The road to the 2026 men’s Frozen Four heats up as the sport’s six leagues embark on their conference tournaments.
The six league champions will earn automatic berths into the 16-team NCAA field, with the other 10 spots going to the top teams in the NPI rankings. The NCAA tournament bracket will be revealed March 22 at 3 p.m. on ESPNU and the ESPN App.
Regional play in the NCAA tournament begins March 26 and culminates with the Frozen Four in Las Vegas on April 9 and 11. All games will air on the ESPN networks and stream on the ESPN App.
Below are the schedules for every conference tournament, which will be updated with results as the tournaments progress.
All times Eastern.
Atlantic
After the four lowest seeds play in the first round, the Atlantic tournament moves to best-of-three series in the quarterfinals and semifinals, followed by a single-game final. Bentley won its first regular-season title, but the Falcons will have to win the conference tourney to move on to the NCAAs. No Atlantic teams are in the at-large picture.
First round
No. 8 Niagara 5, No. 9 Army 4
No. 10 Mercyhurst 5, No. 7 Canisius 2
Quarterfinals, Friday-Sunday
(best of three)
Mercyhurst at No. 1 Bentley
Game 1: Bentley 4, Mercyhurst 3 (3 OT)
Game 2: Bentley 6, Mercyhurst 0
Bentley wins series 2-0
No. 5 RIT at No. 4 Holy Cross
Game 1: Holy Cross 2, RIT 1 (OT)
Game 2: Holy Cross 4, RIT 4 (OT)
Holy Cross wins series 2-0
No. 6 Air Force at No. 3 Robert Morris
Game 1: Air Force 3, Robert Morris 2 (2 OT)
Game 2: Robert Morris 4, Air Force 1
Niagara at No. 2 Sacred Heart
Game 1: Sacred Heart 3, Niagara 1
Game 2: Sacred Heart 2, Niagara 1
Sacred Heart wins series 2-0
Semifinals, March 13-15
Best-of-three series at two highest remaining seeds
Final, March 21
at higher remaining seed
Big Ten
The tournament is all single games on campus sites, with the No. 1 seed — regular-season champion Michigan State — getting a bye into the semifinals. The Spartans have been duking it out with Michigan for the No. 1 ranking in the country most of the season. Penn State also is safely in the NCAA field, with Wisconsin in good shape for an at-large spot as well.
Quarterfinals, March 11
No. 5 Ohio State at No. 4 Wisconsin
No. 6 Minnesota at No. 3 Penn State
No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 2 Michigan
Semifinals, March 14
Lowest remaining seed at No. 1 Michigan State
Second-lowest remaining seed at Second-highest remaining seed
Final, March 21
at higher remaining seed
CCHA
The CCHA tournament is on campus sites, with best-of-three quarterfinals followed by single games in the semifinals and final. Top seed Minnesota State emerged from a late logjam to win its eighth regular-season title in the last nine seasons. Entering the tournament, Augustana is the only conference team on the right side of the NCAA bubble — and even its position is precarious. These results will be watched closely by all the at-large contenders.
Quarterfinals, Friday-Sunday
(best of three)
No. 8 Ferris State at No. 1 Minnesota State
Game 1: Minnesota St. 5, Ferris St. 1
Game 2: Ferris St. 2, Minnesota St. 1 (OT)
No. 5 Bowling Green at No. 4 Michigan Tech
Game 1: Michigan Tech 5, Bowling Green 3
Game 2: Michigan Tech 3, Bowling Green 2
Michigan Tech wins series 2-0
No. 6 Bemidji State at No. 3 Augustana
Game 1: Augustana 5, Bemidji St. 2
Game 2: Augustana 2, Bemidji St. 1
Augustana wins series 2-0
No. 7 Lake Superior State at No. 2 St. Thomas
Game 1: St. Thomas 4, Lake Superior 3 (OT)
Semifinals, March 14
at two highest remaining seeds
Final, March 20
at higher remaining seed
ECAC
The top four seeds receive first-round byes and host the best-of-three quarterfinals. Winners advance to the single-game semifinals and final. Cornell, Dartmouth and Quinnipiac, which won its sixth straight regular-season ECAC title, are virtual locks to earn at-large NCAA berths.
All games are available on the ESPN App.
First round
No. 6 Harvard 4, No. 11 St. Lawrence 3 (OT)
No. 8 Clarkson 2, No. 9 RPI 1
No. 5 Union 9, No. 12 Brown 0
No. 7 Colgate 3, No. 10 Yale 2
Quarterfinals, March 13-15
(best of three)
Clarkson at No. 1 Quinnipiac
Colgate at No. 2 Dartmouth
Harvard at No. 3 Cornell
Union at No. 4 Princeton
Semifinals, March 20
at Lake Placid, New York
Final, March 21
at Lake Placid, New York
Hockey East
This tournament is single-elimination throughout. The top five seeds receive first-round byes into the quarterfinals, which are held on campus sites. Providence, which has clinched the No. 1 seed with the first regular-season Hockey East title in program history, also has locked up an at-large NCAA spot. UMass has emerged as the league’s top at-large contender, with UConn and Boston College slipping, but all have work to do.
All games are available on the ESPN App.
First round, March 11
No. 9 UMass-Lowell at No. 8 Merrimack
No. 10 New Hampshire at No. 7 Northeastern
No. 11 Vermont at No. 6 Boston University
Quarterfinals, March 14
No. 5 Maine at No. 4 Boston College
First-round winner at No. 1 Providence
First-round winner at No. 2 UMass
First-round winner at No. 3 UConn
Semifinals, March 20
at Boston
Finals, March 21
at Boston
NCHC
The NCHC tournament moves entirely to campus sites this year. The top four seeds — North Dakota, Denver, Western Michigan and Minnesota Duluth — are safely in the NCAA tournament field.
Quarterfinals, Friday-Sunday
(best of three)
No. 8 Omaha at No. 1 North Dakota
Game 1: North Dakota 5, Omaha 3
Game 2: North Dakota 5, Omaha 1
North Dakota wins series 2-0
No. 7 Miami (Ohio) at No. 2 Denver
Game 1: Denver 3, Miami (Ohio) 0
No. 6 Colorado College at No. 3 Western Michigan
Game 1: WMU 5, Colorado College 2
Game 2: WMU 2, Colorado College 1 (OT)
Western Michigan wins series 2-0
No. 5 St. Cloud State at No. 4 Minnesota Duluth
Game 1: UMD 4, St. Cloud 3 (OT)
Game 2: UMD 2, St. Cloud 1 (OT)
Minnesota Duluth wins series 2-0
Semifinals, March 14
at two highest remaining seeds
Final, March 21
at higher remaining seed
