2026 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four Preview: How Denver, Michigan, North Dakota, Wisconsin match up
As the old saying goes, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”
Well, this weekend, what’s going to happen in Sin City is that some of the best teams in college hockey, filled with young and aspiring NHL prospects, will battle it out in the 2026 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four.
The regional action from two weekends ago was thrilling, with plenty of drama and entertainment that carried over into the events in Las Vegas. All four programs that made it to this point had to deal with a little adversity along the way, but certainly have the firepower to play for a national championship.
T-Mobile Arena is the home for the Frozen Four for the first time, as fans from all around the country head to the Entertainment Capital of the World to see the four winningest programs in NCAA hockey history, which have combined for 84 Frozen Four appearances and 33 national titles.
Let’s take a look at the semifinal matchups:
Wisconsin vs. North Dakota
North Dakota Fighting Hawks
NHL affiliates: EJ Emery, D (New York Rangers), Dylan James, F (Detroit Red Wings), Ollie Josephson, F (Seattle Kraken), David Klee, F (San Jose Sharks), Sam Laurila, D (New York Islanders), Cade Littler, F (Calgary Flames), Cole Reschny, F (Calgary Flames), Andrew Strathmann, D (Columbus Blue Jackets), Ben Strinden, F (Nashville Predators), Mac Swanson, F (Pittsburgh Penguins), Abram Wiebe, D (Calgary Flames), Will Zellers, F (Boston Bruins)
The Fighting Hawks entered the tournament as the second-best team in the country, and they showed why last week in Sioux Falls. Despite having lost in the NCHC Semifinals, North Dakota responded with a couple of convincing wins over Merrimack and Quinnipiac, beating the Warriors and Bobcats by a combined score of 8-0, sending the team to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2016. NCHC goaltender of the year Jan Spunar was exceptional in the regional, stopping all 53 shots that he faced.
One of the takeaways from South Dakota was that the Fighting Hawks finally had a couple of players reach the 35-point mark. Ellis Rickwood posted a pair of assists to give him the team lead with 36 points, while Cole Reschny, the NCHC Rookie of the Year, scored his first goal of the postseason against Quinnipiac last Saturday, which was enough to push him up to 35 points on the year as well.
Despite not having any players in the top 30 in NCAA scoring, the NCHC regular-season champions possess the third-best offense in the country, thanks to having one of the deepest lineups with five players totaling 30 points thus far.
Now, entering their 23rd Frozen Four appearance, the Fighting Hawks seek a ninth national championship, and their first since that run to the NCAA title 10 years ago.
Wisconsin Badgers
NHL affiliates: Tyson Dyck, F (Ottawa Senators), Quinn Finley, F (New York Islanders), Logan Hensler, D (Ottawa Senators), Bruno Idzan, F (Ottawa Senators), Kyle Kukkonen, F (Anaheim Ducks), Blake Montgomery, F (Ottawa Senators), Luke Osburn, D (Buffalo Sabres), Jack Phelan, D (Detroit Red Wings), Zach Schulz, D (New York Islanders), Vasily Zelenov, F (Buffalo Sabres)
While the Badgers have a storied history of their own, few expected this year’s team to make a run to the Frozen Four. Sure, they gave Michigan and Michigan State a run for their money during the regular season, but many doubted Wisconsin after they were eliminated in the Big Ten Quarterfinals.
Yet, despite having over two weeks off, the team showed that they deserved to be in the national tournament. After eliminating the ECAC champion Dartmouth Big Green, the Badgers rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third to knock off the heavily-favored Michigan State Spartans in overtime in the regional final, punching their ticket to the Frozen Four for the first time in 16 years.
While Wisconsin has a couple of players with NHL potential, including the team’s leading goal scorer in Quinn Finley, the team has relied on those college veterans who have been crucial to the team’s success. Gavin Morrissey, who leads the team with 36 points, posted three points against the Spartans in Worcester. Captain Ben Dexheimer, the OT hero two weeks ago, is an underrated two-way defenseman, earning All-Big Ten First Team honors this season.
Wisconsin has made it to the national semifinals for the 12th time in program history. The team hasn’t played for a national title since 2010, when it lost to Boston College in Detroit.
Tale of the Tape
I’m refraining from calling this a ‘David vs. Goliath’ scenario, as any team that makes it to the Frozen Four deserves to be here, and anything can happen in the national tournament. However, the strength of the Fighting Hawks compared to their Big Ten foe seems overwhelming on paper. That said, Wisconsin has a bunch of guys that have a chip on their shoulder, contrary to a UND squad that has a lot of players who have taken time to adjust to the college game after leaving major junior.
These two teams used to meet all the time in the old WCHA, leading to many exciting finishes. All-time, Wisconsin is 87-73-13 against North Dakota, though the Fighting Hawks have won five of the past six meetings. The Fighting Hawks have won all three meetings in the NCAA Tournament as well.
Denver vs. Michigan
Michigan Wolverines
NHL affiliates: Asher Barnett, D (Edmonton Oilers), Kienan Draper, F (Detroit Red Wings), Michael Hage, F (Montreal Canadiens), Will Horcoff, F (Pittsburgh Penguins), Jack Ivankovic, G (Nashville Predators), Henry Mews, D (Calgary Flames), Cole McKinney, F (San Jose Sharks), Nicholas Moldenhauer, F (San Jose Sharks), Aidan Park, F (Edmonton Oilers), Jayden Perron, F (Carolina Hurricanes), Drew Schock, D (Anaheim Ducks), Malcolm Spence, F (New York Rangers)
Talented, aggressive, confident and downright efficient when they’re at their best. The Wolverines have all the makings of being a national championship team, and they have shown that throughout the year.
Michigan enters the Frozen Four for a record 29th time, and the fourth time in the past five seasons. Brandon Naurato’s team is riding a six-game win streak, having won the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in three years, beating the likes of Penn State and Ohio State to get there. Then, the Wolverines, the No. 1 seed heading into the national tournament, outlasted Bentley before hanging on to defeat Minnesota Duluth in the regional final in Albany.
There are a multitude of reasons that the maize and blue have been so successful this season, including having the nation’s top offense. Michael Hage has put himself on a path to the NHL with an incredible season, though his status remains questionable after playing very little against the Bulldogs after not playing in the team’s tournament opener. Fellow NHL prospects Jayden Perron and Will Horcoff have also had incredible campaigns. Captain T.J. Hughes is surely going to sign an NHL deal when his season’s over, as the undrafted forward is second in the nation in scoring with 56 points, was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and was a semifinalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
Goaltender Jack Ivankovic has been exceptional as well. The former OHLer has provided stability in net for the Wolverines, sitting second in the country with 25 wins on the year.
The Wolverines haven’t played in a national title game since losing to Duluth in 2011, and haven’t won it all since 1998.
Denver Pioneers
NHL affiliates: Garrett Brown, D (Winnipeg Jets), Hagen Burrows, F (Tampa Bay Lightning), Clarke Caswell, F (Seattle Kraken), Kristian Epperson, F (Los Angeles Kings), Jake Fisher, F (Colorado Avalanche), Sam Harris, F (Montreal Canadiens), Eric Jamieson, D (Calgary Flames), Rieger Lorenz, F (Minnesota Wild), Brendan McMorrow, F (Los Angeles Kings), Quentin Miller, G (Montreal Canadiens), Tory Pitner, D (Colorado Avalanche), Eric Pohlkamp, D (San Jose Sharks), James Reeder, F (Los Angeles Kings), Samu Salminen, F (New Jersey Devils)
It’s hard to think the Pioneers could’ve been considered underdogs heading into regionals. Sure, they weren’t the top seed in the Loveland Regional, but they had “home-ice” advantage and had just come off capturing the NCHC Championship. DU rode that momentum to a couple of dominant efforts two weeks ago, beating up the Cornell Big Red, 5-0, before running away with a 6-2 victory over the defending champion Western Michigan Broncos in the national quarterfinals to advance to the Frozen Four for the 20th time in program history, and the fourth time in the past five years.
David Carle’s team has more than enough firepower to add another trophy to the crowded shrine at Magness Arena. Senior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp continues to lead the offensive attack, with Rieger Lorenz and Sam Harris piling up the goals this year. A couple of the heroes from the regional four were Brendan McMorrow and Kieran Cebrian. McMorrow, who missed most of the second semester due to an injury suffered at the World Juniors, scored a goal and an assist against WMU. Cebrian, who was named to the regional’s All-Tournament Team, scored twice in Loveland.
Goaltender Johnny Hicks has been on the run of all runs. The rookie netminder has not lost any of the 15 decisions he’s had this season, all coming in the second semester, including winning 11 straight games. In Loveland, he stopped 50 of the 52 shots he faced, earning the region’s Most Outstanding Player honor.
The Pioneers are looking to capture a record 11th national championship, and third in the past five years.
Tale of the Tape
Sure, Michigan has played some pretty good teams in the Big Ten this year, but they only had a taste of what it’s like to go up against squads from the ever-impressive NCHC when the team split with Western Michigan back in October. While the Wolverines have loads of skill and pizzazz, Denver has the winning pedigree that has made it a standard-bearer in the land of college hockey, surpassing the Wolverines as the winningest team in NCAA Tournament history in just a few years.
Michigan and Denver have a history dating back to the early ’50s, but the former WCHA rivals didn’t meet for nearly 20 years. The last three matchups have come in the national tournament. The Wolverines beat the Pioneers in the first round of the 1999 tournament, as well as the regional semis in 2002. Four years ago, DU outlasted U-M in overtime in the national semifinals on its way to the championship.
Denver is 47-36-1 all-time against Michigan.
Schedule
Wisconsin vs. North Dakota – Thursday, April 9 (5 p.m. ET) ESPN2, TSN+
Denver vs. Michigan – Thursday, April 9 (8:30 p.m. ET) ESPN2, TSN+
National Championship Game – Saturday, April 11 (5:30 p.m. ET) ESPN, TSN2, TSN+