The 2025 NCAA Men`s Hockey Tournament is set to begin, featuring 16 teams competing for the national championship at the Frozen Four in St. Louis.
Regional games start on Thursday, with regional finals on Saturday and Sunday. The Frozen Four is scheduled for April 10th and 12th in St. Louis. All games will be broadcast on ESPN networks and streamed on ESPN+.
Conference tournament champions automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament, with the remaining spots filled by the top at-large teams based on the PairWise rankings.
Top-seeded Boston College will compete in the Manchester, New Hampshire regional. Other top seeds include Big Ten champion Michigan State (Toledo, Ohio), Hockey East champion Maine (Allentown, Pennsylvania), and NCHC champion Western Michigan (Fargo, North Dakota).
Defending national champion Denver is seeded No. 3 in Manchester. UConn (No. 2 in Allentown) and Bentley (No. 4 in Manchester) are making their first appearances in the NCAA tournament.
Below is the tournament schedule, which will be updated with results, along with a brief overview of each participating team.
Schedule
Toledo (Ohio) Regional
Semifinals, March 27
Final, March 29
Fargo (N.D.) Regional
Semifinals, March 27
Final, March 29
Manchester (N.H.) Regional
Semifinals, March 28
Final, March 30
Allentown (Penn.) Regional
Semifinals, March 28
Final, March 30
FROZEN FOUR
at Enterprise Center, St. Louis
National Semifinals, April 10
National Championship Game, April 12
Teams at a Glance
No. 1 Michigan State
Record: 26-6-4
PairWise rating: No. 2
How the Spartans got here: Big Ten champion
Last 10 games: 6-3-1
History lesson: Michigan State makes its 29th NCAA Tournament appearance. They have 11 Frozen Four appearances and 3 national titles, last in 2007. Last season, they reached the regional finals.
No. 2 Boston University
Record: 21-13-2
PairWise rating: 7
How the Terriers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost Hockey East semifinal to Maine)
History lesson: BU is in its 40th NCAA Tournament, including 3 of the last 4 years. They have 24 Frozen Four appearances and 5 national titles, last in 2009. They reached the national semifinals last season.
No. 3 Ohio State
Record: 24-13-2
PairWise rating: 10
How the Buckeyes got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-5 (lost Big Ten final to Michigan State)
History lesson: Ohio State makes its 12th NCAA appearance, its second in three years. They have 2 Frozen Four appearances, most recently in 2018, and are seeking their first national title.
No. 4 Cornell
Record: 18-10-6
PairWise rating: 17
How the Big Red got here: ECAC champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: Cornell is in its 27th NCAA Tournament, its 3rd consecutive appearance. They have 8 Frozen Four appearances and 2 national championships, last in 1970. Last season, they reached the regional finals.
No. 1 Western Michigan
Record: 30-7-1
PairWise rating: 4
How the Broncos got here: NCHC champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: Western Michigan is in its 10th NCAA Tournament, its 4th consecutive appearance. Their NCAA Tournament record is 1-10.
No. 2 Minnesota
Record: 25-10-4
PairWise rating: 5
How the Golden Gophers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost Big Ten quarterfinal series to Notre Dame)
History lesson: Minnesota makes its 42nd NCAA appearance, its 5th consecutive. They have 23 Frozen Four appearances and 5 national titles, last in 2003. Last season, they reached the regional finals.
No. 3 UMass
Record: 20-13-5
PairWise rating: 11
How the Minutemen got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-2-3 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to BU in overtime)
History lesson: UMass is in its 7th NCAA Tournament, its 5th in the last 6 years. They have 2 Frozen Four appearances and 1 national title, in 2021.
No. 4 Minnesota State
Record: 27-8-3
PairWise rating: 14
How the Mavericks got here: CCHA champion
Last 10 games: 9-0-1
History lesson: Minnesota State is in its 12th NCAA Tournament, its 6th in the last 7 years. They have 2 Frozen Four appearances and are seeking their first national championship.
No. 1 Boston College
Record: 26-7-2
PairWise rating: 1
How the Eagles got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 6-3-1 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to Northeastern)
History lesson: BC makes its 39th NCAA appearance. They have 26 Frozen Four appearances and 5 national titles, last in 2012. Last year, they were national championship runner-ups.
No. 2 Providence
Record: 21-10-5
PairWise rating: 8
How the Friars got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 5-4-1 (lost Hockey East quarterfinal to UConn)
History lesson: Providence is in its 16th NCAA Tournament, their first since 2019. They have 5 Frozen Four appearances and 1 national title, in 2015.
No. 3 Denver
Record: 29-11-1
PairWise rating: 9
How the Pioneers got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-3 (lost NCHC final to Western Michigan in double overtime)
History lesson: Denver makes its 34th NCAA appearance, its 15th in the last 16 years. They have 18 Frozen Four appearances and a record 10 national titles. They are the defending national champions from last season.
No. 4 Bentley
Record: 23-14-2
PairWise rating: 22
How the Falcons got here: Atlantic champion
Last 10 games: 8-2
History lesson: Bentley is making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in their program`s history at the Division I level.
No. 1 Maine
Record: 24-7-6
PairWise rating: 3
How the Black Bears got here: Hockey East champion
Last 10 games: 6-2-2
History lesson: Maine is in its 21st NCAA Tournament. They have 11 Frozen Four appearances and 2 national titles, last in 1999. This is their first tournament appearance since 2012.
No. 2 UConn
Record: 22-11-4
PairWise rating: 6
How the Huskies got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 8-1-1
History lesson: UConn is making their first NCAA Tournament appearance in their program`s history at the Division I level.
No. 3 Quinnipiac
Record: 24-11-2
PairWise ranking: 12
How the Bobcats got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-3 (lost ECAC semifinal to Cornell in overtime)
History lesson: Quinnipiac is in its 11th NCAA Tournament, its 6th consecutive appearance. They have 3 Frozen Four appearances and 1 national title, in 2023. Last season, they reached the regional finals.
No. 4 Penn State
Record: 20-13-4
PairWise rating: 13
How the Nittany Lions got here: At-large bid
Last 10 games: 7-2-1 (lost Big Ten semifinal to Ohio State in overtime)
History lesson: Penn State is in its 5th NCAA appearance. In 2023, they reached the regional finals. They are seeking their first Frozen Four appearance.
