cournoyer. He was named All-ECAC along with Cornell junior forward Jonathan Castagna, Quinnipiac freshman forward Ethan Wyttenbach, Dartmouth sophomore forward Hayden Stavroff , Quinnipiac sophomore defenseman Elliott Groenewold and Union junior defenseman Tyler Dunbar.

• The All-Hockey East First Team featured Massachusetts junior goaltender Michael Hrabal , senior defensemen Brandon Holt and Boston University sophomore Cole Hutson, Boston College sophomore forward James Hagens. Northeastern junior Dylan Hryckowian, and Maine junior forwaerd Josh Nadeau. Hrabal was also named Goaltender of the Year unanimously, the first Minuteman netminder so honored.

• Denver junior Eric Pohlkamp was selected the winner of the 2025-26 NCHC Offensive Defenseman of the Year award, while Minnesota Duluth sophomore Adam Kleber was voted the winner of the 2025-26 NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year award. Jan Špunar of North Dakota was named the league's Goaltender of the year.

All times are local to where the game is being played.

AHA Tournament

Semifinals
Best of 3
Friday, March 13
Sacred Heart 5, Robert Morris 1
Bently 3, Holy Cross 2 (OT)

Saturday March 14
Bentley 4, Holy Cross 0
Robert Morris 5, Sacred Heart 2

Sunday, March 15
Sacred Heart 5, Robert Morris 0

Championship
Saturday, March 21
Sacred Heart winner at Bentley, TBA

Big Ten Tournament

Quarterfinals
Wednesday, March 11
Ohio State 7, Wisconsin 1
Michigan 6, Notre Dame 1
Penn State 6, Minnesota 2

Semifinals
Saturday, March 14
Ohio State 3, Michigan State 3 (OT)
Michigan 5, Penn State 2

Championship
Saturday, March 21
Ohio State at Michigan, TBA

CCHA Tournament

Semifinals
Saturday, March 14
St. Thomas 2, Augustana 1
Minnesota State 7, Michigan Tech 2

Championship
Friday, March 20
St. Thomas at Minnesota State, 7 p.m.

ECAC Tournament

Quarterfinals
Best of 3
Friday, March 13
Clarkson 3, Quinnipiac 0
Dartmouth 4, Colgate 1
Harvard 3, Cornell 1
Princeton 5, Union 2

Saturday, March 14
Clarkson 4, Quinnipiac 3
Dartmouth 4, Colgate 1
Cornell 4, Harvard 0
Princeton 5, Union 2

Sunday, March 15
Cornell 5, Harvard 2

Semifinals
Friday, March 20
At Lake Placid, N.Y.
Dartmouth vs. Clarkson, 4 p.m. ET
Cornell vs. Princeton, 7 p.m. ET

Championship
Saturday, March 21
At Lake Placid, N.Y.
Semifinal winners, 5 pm ET

For the Lynah Faithful#YellCornell pic.twitter.com/6CNFZi16s4
— Cornell Men’s Ice Hockey (@CornellMHockey) March 15, 2026

Hockey East Tournament

Opening Round
Wednesday, March 11
Boston University 4, Vermont 1
Northeastern 7, New Hampshire 3
Merrimack 5, UMass Lowell 3

Quarterfinals
Friday, March 13
Boston College 5, Maine 0

Saturday, March 14
Connecticut 5, Boston University 3
Massachusetts 4, Northeastern 1
Merrimack 3, Providence 2 (OT)

Semifinals
Friday, March 20
At TD Garden, Boston
Merrimack vs. Massachusetts, 4 p.m. ET
Boston College vs. Connecticut, 7 p.m. ET

Championship
Saturday, March 21
Semifinals winners, 7 p.m. ET

NCHC Tournament

Quarterfinals
Best of 3
Friday, March 6
Western Michigan 5, Colorado College 2
Minnesota Duluth 4, St. Cloud State 3 (OT)
North Dakota 5, Omaha 3
Denver 3, Miami 0

Saturday, March 7
Western Michigan 2, Colorado College 1
Denver 6, Miami 2
Minnesota Duluth 2, St. Cloud State 1 (OT)
North Dakota 5, Omaha 1

Semifinals
Saturday, March 14
Minnesota Duluth 5, North Dakota 1
Denver 2, Western Michigan 1 (OT)

Championship
Saturday, March 21
Minnesota Duluth at Denver, 6 p.m. MT

Women’s NCAA Tournament

Regional Semifinals
Thursday, March 12
Yale 1, Minnesota Duluth 0
Connecticut 4, Princeton 1
Quinnipiac 4, Franklin Pierce 0

Regional Championships
Saturday, March 14
No. 2 Wisconsin 6, Quinnipiac 0
No. 3 Penn State 3, Connecticut 0
No. 5 Northeastern 4, No. 4 Minnesota 2
No. 1 Ohio State 6, Yale 1

Frozen Four
Friday, March 20
At Pegula Ice Aren, Penn State
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Northeastern, 4 p.m. ET
No. 2 Wisconsin vs. No. 3 Penn State, 7:30 p.m. ET

Championship Game
Sunday, March 22
At Pegula Ice Aren, Penn State

Semifinal winners, 4 p.m. ET

Hockey Quote of the Day

“It's like the animal kingdom. Adapt or go extinct."
Brett Hull (UMD)

We'll Leave You With This ...

For the final time at @milanocortina26: the U.S. National Anthem. 🇺🇸#WinterParalympics

pic.twitter.com/eS3HE2YDgB
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) March 15, 2026