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 spots in the 16-team NCAA field, with the other 10 spots going to the top teams in the NPI standings. The NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed on 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 9-11. All games will be broadcast on ESPN networks and streamed on the ESPN app.
Below are the schedules for each 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 tournament to advance to the NCAA. There are no Atlantic teams in the big picture.
First round
No. 8 Niagara 5, No. 9 Army 4
No. 10 Mercyhurst 5, No. 7 Canisio 2
Quarter finals
(best of three)
Mercyhurst in Bentley number 1
Game 1: Bentley 4, Mercyhurst 3 (3 overtime)
Game 2: Bentley 6, Mercyhurst 0
Bentley wins the series 2-0
RIT No. 5 in Santa Cruz No. 4
Game 1: Santa Cruz 2, RIT 1 (AT)
Game 2: Santa Cruz 4, RIT 4 (AT)
Santa Cruz wins the series 2-0
Air Force No. 6 at No. 3 Robert Morris
Game 1: Air Force 3, Robert Morris 2 (2 OT)
Game 2: Robert Morris 4, Air Force 1
Game 3: Robert Morris 5, Air Force 2
Robert Morris wins the series 2-1
Niagara at No. 2 Sacred Heart
Game 1: Sacred Heart 3, Niagara 1
Game 2: Sacred Heart 2, Niagara 1
Sacred Heart wins the series 2-0
Semifinals
(best of three)
Santa Cruz in Bentley
Game 1: Bentley 3, Santa Cruz 2 (OT)
Game 2: Bentley 4, Santa Cruz 0
Bentley wins the series 2-0
Robert Morris at the Sacred Heart
Game 1: Sacred Heart 5, Robert Morris 1
Game 2: Robert Morris 5, Sacred Heart 2
Game 3: Sacred Heart 5, Robert Morris 0
Sacred Heart wins the series 2-1
final, saturday
Sacred Heart at Bentley, 7 p.m.
Big Ten
The tournament consists of individual on-campus games, and the No. 1 seed, regular-season champion Michigan State, will earn a bye to the semifinals. The Spartans have been competing with Michigan for the number one spot in the country most of the season. Penn State is also safe in the NCAA field, and Wisconsin is also in good shape for an at-large berth.
Quarter finals
No. 5 Ohio State 7, No. 4 Wisconsin 1
No. 3 Penn State 6, No. 6 Minnesota 2
No. 2 Michigan 6, No. 7 Notre Dame 1
Semifinals
Ohio State 3, No. 1 Michigan State 2 (OT)
Michigan 5, Pennsylvania 2
final, saturday
Ohio State at Michigan, 8 p.m.
CCHA
The CCHA tournament is held on campuses, with best-of-three quarterfinals followed by singles play in the semifinals and final. Top-seeded Minnesota State emerged from a late doldrums 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 closely watched by all general contenders.
Quarter finals
(best of three)
No. 8 in the state of Ferris and No. 1 in the state of Minnesota
Game 1: Minnesota St. 5, Ferris St. 1
Game 2: Ferris St. 2, Minnesota St. 1 (overtime)
Game 3: Minnesota St. 2, Ferris St. 0
Minnesota State wins the series 2-1
#5 Bowling Green at #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: 5 Augustana, 2 Bemidji Street
Game 2: 2 Augustana, 1 Bemidji Street
Augustana wins series 2-0
No. 7 Lake Superior State at No. 2 St. Thomas
Game 1: St. Thomas 4, Lake Superior 3 (OT)
Game 2: St. Thomas 5, Lake Superior 2
St. Thomas wins series 2-0
Semifinals
Minnesota State 7, Michigan Tech 2
St. Thomas 2, Augustana 1
final, friday
St. Thomas in the state of Minnesota, 8 p.m.
CEAC
The top four finishers receive a bye in the first round and host the best-of-three quarterfinals. The winners advance to the semi-finals and the single-game final. Cornell, Dartmouth and Quinnipiac, which won its sixth straight ECAC title in the regular season, are all but locks to earn at-large berths in the NCAA.
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
Quarter finals
(best of three)
Clarkson at No. 1 Quinnipiac
Game 1: Clarkson 3, Quinnipiac 0
Game 2: Clarkson 4, Quinnipiac 3
Clarkson wins the series 2-0
Colgate at No. 2 Dartmouth
Game 1: Dartmouth 4, Colgate 1
Game 2: Dartmouth 4, Colgate 1
Dartmouth wins series 2-0
Harvard at number 3 Cornell
Game 1: Harvard 3, Cornell 1
Game 2: Cornell 4, Harvard 0
Game 3: Cornell 5, Harvard 2
Cornell wins the series 2-0
Union at #4 Princeton
Game 1: Princeton 5, Union 2
Game 2: Princeton 5, Union 2
Princeton wins the series 2-0
Semifinals, Friday
in Lake Placid, New York
Dartmouth vs. Clarkson, 4 p.m.
Cornell vs. Princeton, 7 p.m.
final, saturday
in Lake Placid, New York
Semifinal winners, 4:45 p.m.
hockey this
This tournament is single elimination at all times. The top five finishers receive byes from the first round to the quarterfinals, which take place on the campuses. Providence, which clinched the No. 1 seed with the first regular-season Hockey East title in program history, also clinched an at-large berth in the NCAA. UMass has emerged as the league's top overall contender, with UConn and Boston College also in the picture.
All games are available on the ESPN app.
First round
No. 8 Merrimack 5, No. 9 UMass-Lowell 3
No. 7 Northeast 7, No. 10 New Hampshire 3
No. 6 Boston University 4, No. 11 Vermont 1
Quarter finals
No. 4 Boston College 5, No. 5 Maine 0
Merrimack 3, No. 1 Providence 2 (OT)
No. 2 UMass 4, Northeast 1
No. 3 UConn 5, Boston University 3
Semifinals, Friday
in boston
UMass vs. Merrimack, 4 p.m.
UConn vs. Boston College, 7 p.m.
Finals, Saturday
in boston
Semifinal winners, 7:00 p.m.
NCHC
The NCHC tournament moves entirely to campuses this year. The top four seeds (North Dakota, Denver, Western Michigan and Minnesota Duluth) are safe in the NCAA tournament field.
Quarter finals
(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
Game 2: Denver 6, Miami (Ohio) 2
Denver wins the series 2-0
No. 6 Colorado College at No. 3 Western Michigan
Game 1: WMU 5, University of Colorado 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
Minnesota Duluth 5, North Dakota 1
Denver 2, Western Michigan 1 (OT)
final, saturday
Minnesota Duluth at Denver, 8 p.m.
