This Week's Bracketology as College Hockey Zeros in on Postseason Tournaments: Puck Drop

We're getting down to the nitty-gritty in bracketology, as conference tournaments begin in a couple of weeks and the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship bracket will be announced in just over a month on March 22.

The closer we get to the tournament, the less movement there should be in the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index rankings that will be used to select at-large teams and for seeding, so the pressure is on for teams to make their moves — if they can. From here on in the opportunities become fewer and the individual results will have less of an impact.

Our process for bracketology doesn't change, though. The 16-team field will include an automatic qualifier from conference, which will be eventually determined by the winner of each postseason tournament. For our purposes the team currently in first place in each league is used: Bentley (AHA), Michigan (Big Ten), Michigan Tech (CCHA), Quinnipiac (ECAC), Providence (Hockey East), and North Dakota (NCHC).

Note: Michigan has a four-point lead on No. 1 Michigan State in the Big Ten, but has played two extra games. In the CCHA, Michigan Tech has a one-point lead on St. Thomas with two more games played. In both cases, the team in first place is not the one with the best NPI ranking in the conference.

Next, the 10 at-large spots are selected using NPI: Michigan State, Western Michigan, Penn State, Denver, Minnesota Duluth and Cornell are all in the top 10, so they would be in regardless of how many conferences have surprise tournament winners. That leaves the final four of Dartmouth, Connecticut, St. Thomas and by the skin of its teeth, Boston College.

The first four out would be Wisconsin, Minnesota State, Augustana and Bowling Green.

The 16 teams are seeded, 1-16, based on NPI:

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

The teams are then organized by tiers, in groups of four. Teams are not allowed to be moved out of their tiers to maintain bracket integrity.

Tier 1: Michigan State, Michigan, North Dakota, Western Michigan
Tier 2: Penn State, Providence, Quinnipiac, Denver
Tier 3: Minnesota Duluth, Cornell, Dartmouth, Connecticut
Tier 4: St. Thomas, Boston College, Michigan Tech, Bentley

Before moving forward, there are two things that need to be pointed out that are different from previous bracketologies:

1) The ECAC block of having three consecutive teams in the middle of the seedings during the last two bracketologies was broken up as Quinnipiac separated itself from Cornell and Dartmouth. This, in theory, should make any necessary adjustments later on easier.

2) Denver, which is a host team and therefore has to host its regional, moved up into tier 2 with its sweep of Omaha,

In addition to Loveland, Colo., the other regional sites are Albany, N.Y. (Union host), Worcester, Mass. (Holy Cross), and Sioux Falls, S.D. (Omaha). The games will be played March 26-288. The Frozen Four will be in Las Vegas, April 9 and 11.

The next step is to place the teams into four brackets per their seedings:

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

The committee traditionally doesn't have teams from the same conference play in the first round, and we have two problem pairings with Denver and UMD out of the NCHC, plus Quinnipiac and Dartmouth in the ECAC. In theory we can do a simple switch with both in the third tier, swap UMD with Cornell and Dartmouth with UConn, however, it could lead to a huge attendance issue problems.

Here's why. Denver has to host, but if we swap UMD and Cornell, the Big Red is heading to Loveland and it's the one tournament team could all but guarantee a good draw in Albany. Meanwhile, North Dakota is the lone school that can get big crowds in Sioux Falls, although right now the other three teams there would be a lot more popular in Worcester.

It's not deal, but instead of two smaller switches we're doing to do a slightly bigger one and switch UMD and Dartmouth, No. 9 and 11. That keeps the bracket for the top two tiers intact and there's a local draw with each regional with Connecticut just under an hour's drive from Worcester.

Finally, that last regional can be helped out with a simple switch as there are six schools located just a short drive away. We swap the bottom one in the fourth tier, and in the process help Sioux Falls out a little as well, with Boston College and St. Thomas.

Feb. 16 Bracketology Projection

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

Until next week ...

Puck Drop: Monday, February 16, 2026

• Quinnipiac freshman Ethan Wyttenbach had an assist an open-net goal during Sunday's 4-1 victory against Princeton to give him 51 points on the season, which leads the nation by eight. Michigan's T.J. Hughes is second with 43 and Michael Hage is right behind his teammate with 42. Meanwhile, sophomore goaltender Dylan Silverstein is out front in goals against average at 1.52. He's 6-0-1 since Christmas with a 1.28 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.

• The pairing for the ECAC women's tournament:

Opening Round (Single-elimination, February 20 or 21)
No. 12 Union at No. 5 Clarkson, Friday, Feb. 20, 3 p.m. ET
No. 11 RPI at No. 6 Colgate, Friday, Feb. 20, 6 p.m.
No. 10 Dartmouth at No. 7 Brown, Saturday, Feb. 21, 3 p.m.
No. 9 St. Lawrence at No. 8 Harvard. Saturday, Feb. 21, 3 p.m.

Quarterfinals (Best of Three Series, Feb. 27-March 1)
No. 1 Yale hosts lowest-remaining seed
No. 2 Princeton hosts second-lowest remaining seed
No. 3 Quinnipiac hosts second-highest remaining seed
No. 4 Cornell hosts highest-remaining seed

• Boston College Women’s Hockey Stuns No. 5 Northeastern in Overtime

WHAT A SAVEEE 🤯

Top-10 Play @espn?!?!? pic.twitter.com/8ANwdAtcsX
— Boston College Women's Hockey (@BC_WHockey) February 15, 2026

Men's College Hockey Sunday Scores

ECAC
No. 5 Quinnipiac 4, Princeton 1

Women's College Hockey Sunday Scores

Hockey East
Merrimack 3, Vermont 2
Boston College 1, No. 5 Northeastern 0 (OT)

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.

Monday's College Hockey Schedule

No Games Scheduled

Olympics Hockey Update

• Former Michigan defenseman Zach Werenski scored with 9 seconds remaining in the first period to get Team USA going and Auston Matthews had two goals and an assist to help lead a 5-1 win against Germany to close the preliminary round of the men's Olympic tournament. The U.S. (3-0-0-0) clinched first place in Group C and received an automatic bye into the quarterfinals. Seeded second behind Canada for the single-elimination stage, it'll face the winner of Tuesday's game between Sweden and Latvia on Wednesday. Brock Faber (Minnesota) and Tage Thompson (Connecticut) also scored, while Jake Sanderson (North Dakota) and Matthew Tkachuk both had two assists. Connor Hellebuyck (Mass.-Lowell) made 23 saves. For more, check out SI.com.

• Former Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini continued to be the story for Team Canada as he became the first NHL player to score on a penalty shot at the Olympics during the 10-2 win against Team France at Santagiulia Arena. The win all but locked up the top seeding for Canada as it already had an edge in goal differential over the U.S. heading into the game. With two goals and one assist, Celebrini finished the preliminary round with six points (four goals, two assists) in three games and set a record for goals by a teenager at an Olympics with NHL players. The San Jose Sharks forward is 19.

• Canadian right wing Tom Wilson had a Gordie Howe hat trick with a goal, assist and a fight against France, which in international play is an automatic ejection. He fought Pierre Crinon, who had elbowed Nathan MacKinnon in the face.

• Switzerland secured second place in Group A with a 4-3 win against Czechia thanks to Dean Kukan's goal at 1:49 of overtime. Roman Josi and Timo Meier each had a goal and an assist for Switzerland, while Martin Necas had a goal and two assists for Czechia.

• Nick Olesen had two goals and an assist, and Frederik Andersen made 31 saves including 12 in the third period as Denmark defeated Latvia 4-2. Denmark, Germany, and Latvia all finsihed with one win in Group C behind Team USA.

Olympics Hockey Scores, Schedule

Sunday's Schedule
MEN
Group A
Switzerland 4, Czechia 3 (OT)
Canada 10, France 2

Group C
Denmark 4, Latvia 2
United States 5, Germany 1

Monday's Schedule
WOMEN
Semifinals
United States vs. Sweden, at PalaItalia Santa Giulia, Milan, 10:40 a.m. ET
Canada vs. Switzerland, at PalaItalia Santa Giulia, Milan, 3:10 p.m.

Tuesday's Schedule
MEN (6:10, 10:40, 12:10. 3:10 ET)
Qualification Playoff: Germany vs France, 6:10 a.m. ET
Qualification Playoff : Switzerland vs. Italy, 6:10 a.m.
Qualification Playoff: Czechia vs. Denmark, 10:40 a.m.
Qualification Playoff: Sweden vs. Latvia, 3:10 p.m.

Wednesday's Schedule
MEN
Quarterfinal: Slovakia vs. winner of Germany-France, 6:10 a.m. ET
Quarterfinal: Canada vs. winner of Czechia vs. Denmark, 10:40 a.m.
Quarterfinal: Finland vs winner of Switzerland-Italy, 12:10 p.m.
Quarterfinal: Team USA vs. inner of Sweden-Latvia, 3:10 p.m.

Hockey Quote of the Day

Losing is essential to anyone's success. The more you lose, the more you want to win.
Brett Hull (UMD)

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