Sports
2026 NCAA men’s hockey tournament: Schedule, results
Half of the 2026 men’s Frozen Four is set, with North Dakota and Wisconsin earning trips to Las Vegas to play for the national championship.
The Fighting Hawks, who were the top seed in the Sioux Falls regional, advanced with a 5-0 rout of Quinnipiac, while the Badgers won the Worcester regional with a 4-3 overtime victory over top seed Michigan State.
This is North Dakota’s first Frozen Four appearance since 2016, when it won the national title. Wisconsin is in the Frozen Four for the first time since 2010.
The other two spots will be determined Sunday in the regional finals at Albany, New York, where Michigan plays Minnesota Duluth, and Loveland, Colorado, where Denver meets Western Michigan.
The six winners of their conference tournaments earned automatic berths, with the next top 10 teams in the NPI rankings filling out the NCAA field. The four regional winners will advance to the Frozen Four at Las Vegas on April 9 and 11.
Every game of the men’s hockey tournament will air on the ESPN networks and will stream live on the ESPN App. The Frozen Four semifinals will air on ESPN2 and the final airs on ESPN.
Below is the complete schedule for the tournament, video features and a look at each of the 16 teams in the field.
Jump to a section:
Video features | Teams at a glance
Schedule
All times Eastern.
Worcester (Massachusetts) Regional
Semifinals, Thursday
No. 1 Michigan State 2, No. 4 UConn 1
No. 3 Wisconsin 5, No. 2 Dartmouth 1
Final, Saturday
Wisconsin 4, Michigan State 3 (OT)
Sioux Falls (South Dakota) Regional
Semifinals, Thursday
No. 3 Quinnipiac 5, No. 2 Providence 2
No. 1 North Dakota 3, No. 4 Merrimack 0
Final, Saturday
North Dakota 5, Quinnipiac 0
Albany (New York) Regional
Semifinals, Friday
No. 1 Michigan 5, No. 4 Bentley 1
No. 2 Minnesota Duluth 3, No. 3 Penn State 1
Final, Sunday
Michigan vs. Minnesota Duluth, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
Loveland (Colorado) Regional
Semifinals, Friday
No. 1 Western Michigan 3, No. 4 Minnesota State 1
No. 2 Denver 5, No. 3 Cornell 0
Final, Sunday
Western Michigan vs. Denver, 3 p.m., ESPN2
FROZEN FOUR
at T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
National semifinals, April 9
Wisconsin vs. North Dakota, 5 or 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
Albany winner vs. Loveland winner, 5 or 8:30 p.m., ESPN2
National final, April 11
5:30 p.m., ESPN
Highlights
0:41
Wisconsin scores winner 24 seconds into OT to book ticket to Frozen Four
Ben Dexheimer buries the winning goal in overtime for Wisconsin to knock off Michigan State and reach the Frozen Four.
1:26
Penn St. Nittany Lions vs. Minn. Duluth Bulldogs Game Highlights
Penn St. Nittany Lions vs. Minn. Duluth Bulldogs Game Highlights
1:26
Cornell Big Red vs. Denver Pioneers Game Highlights
Cornell Big Red vs. Denver Pioneers Game Highlights
1:26
Minnesota St. Mavericks vs. Western Mich. Broncos Game Highlights
Minnesota St. Mavericks vs. Western Mich. Broncos Game Highlights
1:29
Bentley Falcons vs. Michigan Wolverines Game Highlights
Bentley Falcons vs. Michigan Wolverines Game Highlights
Top storylines
NIL and college hockey: Will big-money behemoths skew the sport’s balance of power? Adam Rittenberg
Michigan’s Michael Hage: How hockey helped the Wolverines star cope with tragedy. Emily Kaplan
8:04
How Michael Hage is honoring his father’s legacy for Michigan
Emily Kaplan shares how Michael Hage is carrying his late father’s legacy with him on the ice for Michigan.
5:33
Penn State’s Frozen Four run draws top prospect Gavin McKenna
After a historic run to the Frozen Four, the Penn State Nittany Lions inspired generational talent Gavin McKenna to leave Canadian juniors for Happy Valley.
6:44
Zacch Wisdom’s journey has been anything but easy
P.K. Subban shares the story of how a childhood of struggle turned into a way out through the game of hockey for Western Michigan’s Zacch Wisdom.
4:39
How Providence men’s hockey has built a winning culture
With just one senior on the roster, the Friars have leaned into their youthful core in one of the most compelling success stories of the season.
4:39
How Quinnipiac’s Ethan Wyttenbach has quickly made a name for himself
Jeremy Schaap tells Ethan Wyttenbach’s story after the Quinnipiac freshman led the nation in scoring with 58 points in 38 games.
4:35
How Rand Pecknold built Quinnipiac into a college hockey powerhouse
The Quinnipiac Bobcats had no rink or winning tradition until Rand Pecknold made them into one of most formidable programs in college hockey.
Teams at a glance
Records, statistics entering NCAA tournament
Worcester Regional
No. 1 Michigan State
Record: 25-8-2
NPI ranking: 3
How the Spartans got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-3-2 (lost to Ohio State in Big Ten semifinal)
NCAA history: 30th appearance; seeking 12th Frozen Four and fourth national title (last won in 2007). … Third straight NCAA appearance after 11-year absence. … Lost to Cornell in first round as No. 1 seed in 2025.
Fast fact: Michigan State’s roster features four first-round NHL draft picks and 15 picks overall, both the most among tournament teams.
No. 2 Dartmouth
Record: 23-7-4
NPI ranking: 6
How the Big Green got here: ECAC champion
Last 10 games: 6-1-3 (beat Princeton in ECAC final)
NCAA history: Fifth appearance; seeking fifth Frozen Four and first national title. … First NCAA appearance since 1980.
Fast fact: Sophomore Hayden Stavroff, an undrafted NHL free agent, leads the country with 29 goals. He has seven goals and five assists in his last eight games.
No. 3 Wisconsin
Record: 21-12-2
NPI ranking: 12
How the Badgers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-4 (lost to Ohio State in Big Ten quarterfinal)
NCAA history: 29th appearance; seeking 13th Frozen Four and seventh national title (last won in 2006). … In the NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons under coach Mike Hastings.
Fast fact: Wisconsin’s season has been a bit of a roller coaster, with a 14-2-2 start and 6-2 finish but a 2-7 stretch in between. The Badgers lost 7-1 to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament the last time they took the ice.
No. 4 UConn
Record: 20-12-5
NPI ranking: 14
How the Huskies got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 3-5-2 (lost to Merrimack in Hockey East final)
NCAA history: Second appearance; seeking first Frozen Four and first national title. … Recorded program’s first NCAA victory last year, beating Quinnipiac in first round before falling to Penn State in regional final.
Fast fact: UConn rebounded from a 1-4-2 closing stretch of the regular season to advance to the Hockey East final, then made the NCAA field as the last at-large team.
Albany Regional
No. 1 Michigan
Record: 29-7-1
NPI ranking: 1
How the Wolverines got here: Big Ten champion
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (beat Ohio State in Big Ten final)
NCAA history: 42nd appearance; seeking 29th Frozen Four appearance and 10th national title (last won in 1998). … Missed tournament last year after making four straight appearances.
Fast fact: Michigan is the highest-scoring team in the country (4.57 goals per game) and has the best power play (31% conversion rate). The Wolverines converted two of three chances in the Big Ten final against Ohio State.
No. 2 Minnesota Duluth
Record: 23-14-1
NPI ranking: 8
How the Bulldogs got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost to Denver in NCHC final)
NCAA history: 16th appearance; seeking ninth Frozen Four and fourth national title (last won in 2019). … First NCAA appearance — and first winning season — since 2022. … Had made eight straight tournaments before that.
Fast fact: The Bulldogs’ special teams are just that: They are second nationally in power-play conversions (29.9%) and third in penalty killing (89.3%).
No. 3 Penn State
Record: 21-13-2
NPI ranking: 9
How the Nittany Lions got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 3-5-2 (lost to Michigan in Big Ten semifinal)
NCAA history: Sixth appearance; seeking second Frozen Four and first national title. … Defeated 1-seed Maine and 2-seed UConn in 2025 regionals before losing to Boston University in national semifinal. … All six NCAA appearances have come in the past 10 years.
Fast fact: Highly touted freshman Gavin McKenna, expected to be the No. 1 pick in June’s NHL draft, ranks second in the country with 51 points (15 goals, 36 assists) in 34 games.
No. 4 Bentley
Record: 23-11-5
NPI ranking: 23
How the Falcons got here: Atlantic Hockey champion
Last 10 games: 7-3 (beat St. Thomas in Atlantic final)
NCAA history: Second appearance; seeking first Frozen Four and first national title. … Lost 3-1 to top overall seed Boston College in last year’s tournament.
Fast fact: Bentley hasn’t lost in nine overtime games this season (4-0-5).
Sioux Falls Regional
No. 1 North Dakota
Record: 27-9-1
NPI ranking: 2
How the Fighting Hawks got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-2-1 (lost to Minnesota Duluth in NCHC semifinals)
NCAA history: 36th appearance; seeking 23rd Frozen Four and ninth national title (last won in 2016). … Fifth NCAA appearance in the past seven years.
Fast fact: North Dakota has only two regulation losses since Nov. 28: 3-2 vs. Denver on Jan. 17 and 5-1 to Minnesota Duluth in the NCHC tournament.
No. 2 Providence
Record: 23-10-2
NPI ranking: 7
How the Friars got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-3-0 (lost to Merrimack in Hockey East quarterfinals)
NCAA history: 17th appearance; seeking sixth Frozen Four and second national title (won in 2015). … Lost to Denver in first round as 2-seed in 2025 tournament. … Second straight NCAA appearance after five-year absence.
Fast fact: The Friars rolled to their first regular-season Hockey East title, going 14-2 to close their schedule before losing to No. 8 seed Merrimack 3-2 in overtime in the conference quarterfinals.
No. 3 Quinnipiac
Record: 26-9-3
NPI ranking: 10
How the Bobcats got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-4 (lost to Clarkson in ECAC quarterfinals)
NCAA history: 12th appearance; seeking fourth Frozen Four and second national title (won in 2023). … Lost to UConn in first round of 2025 tournament. … Sixth straight NCAA appearance and 11th in 14 seasons.
Fast fact: Ethan Wyttenbach, a 19-year-old freshman, leads the NCAA with 58 points (24 goals, 34 assists) in 38 games. He was a fifth-round pick of the Calgary Flames in last year’s NHL draft.
No. 4 Merrimack
Record: 21-15-2
NPI ranking: 19
How the Warriors got here: Hockey East champion
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (beat UConn in Hockey East final)
NCAA history: Fourth appearance; seeking first Frozen Four appearance. … First NCAA bid since 2023 (first-round loss to Quinnipiac).
Fast fact: Sophomore goalie Max Lundgren leads the country with 1,109 saves (.920 percentage). He made a career-high 49 stops, 22 in the third period, in the Warriors’ win over UConn in the Hockey East championship game.
Loveland Regional
No. 1 Western Michigan
Record: 26-10-1
NPI ranking: 4
How the Broncos got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-2-1 (lost to Denver in NCHC semifinals)
NCAA history: 11th appearance; seeking second Frozen Four and second national title (won last year). … Defeated Denver in national semifinals and Boston University in championship game in 2025.
Fast fact: Western Michigan faced one of the toughest schedules in the country, going 9-6 against ranked opponents.
No. 2 Denver
Record: 25-11-3
NPI ranking: 5
How the Pioneers got here: NCHC champion
Last 10 games: 9-0-1 (beat Minnesota Duluth in NCHC final)
NCAA history: 34th appearance; seeking 20th Frozen Four and 11th national title (last won in 2024). … Defeated overall No. 1 seed Boston College in regional final last year before losing to Western Michigan in national semifinal. … Has reached Frozen Four three of the past four seasons.
Fast fact: No one is hotter than the Pioneers, who extended their unbeaten streak to 13 (12-0-1) in winning the NCHC championship with a 4-3 double-overtime victory over Minnesota Duluth.
No. 3 Cornell
Record: 22-10-1
NPI ranking: 11
How the Big Red got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost to Princeton in ECAC semifinals)
NCAA history: 26th appearance; seeking ninth Frozen Four and third national title (last won in 1970). … Beat 1-seed Michigan State in first round last year before losing to Boston University in regional final. … Has made eight of the past nine tournaments, with first-year coach Casey Jones picking up where longtime coach Mike Schafer left off.
Fast fact: Cornell has the stingiest defense in the country, allowing 1.94 goals per game.
No. 4 Minnesota State
Record: 22-10-7
NPI ranking: 13
How the Mavericks got here: CCHA champion
Last 10 games: 6-2-2 (beat St. Thomas in CCHA final)
NCAA history: 12th appearance; seeking third Frozen Four and first national title. … Eighth tournament appearance in the last nine years. … Lost to eventual national champion Western Michigan in double overtime in first round of last year’s tourney.
Fast fact: The Mavericks are in the tournament for the second straight year under Luke Strand after making the field in nine of 11 seasons under Mike Hastings, who left after the 2020-21 season to coach Wisconsin.
SYDNEY: As Twenty20 cricket competitions explode around the world, Australia’s Big Bash League is struggling to chart a vision for the future, after plans to privatise its franchises stalled.
Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg is adamant that outside investment is necessary to shore up the game’s financial future and keep pace with a boom in other well-funded leagues played in a similar time slot.
They include the UAE’s ILT20, South Africa’s SA20, and New Zealand’s privately-backed NZ20 scheduled to start in December 2027, all bidding for the best local and overseas players.
“If those salary caps (of other leagues) are significantly higher than ours over the coming years, and players can earn more in those areas, then players will follow those. That’s a real risk to us,” Greenberg told local media.
“I want to make sure that for Australian cricket, our ambition is to have a league that runs at the key part of the year for us, which is the December-January window, and it’s the best T20 league in the world at that moment in time.
“To do that, we have to have a significant amount of money in our salary caps to attract not only the best players from overseas, but to retain and attract our own best players.”
He added: “The concept of bringing private capital to cricket is inevitable at some point.”
While not a direct competitor as it runs in a different window, the benchmark Indian Premier League has seen massive success thanks to wealthy benefactors, with England’s The Hundred also on a roll after an influx of private capital.
But it is a thorny issue in Australia with an initial proposal to sell stakes in each of BBL’s eight teams stalling last month amid concerns about a loss of control for the game’s local custodians.
While the Victorian, Western Australian and Tasmanian cricket associations voiced support and South Australia said it was open to the idea, New South Wales and Queensland rejected the move.
Queensland Cricket, which controls the Brisbane Heat, said it was worried about player payments skyrocketing to unsustainable levels, and that private owners may not be as invested in the grassroots game.
Cricket NSW, which operates the Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder, was similarly concerned that it could be detrimental to how the sport is governed and how local players are produced.
‘Sugar hit’
There are also fears about an Indian takeover, with the most likely buyers seen as the rich IPL team owners who have invested in other short-form competitions around the globe.
Former Australian captain Greg Chappell is in the “No” camp, arguing that the BBL belongs to the states and communities that have built it into a successful and well-attended product.
While acknowledging the commercial realities, he said selling it off was not the answer.
“The moment you introduce private ownership at scale, you introduce a set of priorities that may not always align with the long-term health of the game,” he wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Private investors, however well-intentioned, answer to shareholders, not to Australian cricket.”
Andrew Jones, a former head of strategy at Cricket Australia who was instrumental in the launch of the BBL, is similarly unconvinced.
“A one-off sale is a sugar hit, not a solution,” he said in The Australian newspaper, arguing that revenues can be better grown through sponsorships, wagering, ticketing, and more focus on commercialising the women’s game.
Despite scepticism, Greenberg remains confident and is now eyeing a hybrid ownership model.
This would allow the BBL franchises keen to sell stakes to do so while allowing those against to maintain complete ownership.
“If we end up not going together at the same time, can we still extract the same level of revenue, and can we extract the same level of value?” he said.
“I think we can, but I’ve got to do the work to satisfy a recommendation that would ultimately go to the members and our board.”
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The New York Knicks took a commanding 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday as the franchise eyes its first NBA Finals berth since 1999.
Jalen Brunson scored 30 points to lead New York to a 121-108 win over Cleveland, while Mikal Bridges added 22 as the Knicks never trailed in Game 3.
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The New York Knicks bench reacts during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers in game three of the Eastern Conference finals at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 23, 2026. (David Richard/Imagn Images)
New York is the seventh team in NBA history to win at least 10 straight during a postseason run. The last team to do it was the Boston Celtics, who also went on a 10-game run on their way to the 2024 title.
All but one of the Knicks’ wins have been by double digits, with an average margin of victory of 22.5 points.
Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell finished with 23 points in 38 minutes, while teammate James Harden added 21. Cleveland shot 12 of 41 from 3-point range and 12 of 19 from the foul line.
Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against New York Knicks guard Landry Shamet (44) during the first quarter in Game Three of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals at Rocket Arena on May 23, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Cleveland rallied and tied it at 50-all on a jumper by Harden before the Knicks countered with a 10-1 run. They went into halftime with a 60-54 advantage.
Music superstar Taylor Swift was courtside for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night alongside fiancé and Ohio native Travis Kelce.
Swift and Kelce, who recently signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Kansas City Chiefs, took their seats in Rocket Arena shortly before the opening tip.
Singer Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce attend Game Three of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals between the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 23, 2026. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
With the Cavs trailing 91-82 at the end of the third quarter, Kelce and Swift were shown on the arena’s giant scoreboard. Fans cheered wildly as Kelce showed off his team cap and wine-and-gold shirt.
Game 4 is set for Monday night at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. The series will return to Madison Square Garden for Game 5 on Wednesday, if necessary.
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Meanwhile, in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs will host the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 4 on Sunday night. Oklahoma City enters the matchup with a 2-1 series lead.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sports
NASCAR’s Truck Series and O’Reilly Autoparts Series honor Kyle Busch with moments of silence at Charlotte
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The NASCAR world is paying tribute to Kyle Busch this weekend, and that includes some classy ones from two series in which the late driver had a lot of success.
While Busch — who passed away Thursday after “severe pneumonia [that] progressed into sepsis” — had been a full-time driver in NASCAR’s top series, the Cup Series, for more than 20 years, he still competed occasionally in both the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and the Craftsman Truck Series.
He was especially known for his dominance in the Truck Series, winning 69 of his 184 races, and at one point owned a team. In fact, the final win of Busch’s career came just under a week before his death in a Truck Series race at Dover.
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Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 7 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, is introduced before the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series SpeedyCash.com 250 at Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 1, 2026. (James Gilbert/Getty Images)
On Friday, the Truck Series was in Charlotte as part of the Coca-Cola 600 weekend for a race that Busch was supposed to take part in.
NASCAR, RACING WORLD REACTS TO KYLE BUSCH’S SHOCKING DEATH AT 41: ‘CANNOT COMPREHEND THIS NEWS’
Corey Day was in the No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports, the truck in which Busch took his final win, and it was set to start on pole after Friday’s qualifying was rained out.
Kyle Busch celebrates the final win of his NASCAR career at Dover Motor Speedway. (Photo by David Hahn/Icon Sportswire)
Before the race was set to begin on Friday evening, teams and fans held a moment of silence for Busch.
Unfortunately, the race never got underway and was postponed until Saturday morning and then again to Saturday night.
The O’Reilly Autoparts Series, which Busch raced in many times and won many times during his career, also took a moment to remember him before their race at Charlotte on Saturday.
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That race was also suspended due to rain.
There will be some heavy hearts on Sunday when the Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR Cup Series’ longest race of the year, gets started at 6 p.m. ET.
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