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What Each Team Needs to Make NCAA Tournament in College Hockey: 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|
The Ohio State hockey team celebrates after upsetting Michigan State, one of four top-seeded teams eliminated from conference tournaments last weekend.
The Ohio State hockey team celebrates after upsetting Michigan State, one of four top-seeded teams eliminated from conference tournaments last weekend. | Ohio State Athletics/NCAA
  1. AHA Tournament
  2. Big Ten Tournament
  3. CCHA Tournament
  4. ECAC Tournament
  5. Hockey East Tournament
  6. NCHC Tournament
  7. Puck Drop: , March 18, 2026
  8. Women's Frozen Four
  9. Hockey Quote of the Day
  10. We'll Leave You With This ...

Even though the championship games of each conference tournament will be played this weekend, the field for the NCAA Tournament in college hockey is mostly set. At the top, Michigan has locked down the No. 1 seeding ahead of North Dakota and Michigan State. In the middle, at least 11 teams are locks.

After those top three, the others still in the hunt to play in the first Frozen Four in Las Vegas are Western Michigan, Denver, Minnesota Duluth, Providence, Dartmouth, Cornell, Penn State and Quinnipiac. Wisconsin is very close as it would take a string of upsets to knock the Badgers out.

What we're really down to are the bid stealers and how many we'll have this year. A big stealer means a team out of the top 16 in National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index that earns a spot in the NCAA Tournament by winning it's conference tournament. Each one that does so knocks a top 16 team out.

Augustana is at No. 16 heading into this weekend's games, but the Vikings were eliminated from the CCHA Tournament, and both teams in the AHA championship game are ranked below the top 16. So as of right now they're out.

They're left hoping for no surprise championship game winners this weekend and for enough teams ahead of them in NPI to fall enough for the Vikings to squeeze into the 16-team field. That means rooting against Minnesota State, Ohio State, Princeton, Clarkson and every Hockey East team still playing even though one has to get the automatic bid.

Here's a quick look at each conference tourmanet and what each team needs to do to secure a spot in the NCAA Tournament:

AHA Tournament

Championship
Saturday, March 21
Sacred Heart at Bentley, 7 p.m. ET

This is a winner-takes-all game. In addition to being the conference champion, the winning side will be in the 16th seed in the NCAA Tournament and will open against Michigan unless the selection committee does a fourth-tier swap for attendance purposes. The losing team's season will be over.

Big Ten Tournament

Championship
Saturday, March 21
Ohio State at Michigan, BTN, 8 p.m. ET

The Buckeyes have to win to make the NCAA Tournament. Michigan has already wrapped up top seeding for the NCAA Tournament

CCHA Tournament

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

A lot is at stake in addition to the conference championship. The Mavericks have to win to get into the NCAA Tournament. At No. 14 in NPI, St. Thomas might still squeeze in with a loss, but it's not likely. Augustana could still back into the tournament but only if there are no bid-stealing teams (meaning teams ranked below it that win their conference tournament).

ECAC Tournament

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

No. 8 in NPI Dartmouth and No,. 9 Cornell know that they're in the NCAA Tournament regardless of what happens, but are playing for a second-tier spot in the regionals, which in theory means easier first-round opponent. Where Cornell ends up in the NCAA bracket could have wide repicutions as the selection committee would like to place it in the Albany regional for the attendance boost. Clarkson and Princeton have to win the ECAC Championship Game to advance.

Hockey East Tournament

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

Massachusetts is No. 13, Connecticut is No. 15 and Boston College is No. 18 in NPI. The Minutemen might be in with just one more win, and the same could be true of the Huskies depending on other results, however that's not a very secure route, if you will. Boston College and Merrimack both need to win the Hockey East tournament to advance.

NCHC Tournament

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

Both teams are in and set as a tier-two team, meaning top-eight seeding. The winner will likely be the No. 5 seed in the NCAA brackets. Heading into the conference championship game, the NCHC has four of the top six teams in NPI.

Puck Drop: , March 18, 2026

• After 19 seasons, including four national titles but none in the past decade (2012, 2013, 2015 and 2016), Minnesota fired women's hockey coach Brad Frost. His record with the Gophers: 556-131-43. For more check out Minnesota Gophers On SI, or on how there's an obvious target with former player Nadine Muzerall, who has turned Ohio State into a powerhouse.

• Muzerall and Wisconsin's Mark Johnson were named finalists for the Women’s Ice Hockey Coach of the Year Award along with Mark Bolding of Yale, Dave Flint of Northeastern, Jeff Kampersal of Penn State, Katie Lachapelle of Holy Cross, and David Stockdale of Franklin Pierce.

• Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens became just the third former Wisconsin player to have a 40-goal season in the NHL, joining Dany Heatley and Joe Pavelski. It came in overtime against the rival Bruins:

But what made that game-winning play possible was this one from former Boton University defenseman Lane Hutson:

• North Dakota forward Cole Reschny was named the winner of the 2025-26 NCHC Rookie of the Year award. Cole Reschny. The freshman had 31 points, including five goals and 26 assists, in 30 regular-season games. The league also announced that Denver's Kent Anderson won league's Senior Scholar-Athlete Award.

• Sacred Heart senior forward Felix Trudeau was named the Player of the Year and Forward of the Year Awards in the AHA after leading the league in both goals (16), power play goals (seven). Air Force senior Chris Hedden landed Defenseman of the Year, and Army sophomore JJ Cataldo earned the league's Goaltender of the Year award. In other honors, RIT freshman Zach Wigle was named Rookie of the Year, Bentley junior Kellan Hjartarson was the league’s Best Defensive Forward, Holy Cross senior defenseman Mack Oliphant won the Sportsmanship Award (Robert Morris won the team award), and Bentley’s Andy Jones was named AHA Coach of the Year.

• Meanwhile, check this out about Michigan State's head coach:

• The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that they had signed former Northeastern defenseman Vincent Borgesi to a two-year contract beginning in the 2026-27 season. ... The Buffalo Sabres signed former Boston University defenseman Gavin McCarthy to a three-year, entry-level contract. ... Notre Dame Forward Cole Knuble signed an entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.

• Ohio won the American Collegiate Hockey Association's Division 1 national championship and Murdoch Cup, defeating Adrian College 3-1. Florida Gulf Coast scored 26 seconds in overtime to defeat Oklahoma State for ACHA Division II title, 3-2.

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

Women's Frozen Four

Friday, March 20
At Pegula Ice Arena, Penn State
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Northeastern, 4 p.m. ET
No. 2 Wisconsin Regional 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

"She had one way of doing things and that was hard. She was a dog in a lot of situations and a hungry one. If you took the puck from her, that probably wasn't good for you because she's coming back twice as hard to try and make sure she gets it back."
Mark Johnson on Brianna Decker

We'll Leave You With This ...

Maybe someone accidentally washed them ...

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Published
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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