Mar 12, 2026, 11:45 AM ET
With conference tournaments underway and selection day for the men’s NCAA hockey tournament about two weeks away, we look at the contenders for the field of 16, from teams on the bubble to those playing for No. 1 seeds.
Six automatic bids to the NCAA tournament will be awarded to the winners of the six conference tournaments, with championship games scheduled for March 20 and March 21. Ten more teams will earn at-large spots determined by the NPI formula, which replaces the PairWise rankings this season. Every game can impact the NPI rankings, which factor in strength of schedule, home/road splits and overtime results.
Once the NCAA field is set, the four regional brackets will be announced March 22. Regional games will be played March 26-29; the sites are Albany, New York; Loveland, Colorado; Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Worcester, Massachusetts. The Frozen Four will be held April 9 and April 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Every game of the NCAA tournament, and the selection show, will be available on ESPN networks and the ESPN App.
Here’s a look at the NCAA contenders, listed with their NPI rankings, key results and remaining schedules.
NPI rankings, team records through games of March 11.
Frozen Four or bust
The top two teams in the top two conferences — North Dakota and Western Michigan in the NCHC and Michigan State and Michigan in the Big Ten — have been at or near the top of the rankings all season. Despite a few hiccups along the way, they continue to be the teams to beat.
No. 1 Michigan
Record: 27-7-1, 18-6-1 Big Ten
Key results: Michigan split two games with Minnesota to close its regular-season schedule and move past Michigan State into the No. 1 spot in the NPI rankings. The conference tournaments will determine if the Wolverines, Spartans or Fighting Hawks are the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA field.
Remaining schedule: Big Ten tournament — Semifinal vs. Penn State on Saturday
No. 2 North Dakota
Record: 27-8-1, 19-6-1 NCHC
Key results: NoDak split two games against Western Michigan to secure the top seed in the NCHC tournament and dispatched Omaha in the quarterfinals. The Fighting Hawks are 9-5 against ranked teams this season.
Remaining schedule: NCHC tournament — Semifinal vs. Minnesota Duluth on Saturday
No. 3 Michigan State
Record: 25-7-2, 16-6-2 Big Ten
Key results: The Spartans clinched the Big Ten regular-season title with a win over Minnesota on Thursday. They stubbed their toes with an 0-1-1 weekend against Ohio State, but before that, they had won nine of their previous 10 games, including a 5-2 win over Michigan on Feb. 7.
Remaining schedule: Big Ten tournament — Semifinal vs. Ohio State on Saturday
No. 4 Western Michigan
Record: 26-9-1, 18-7-1 NCHC
Key results: The defending national champs took care of business in sweeping Colorado College in the NCHC quarters and are 16-3-1 since Christmas, including wins over Boston College and Wisconsin in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off and a two-game sweep at Denver.
Remaining schedule: NCHC tournament — Semifinal at Denver on Saturday
Rock-solid
The teams in this tier will be playing the last weekend of March, although there’s still a lot of fluidity in terms of NCAA seeding.
No. 5 Providence
Record: 23-9-2, 18-5-1 Hockey East
Key results: The Friars clinched the Hockey East regular-season title — the first in program history — with a split against New Hampshire last weekend, then wrapped up their schedule by beating UConn. They have won 14 of their last 16 games.
Remaining schedule: Hockey East tournament — Quarterfinal vs. Merrimack on Saturday
No. 6 Denver
Record: 23-11-3, 19-6-1 NCHC
Key results: Denver is unbeaten in its past 11 games (10-0-1), emerging as the hottest team in the country, which is nothing new for the Pioneers in March. They have rebounded well after opening January with a 1-5-1 stretch against Maine, Western Michigan and North Dakota.
Remaining schedule: NCHC tournament — Semifinal at Western Michigan on Saturday
No. 7 Quinnipiac
Record: 26-7-3, 17-4-1 ECAC
Key results: The Bobcats are again the top seed in the ECAC but they showed some cracks the last two weekends of the regular season, suffering a 7-4 loss at Dartmouth and a 6-1 defeat to Cornell. Before that, Quinnipiac had been 12-1-1 since the calendar flipped to 2026.
Remaining schedule: ECAC tournament — Best-of-three quarterfinal vs. Clarkson, beginning Friday
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
No. 8 Minnesota Duluth
Record: 22-13-1, 13-12-1 NCHC
Key results: The Bulldogs have held their own against the iron of the NCHC, with wins over Western Michigan and North Dakota (two) to bolster their résumé. They get another crack at North Dakota after a quarterfinal sweep of St. Cloud State.
Remaining schedule: NCHC tournament — Semifinal at North Dakota on Saturday
No. 9 Cornell
Record: 20-8-1, 15-6-1 ECAC
Key results: The Big Red essentially locked up an NCAA berth with wins over St. Lawrence and Clarkson, which came on the heels of a 6-1 rout at Quinnipiac on Feb. 20.
Remaining schedule: ECAC tournament — Best-of-three quarterfinal vs. Harvard, beginning March 13
No. 10 Penn State
Record: 21-12-2, 13-10-2 Big Ten
Key results: Penn State ended the regular season headed in the wrong direction, falling six spots in the NPI after being swept at home by Wisconsin (combined score: 12-5). But the Nittany Lions beat Minnesota 6-2 in the Big Ten tournament and are still dangerous — witness their 11-4 win over Ohio State on Feb. 20, behind a goal and seven assists from freshman phenom Gavin McKenna.
Remaining schedule: Big Ten tournament — Semifinal vs. Michigan on Saturday
No. 11 Dartmouth
Record: 19-7-4, 13-5-4 ECAC
Key results: Dartmouth bumped up into this category after a 7-4 victory over Quinnipiac on Feb. 27. The Big Green’s place in the NCAA field is on the strength of an 11-0 start, and they’ll look to regain that form in March.
Remaining schedule: ECAC tournament — Best-of-three quarterfinal vs. Colgate, beginning Friday
No. 12 Wisconsin
Record: 21-12-2, 14-11-0 Big Ten
Key results: Although the Badgers got drubbed by Ohio State in the Big Ten quarterfinals, they posted a huge two-game sweep at Penn State to close the regular season. Combine that with a 4-1 win over Michigan on Feb. 20 — and earlier wins over Michigan and Michigan State as part of a 15-3-2 start — and Wisconsin is still in good shape.
Remaining schedule: TBD
In the field — for now
The cutline in the NPI rankings for making the NCAA field figures to be at No. 15, as the Atlantic champ will earn an automatic bid and claim the 16th seed. For now, these teams are on the right side of the bubble, but their positions are far from secure. Among the four, only Augustana has greater than a 40% chance to make the NCAA field entering Friday’s games, according to projections by collegehockeynews.com, so there’s still plenty that needs to be sorted out.
No. 13 Augustana
Record: 22-10-4, 16-8-4 CCHA
Key results: The Vikings came back from a week off to sweep Bemidji State in the CCHA quarterfinals. Those wins, combined with slip-ups by other bubble teams, have Augustana in decent shape to earn at at-large spot even if it were to lose the CCHA tournament final. But a win in the semis seems to be a must.
Remaining schedule: CCHA tournament — Semifinal at St. Thomas on Saturday
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No. 14 UMass
Record: 21-12-1, 14-9-1 Hockey East
Key results: UMass’ surge continued with a win at New Hampshire that got them the No. 2 seed in Hockey East. The Minutemen began 2026 in last place in the conference and at No. 39 in NPI, but now have realistic at-large hopes if they win a game (or more likely two) in the Hockey East tournament.
Remaining schedule: Hockey East tournament — Quarterfinal vs. Northeastern on Saturday
No. 15 UConn
Record: 17-11-5, 11-9-3 Hockey East
Key results: UConn posted its first regulation win since Feb. 13 on Thursday night against New Hampshire, but followed that up with a tough loss at Providence, leaving the Huskies 1-4-2 in their last seven games. Their once-strong hold on an at-large berth has weakened, but the margins here are very tight as UConn slipped back into the field after Wednesday night’s games.
Remaining schedule: Hockey East tournament — Quarterfinal vs. Boston University on Saturday
Bentley/Atlantic champ
Record: 20-11-5, 18-6-4 Atlantic; No. 27 in NPI
Key results: The 16th spot in the NCAA field most likely will be filled by the Atlantic Hockey champion. We’ll keep Bentley in this slot at the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. Sacred Heart is the No. 2 seed in the Atlantic.
Remaining schedule: Atlantic tournament — Best-of-three semifinal vs. Holy Cross, beginning Friday
Work to do
The at-large drama is centered on the CCHA and Hockey East. At-large hopes aren’t great for anyone here, and that doesn’t even account for potential bid stealers, but we’re saying there’s a chance — and there’s always the conference tournament title to fall back on.
St. Thomas
Record: 20-11-5, 17-7-4 CCHA; No. 16 in NPI
Key results: A two-game sweep of Lake Superior State in the CCHA quarters set St. Thomas back on track and pushed it back into the field for now. The Tommies went 2-4-2 in their last eight regular-season games.
Remaining schedule: CCHA tournament — Semifinal vs. Augustana on Saturday
Minnesota State
Record: 20-10-7, 16-8-5 CCHA; No. 17 in NPI
Key results: The Mustangs’ at-large hopes took a major hit with a bad quarterfinals loss to Ferris State, which is in the bottom 10 of the NPI rankings. Minnesota State rallied to win Game 3 and advance, but it might be CCHA title or bust for the Mustangs.
Remaining schedule: CCHA tournament — Semifinal vs. Michigan Tech on Saturday
Boston College
Record: 19-14-1, 13-11-0 Hockey East; No. 18 in NPI
Key results: BC closed the regular season with four straight losses, making its weekend sweep of UConn on Feb. 20-21 feel like ancient history. The Eagles need to stem their slide in a hurry or they’ll be on the outside looking in.
Remaining schedule: Hockey East tournament — Quarterfinal vs. Maine on Saturday