{"id":522313,"date":"2026-03-25T17:01:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:01:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/522313\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T17:01:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T17:01:11","slug":"matt-wellens-column-can-i-pick-a-better-ncaa-hockey-bracket-than-a-first-grader-duluth-news-tribune","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/522313\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Wellens column: Can I pick a better NCAA hockey bracket than a first-grader? &#8211; Duluth News Tribune"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>DULUTH \u2014 Cornell\u2019s 4-3 opening-round victory as the No. 15 overall seed over No. 2 Michigan State in Toledo is considered by many to be the biggest upset of the 2025 NCAA men\u2019s hockey tournament.<\/p>\n<p>I disagree.<\/p>\n<p>The biggest upset of last year\u2019s tournament was me, a 20-plus-year veteran of botched NCAA hockey brackets, <\/p>\n<p>      <a class=\"Link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.duluthnewstribune.com\/sports\/bulldogs-hockey\/matt-wellens-column-can-you-pick-a-better-ncaa-hockey-bracket-than-a-kindergartner\" target=\"_blank\" data-cms-ai=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">narrowly defeating my kindergarten son in a head-to-head bracket challenge.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Dad 7, Jack 5 \u2026 out of 15.<\/p>\n<p>Ok, we both stunk it up. <\/p>\n<p>      <a class=\"Link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.duluthnewstribune.com\/sports\/college\/western-michigan-wins-first-ncaa-title-seventh-for-nchc\" data-cms-ai=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Neither of us picked Western Michigan to win,<\/a><\/p>\n<p>       getting just two of the Frozen Four and none of the NCAA title game combatants.<\/p>\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" alt=\"IMG_7717.jpg\"  width=\"840\" height=\"511\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.forumcomm.com\/dims4\/default\/aeb4465\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4938x3005+0+0\/resize\/840x511!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F39%2F85%2F1b56fc6d4dbcb1fc7ce31882b6ca%2Fimg-7717.jpg\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSI1MTFweCIgd2lkdGg9Ijg0MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        The 2025 NCAA men&#8217;s hockey bracket of Jack, on the left, and his dad, on the right.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Wellens \/ Duluth News Tribune<\/p>\n<p>Like father, like son, I guess.<\/p>\n<p>Well, Jack and I are both out for redemption this season. We are here to inevitably doom your favorite team.<\/p>\n<p>Jack, now a first-grader, has watched a lot of college hockey this season. Like his dad, he is an NCHC homer, as that is mostly what he watches on Friday and Saturday nights throughout the winter.<\/p>\n<p>But who can blame us? The NCHC has won seven of the last nine NCAA men\u2019s hockey championships, placing multiple teams in six of the last 10 Frozen Fours.<\/p>\n<p>With four NCHC teams spread out across three of the four regionals this year, could we be headed for another all-NCHC championship game in Las Vegas, <\/p>\n<p>      <a class=\"Link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.duluthnewstribune.com\/sports\/frozen-four-bulldogs-last-rally-falls-short-denver-claims-national-championship\" data-cms-ai=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">like the 2017 title game in Chicago?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Welcome to Beat Writer vs. First Grader.<\/p>\n<p>Here are Jack\u2019s picks. He\u2019s a Bulldogs fan who picks with his heart.<\/p>\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" alt=\"IMG_7718.jpg\"  width=\"840\" height=\"1043\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.forumcomm.com\/dims4\/default\/e90d77e\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3119x3871+0+0\/resize\/840x1043!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fc5%2Fd5%2F9148a7c04b328b963008953b9b82%2Fimg-7718.jpg\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxMDQzcHgiIHdpZHRoPSI4NDBweCI+PC9zdmc+\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        Jack&#8217;s predictions for the 2026 NCAA men&#8217;s hockey tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Wellens \/ Duluth News Tribune<\/p>\n<p>And here are my picks. I did not want to pick the same winner as Jack this year, so I went with the team that enters the NCAA tournament winners of nine straight, and unbeaten in its last 13 games (12-0-1).<\/p>\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" alt=\"IMG_7719.jpg\"  width=\"840\" height=\"1083\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.forumcomm.com\/dims4\/default\/2b24958\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3088x3982+0+0\/resize\/840x1083!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F2e%2F17%2F5edc64b54786ae6c0eb2481bf5c7%2Fimg-7719.jpg\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxMDgzcHgiIHdpZHRoPSI4NDBweCI+PC9zdmc+\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        Matt Wellens&#8217; annual kiss of death for the 2026 NCAA men&#8217;s hockey tournament. He&#8217;s not sorry. He&#8217;s doing the best he can.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Wellens \/ Duluth News Tribune<\/p>\n<p>      <a class=\"Link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.ncaa.com\/brackets\/print\/icehockey-men\/d1\/2026\" target=\"_blank\" data-cms-ai=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">You can print out your own 2026 NCAA men&#8217;s hockey tournament bracket here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>                2026 NCAA Men&#8217;s Hockey Tournament:<\/p>\n<p>All times Central<br \/>All games streamed on ESPN app or ESPN.com\/watch<\/p>\n<p>Thursday&#8217;s Regional Semifinals<br \/>Worcester, Massachusetts Regional<br \/>3. Michigan State vs. 14. UConn, 12:30 p.m. (ESPN2)<br \/>6. Dartmouth vs. 12. Wisconsin, 4 p.m. (ESPNU)<\/p>\n<p>Sioux Falls, South Dakota Regional<br \/>7. Providence vs. 10. Quinnipiac, 4 p.m. (ESPN+)<br \/>2. North Dakota vs. 15. Merrimack, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2)<\/p>\n<p>Friday&#8217;s Regional Semifinals<br \/>Loveland, Colorado Regional<br \/>4. Western Michigan vs. 13. Minnesota State, 1:30 p.m. (ESPNU)<br \/>5. Denver vs. 11. Cornell, 5 p.m., (ESPN+)<\/p>\n<p>Albany, New York Regional<br \/>1. Michigan vs. 16. Bentley, 4:30 p.m. (ESPNU)<br \/>8. Minnesota Duluth vs. 9. Penn State, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)<\/p>\n<p>Saturday&#8217;s Regional Finals<br \/>Worcester Regional Final, 3:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. (TBA)<br \/>Sioux Falls Regional Final, 3:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. (TBA)<\/p>\n<p>Sunday&#8217;s Regional Finals<br \/>Loveland Regional Final, 2 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. (TBA)<br \/>Albany Regional Final, 2 p.m. or 4:30 p.m. (TBA)<\/p>\n<p>            <a href=\"https:\/\/www.duluthnewstribune.com\/matt-wellens\" data-cms-ai=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"Image\" alt=\"Matt Wellens\"  width=\"100\" height=\"100\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.forumcomm.com\/dims4\/default\/fd288f9\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/3392x3392+1696+0\/resize\/100x100!\/quality\/90\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fforum-communications-production-web.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2Fda%2F3a%2F263c84fa4e329be5787da34763de%2F091624-s-dmg-s-wellens-c0004.jpg\" data-lazy-load=\"true\" bad-src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxMDBweCIgd2lkdGg9IjEwMHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=\"\/><\/p>\n<p>            <\/a><\/p>\n<p>                Co-host of the <a class=\"Link \" href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/bulldog-insider-podcast\/id1437569175\" target=\"_blank\" data-cms-ai=\"0\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Bulldog Insider Podcast<\/a> and college hockey reporter for the Duluth News Tribune covering the Minnesota Duluth men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s hockey programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DULUTH \u2014 Cornell\u2019s 4-3 opening-round victory as the No. 15 overall seed over No. 2 Michigan State in&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5120],"tags":[71,1655,5,60578,60579,49593,60580,60581,4,534,84,5285,5284,1662,1663],"class_list":{"0":"post-522313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-louis-blues","8":"tag-blues","9":"tag-bulldogs-hockey","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-ncaa-hockey-bracket-challenge","12":"tag-ncaa-hockey-predictions","13":"tag-ncaa-hockey-tournament","14":"tag-ncaa-mens-hockey-bracket-challenge","15":"tag-ncaa-mens-hockey-tournament","16":"tag-nhl","17":"tag-st-louis","18":"tag-st-louis-blues","19":"tag-stlouis","20":"tag-stlouisblues","21":"tag-umd-bulldogs","22":"tag-umd-hockey"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116290892415766557","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}