Coach: Dane Jackson (first season).
Record: 29-9-1.
Seed: No. 1 (No. 2 overall)
NCAA titles: 8 (2016, 2000, 1997, 1987, 1982, 1980, 1963, 1959).
NCAA Frozen Fours: 23rd.
NHL Draft picks: 12 (highest: Cole Reschny, No. 18, Calgary).
School enrollment: 15,844.
Coach Jackson says: “Definitely in recruiting, we put a factor in the guys that have that 200-foot game. . . just overall strong hockey players. We put time and effort into finding guys who fit the identity we wanted to build. System-wise, we want guys to make plays when there’s time and space. We want to break out through the middle, enter through the middle, have creativity. But when the game is hard, you need to be able to understand the situations, know when you have to advance pucks, play with a body on you and protect pucks.”
Notes: Freshman G Jan Špunar leads the NCAA with six shutouts and last weekend became the first goalie in school history with multiple shutouts in the same NCAA tournament … Graduate backup G Gibson Homer has more career wins (25) and appearances (44) than any of the four projected starters in the Frozen Four … UND is the biggest team in the Frozen Four, averaging 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds … The Fighting Hawks are 22-0-0 when leading after two periods … UND has both the highest-scoring senior (117 points) and freshman (151) classes in the Frozen Four.
29 Ellis Rickwood, sr, f, 8-28—36
17 Cole Reschny (CGY), fr, f, 6-29—35
9 Will Zellers (BOS), fr, f, 18-16—34
21 Ben Strinden (NSH), sr, f, 15-19—34
26 Dylan James (DET), sr, f, 21-10—31
25 Abram Wiebe (CGY), jr, d, 5-24—29
7 Mac Swanson (PIT), fr, f, 11-17—28
4 Jake Livanavage, jr, d, 5-20—25
15 Jack Kernan, fr, f, 11-10—21
8 Ollie Josephson (SEA), fr, f, 6-14—20
18 Keaton Verhoeff (2026), fr, d, 6-14—20
35 Jan Špunar, fr, 20-4-1, 1.90, .917
UND defenseman Abram Wiebe (left) and forward Ellis Rickwood (right) celebrate UND reaching the 2026 NCAA Frozen Four with a 5-0 win over Quinnipiac in the Sioux Falls Regional final.
Russell Hons / UND athletics
Coach: Mike Hastings (third season).
Record: 23-12-2.
Seed: No. 3.
NCAA titles: 6 (2006, 1990, 1983, 1981, 1977, 1973).
NCAA Frozen Fours: 13th.
NHL Draft picks: 10 (highest: Logan Hensler, No. 23, Ottawa).
School enrollment: 49,724.
Coach Hastings says: “One thing I’ve learned about our league is that if you’re not prepared on a given night, you’re not going to just get beat, you can get embarrassed. That goes to the depth of the league. From my standpoint, I think the league does a great job preparing us for this time of year. Hopefully, that’s something we can lean on here.”
Of note: The Badgers are the oldest team in the Frozen Four with an average age of 22.1 years and boast the largest group of seniors with seven … Senior captain Ben Dexheimer has 70 career assists, more than any other defenseman in the Frozen Four … Twelve different Badgers have scored a power-play goal this season, the most among Frozen Four teams … Wisconsin’s roster features players from four different countries (Canada, Croatia, Russia, United States), more than any other team in the Frozen Four.
7 Gavin Morrissey, so, f, 9-27—36
19 Quinn Finley (NYI), jr, f, 17-16—33
13 Christian Fitzgerald, sr, f, 16-15—31
4 Ben Dexheimer, sr, d, 7-20—27
55 Oliver Tulk, fr, f, 7-17—24
11 Simon Tassy, sr, f, 13-9—22
21 Ryan Botterill, so, f, 9-12—21
2 Luke Osburn (BUF), fr, d, 6-15—21
47 Blake Montgomery (OTT), fr, f, 9-8—17
94 Vasily Zelenov (BUF), 5-12—17
14 Joe Palodichuik, jr, d, 3-14—17
31 Daniel Hauser, fr, 20-7-2, 2.56, .899
Wisconsin forward Quinn Finley skates during an NCAA tournament game against Dartmouth.
Meg Kelly / Wisconsin athletics
Coach: David Carle (eighth season).
Record: 27-11-3.
Seed: No. 2.
NCAA titles: 10 (2024, 2022, 2017, 2005, 2004, 1969, 1968, 1961, 1960, 1958).
NCAA Frozen Fours: 20th.
NHL Draft picks: 14 (highest: Rieger Lorenz, No. 56, Minnesota).
School enrollment: 13,384.
Coach Carle says: “I think only seven or eight guys remain from our 2024 championship team. The experience turns over so quickly. To try and keep that cohesiveness from year to year is really upon the guys stepping into veteran roles, leadership roles. Bringing in 10 freshmen this year, a lot gets put on the leadership to bring those guys around.”
Of note: Junior D Eric Pohlkamp, with 98 career points, is bidding to join Air Force’s Chris Hedden as the only defensemen active in 2025-26 to reach the 100 milestone … Junior D Boston Buckberger leads all active D-I skaters with a career plus-94 rating … Senior F Rieger Lorenz has played more NCAA tournament games than any active skater … The Pioneers have the highest-scoring junior class (139 points) in the Frozen Four … Fifteen different Pioneers have a game-winning goal this season, most among Frozen Four teams.
23 Eric Pohlkamp (SJS), jr, d, 18-21—39
14 Rieger Lorenz (MIN), sr, f, 16-18—34
12 Sam Harris (MTL), jr, f, 15-19—34
27 James Reeder (LAK), so, f, 10-23—33
25 Clarke Caswell (SEA), fr, f, 7-25—32
11 Samu Salminen (NJD), sr, f, 11-18—29
9 Boston Buckberger, jr, d, 10-18—28
16 Kyle Chyzowski, fr, f, 11-14—25
8 Kristian Epperson (LAK), fr, f, 11-8—19
19 Jake Fisher (COL), so, f, 8-11—19
15 Eric Jamieson (CGY), fr, d, 7-10—17
31 Johnny Hicks, fr, 14-0-1, 1.12, .958
Denver defenseman Eric Pohlkamp handles the puck during a game against UND on Feb. 14, 2025, in Ralph Engelstad Arena.
Tyler Schank / Clarkson Creative Photography
Coach: Brandon Naurato (fourth season).
Record: 31-7-1.
Seed: No. 1 (No. 1 overall).
NCAA titles: 9 (1998, 1996, 1964, 1956, 1955, 1953, 1952, 1951, 1948).
NCAA Frozen Fours: 29th.
NHL Draft picks: 13 (highest: Michael Hage, No. 21, Montreal).
School enrollment: 53,488.
Coach Naurato says: “They know the last time Michigan’s won it,” “They know how special it would be if we do win it. We’re definitely not happy to be there. We have a job to do. We’re trying to get to Saturday. Since I’ve been here as a player and a coach, we have not had that luxury. Every one of those games has been different. We can learn from all of them.”
Of note: Senior F T.J. Hughes leads all active D-I men’s players in career points (178), goals (68), and assists (110) … The Wolverines lead the NCAA in goals per game (4.56) and power-play percentage (31.6) … Michigan also has an NCAA-best 31 wins this season … The Wolverines have the highest-scoring group of defensemen (114 points) of any team in the Frozen Four … Michigan has a pair of 50-point players in Hughes (56) and Hage (51). None of the other three teams has a single 50-point player … The Wolverines are 23-0-0 when leading after two periods.
13 T.J. Hughes, sr, f, 21-35—56
19 Michael Hage (MTL), so, f, 13-38—51
18 Jayden Perron (CAR), jr, f, 17-23—40
44 Will Horcoff (PIT), so, f, 25-13—38
9 Nick Moldenhauer (TOR), jr, f, 15-16—31
17 Garrett Schifsky, jr, f, 14-13—27
92 Adam Valentini (2026), fr, f, 11-15—26
27 Malcolm Spence (NYR), fr, f, 10-14—24
21 Ben Robertson, jr, d, 1-21—22
11 Cole McKinney (SJS), fr, f, 8-12—20
6 Josh Eernisse, sr, f, 10-8—18
72 Jack Ivankovic (NSH), fr, 25-7-1, 2.13, .923