The road to the 2025 men’s Frozen Four heats up this weekend as four of the sport’s six leagues dive into tournament mode as the last step before the NCAA tournament.
The six conference tournament champions will earn spots in the NCAA field, with 10 at-large teams (based on the PairWise rankings) rounding out the 16-team field. The NCAA tournament bracket will be revealed March 23 on ESPNU and ESPN+.
Regional play begins March 27, with regional finals March 29 and 30, and the Frozen Four will be in St. Louis on April 10 and 12. All games will air on the ESPN networks and stream on ESPN+.
Three leagues — the Atlantic, CCHA and ECAC — appear to be one-bid leagues, meaning the conference tournaments most likely will determine their lone NCAA representative.
Below is each conference’s tournament schedule, which will be updated with results as games are played, along with a look at the NCAA picture of each league. (All times ET.)
Every game of the Hockey East and ECAC tournaments, plus every NCAA tournament game, will be available on ESPN+. Subscribe to watch.
Atlantic Hockey
With the Atlantic lined up as a one-bid league, Holy Cross, which won its first regular-season title since 2006 and comes in on a 12-1-1 heater, will need to stay on a roll and win the league tournament to make the NCAA field. For AIC, the stakes are even higher in a way as the program will drop from Division I once the season ends.
Quarterfinals, March 7-9
(best of three)
No. 8 AIC at No. 1 Holy Cross
No. 5 Army at No. 4 Niagara
No. 6 Canisius at No. 3 Bentley
No. 7 Air Force at No. 2 Sacred Heart
Semifinals, March 14-16
(best of three)
At two highest remaining seeds
Final, March 22
At higher remaining seed
Big Ten
As the tournament opens, Penn State is as hot as any team in the country, playing its way to the right side of the PairWise bubble by taking four of six points in a weekend series against Minnesota. But the Nittany Lions’ spot is precarious and they need to win their quarterfinal series against Michigan to feel good about their NCAA standing. The Wolverines aren’t an at-large lock either, setting up a very high-stakes weekend. Michigan State and Minnesota are in position to be No. 1 seeds, with Ohio State among the PairWise top 10.
Quarterfinals, March 7-9
(best of three)
No. 5 Penn State at No. 4 Michigan
No. 6 Wisconsin at No. 3 Ohio State
No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 2 Minnesota
Semifinals, March 15
TBD at No. 1 Michigan State
TBD at TBD
Final, March 22
At higher remaining seed
CCHA
Minnesota State, which pulled away from the pack by going 6-0-1 in its last seven regular-season games, remains outside the PairWise top 15, and no other CCHA team is in the top 30. Augustana, the No. 2 seed, is seeking to crash the NCAA party in its second season in Division I.
Quarterfinals, March 7-9
(best of three)
No. 8 Lake Superior State at No. 1 Minnesota State
No. 5 Michigan Tech at No. 4 Bowling Green
No. 6 Ferris State at No. 3 St. Thomas
No. 7 Bemidji State at No. 2 Augustana
Semifinals, March 15
At two highest remaining seeds
Final, March 22
At higher remaining seed
ECAC
Quinnipiac is on the fringes of the NCAA bubble, but one more loss figures to knock the Bobcats out of at-large contention, likely making this another one-bid league. But the ECAC is deep, with Clarkson, Colgate, Cornell and Dartmouth all in the PairWise top 25, so the tournament is wide open.
First round
March 7
No. 9 Princeton at No. 8 Brown, 7 p.m.
No. 10 Rensselaer at No. 7 Harvard, 7 p.m.
March 8
No. 12 St. Lawrence at No. 5 Dartmouth, 7 p.m.
No. 11 Yale at No. 6 Cornell, 7:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals, March 14-16
(best of three)
TBD at No. 1 Quinnipiac
TBD at No. 2 Clarkson
TBD at No. 3 Colgate
TBD at No. 4 Union
Semifinals, March 21
at Lake Placid, N.Y.
Final, March 22
at Lake Placid, N.Y.
Hockey East
Seeding is still to be decided in Hockey East, which wraps up its regular season March 8. Boston College, the No. 1 team in the country, will be the team to beat, while Maine, Providence, Boston University and UConn are NCAA locks. UMass enters the weekend in the projected NCAA field and can strengthen its hold with a pair of games against Maine. UMass-Lowell could make it seven Hockey East teams in the NCAAs but will have to boost its PairWise résumé in the conference tourney.
First round, March 12
No. 11 seed at No. 6 seed
No. 10 seed at No. 7 seed
No. 9 seed at No. 8 seed
Quarterfinals, March 15
TBD at No. 1 seed
TBD at No. 2 seed
TBD at No. 3 seed
No. 5 seed at No. 4 seed
Semifinals, March 20
at Boston
Finals, March 21
at Boston
NCHC
Entering the final weekend on the league schedule, Western Michigan already clinched the first regular-season title in program history and could earn a No. 1 NCAA seed. Defending national champion Denver is pretty much an NCAA lock, while Arizona State still has a chance to snare an at-large bid with a strong finish and (maybe) some help.
Quarterfinals, March 14-16
(best of three)
No. 8 seed at No. 1 Western Michigan
No. 7 seed at No. 2 seed
No. 6 seed at No. 3 seed
No. 5 seed at No. 4 seed
Semifinals, March 21
at St. Paul, Minnesota
Finals, March 22
at St. Paul, Minnesota
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