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USA Today
25-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Frozen Four expert predictions, picks for NCAA hockey bracket and national championship
Frozen Four expert predictions, picks for NCAA hockey bracket and national championship Show Caption Hide Caption he PC men's hockey team learns its NCAA tourney seed, and opponent The Providence College Friars will head to Manchester to face defending champion Denver in the NCAA men's hockey tournament. As the NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments move on to their Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds this weekend, men's college hockey will begin its process of crowning a national champion. The road to the Frozen Four officially gets started this week, with 16 teams in the 2025 NCAA Hockey Tournament vying for the opportunity to be immortalized in their sport's long and storied history. Many of college hockey's most historically decorated programs qualified for the field this year, either through an automatic berth or an at-large bid. Each of the past four programs to win a national championship is represented, including reigning national champion Denver, which has captured two of the past three national titles under wunderkind coach David Carle. REQUIRED READING: Men's NCAA hockey selection show recap: Bracket, schedule, 2025 Frozen Four predictions It's Boston College, though, that enters the event as the No. 1 overall seed, with Michigan State, Maine and Western Michigan, in order, rounding out the top four. Some of the sport's other established powers, such as Minnesota and Boston University, will look to add to their immense trophy cases while upstarts like UConn and Bentley will aim to make a run in their first-ever appearances in the tournament. Who from that crowded and competitive group of teams will end up hoisting the national championship trophy in St. Louis on April 12? Here's a look at Frozen Four and national championship predictions from writers from the USA TODAY Network: NCAA hockey bracket predictions for Frozen Four, national championship Mike Brehm, USA TODAY Sports Regions listed in parentheses Frozen Four picks Michigan State (Toldeo) Maine (Allentown) Boston College (Manchester) Minnesota (Fargo) NCAA hockey championship: Boston College over Michigan State After falling short in the 2024 title game, Boston College gets it done this year. Jacob Fowler is one of college hockey's top goalies, and the line of Ryan Leonard, Gabriel Perreault and James Hagens showed in the USA's gold-medal run at the world junior hockey championship that it thrives in big games. Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press Regions listed in parentheses Michigan State (Toledo) Maine (Allentown) Boston College (Manchester) Western Michigan (Fargo) NCAA hockey championship: Michigan State over Boston College Spartans should swagger into the tournament after their double-overtime victory over Ohio State to claim the Big Ten trophy. Between Isaac Howard's dominance with the puck and Trey Augustine (a Red Wings draft pick) delivering outstanding performances in net, the Spartans looked poised to celebrate college hockey's top prize. — Helene St. James Nathaniel Bott, Lansing State Journal Frozen Four picks Regions listed in parentheses Boston College (Manchester) Michigan State (Toledo) UMass (Fargo) Maine (Allentown) NCAA hockey championship: Michigan State over Boston College Michigan State has a favorable regional in nearby Toledo to get to St. Louis. And with goaltender Trey Augustine and Hobey Baker finalist Isaac Howard carrying the load, the Spartans will win their fourth title in program history. — Nathaniel Bott. Craig Meyer, USA TODAY Network Frozen Four Regions listed in parentheses Boston College (Manchester) Michigan State (Toledo) UConn (Allentown) Minnesota (Fargo) NCAA hockey championship: Boston College over UConn Making it to the Frozen Four championship game would be a hard-earned road for the Eagles, who will have to get out of a region including a Denver team that beat it in the national title last season and which has two Hobey Baker finalists on its roster this year. They're the No. 1 overall seed for a reason, though, and will follow up a stellar regular season with their first national championship under coach Greg Brown, doing so three years after he took over for the legendary Jerry York.
CBS News
24-03-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Boston College lands top overall seed, 4 Massachusetts teams make NCAA Hockey Tournament
New England will be well-represented in the 2025 NCAA Hockey Tournament as March Madness shifts from the hardwood to the ice. There are eight teams from New England and four from Massachusetts set to compete for a national championship. Boston College sits atop all 16 teams in the bracket as the No. 1 overall seed, one of six Hockey East teams in this year's field. The Hockey East sent more teams to this year's NCAA tournament than any other conference, with its six participants tied for the most-ever. Boston College, Boston University, UMass, and Bentley make up the Massachusetts teams in the field, while fellow New England schools UConn, Quinnipiac, Providence, and Maine are also in the tournament. The BC Eagles were the regular-season champs in the Hockey East, but fell to Northeastern in the quarterfinals of the Hockey East tournament over the weekend. But they claimed the top seed in the tourney following a 26-7-2 season. The Eagles were led by sophomore forwards Ryan Leonard (29 goals, 18 assists) and Gabe Perreault (15 goals, 32 assists), both of whom tallied 47 points. Jacob Fowler was 24-6-2 in net for Boston College, and touted a .940 save percentage and 1.64 GAA during the season. Boston College is top overall seed for the second straight season and fourth time in program history, and will be going for its sixth NCAA title. The Eagles have made it to the Frozen Four 26 times, including last year when BC lost to Denver in the NCAA title game. Boston College will open this year's tournament in Manchester, New Hampshire on Friday against Bentley University, which is making its first-ever NCAA tournament appearance as the Atlantic Hockey champs. The Falcons went 23-14-2 during the 2025 season and upset Holy Cross, 6-3, in the Atlantic Hockey America tournament championship in Worcester on Saturday. Boston University and UMass of Hockey East both earned at-large bids in this year's tournament. The Terriers are the two-seed in Toledo, Ohio after a 21-13-2 season, and are looking to make it to the Frozen Four for a third straight year. They'll face the Ohio State Buckeyes to open the tournament Thursday afternoon in Toledo, Ohio. It will be the fourth all-time meeting between Boston University and Ohio State, with the Terriers victorious in all three of the previous meetings (2009, 1998, and 1973). UMass is in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history, this time as a three-seed following a 20-13-5 season. The Minutemen will square off against the two-seeded Minnesota in Fargo, North Dakota on Thursday night. Umass is looking to make the Frozen Four for the first time since 2021, when the school won its first national title. The Minutemen are 8-4 in tournament play overall and 7-3 under head coach Greg Carvel. Maine, UConn, Quinnipiac, and Providence are also heading to the NCAA Tournament this year, with New England schools making up half of the 16-team field. Maine is the one-seed in Allentown, Pennsylvania following its Hockey East tournament championship over UConn, and will face Penn State. UConn is also in Allentown as the Huskies are in their first-ever NCAA Hockey Tournament, and will face in-state rival Quinnipiac, which claimed the ECAC regular-season title. Providence College is in Manchester as the two-seed, and will take on the defending national champion Denver Pioneers on Friday. Thursday, March 27 No. 2 Boston University vs. No. 3 Ohio State, 2 p.m. in Toledo, Ohio No. 2 Minnesota vs. No. 3 Massachusetts, 8:30 p.m. in Fargo, North Dakota Friday, March 28 No. 1 Boston College vs. No. 4 Bentley, 2 p.m in Manchester, New Hampshire No. 2 Connecticut vs. No. 3 Quinnipiac, 5 p.m. in Allentown, Pennsylvania No. 2 Providence vs. No. 3 Denver, 5:30 p.m. in Manchester, New Hampshire No. 1 Maine vs. No. 4 Penn State, 8:30 p.m. in Allentown, Pennsylvania
USA Today
23-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Who will Penn State face in NCAA Hockey Tournament?
Who will Penn State face in NCAA Hockey Tournament? Penn State to face Maine in first round of NCAA men's hockey tournament. Penn State's hockey season will officially continue after the Nittany Lions were placed in the NCAA Division 1 men's hockey tournament on Sunday afternoon. Penn State will face No. 3 seed Maine in the first round of the NCAA tournament Friday night in Allentown for the Allentown regional. Penn State actually clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament on Friday night without having to play a game. That was because Denver and Western Michigan each won their NCHA tournament games to rule out the scenario in which North Dakota could swoop in and steal a bid in the NCAA bracket. Maine (24-7-6) clinched one of the six automatic bids in this year's NCAA tournament by capturing the Hockey East Tournament championship with a victory over UConn on Friday night. The Black Bears were awarded one of the four top seeds by the selection committee. Penn State ended the regular season as one of college hockey's hotter teams but was eliminated in the Big Ten tournament semifinal with an overtime loss to Ohio State. The Buckeyes in turn lost in double overtime to Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game this weekend. Penn State will face Maine on Friday, March 28 at 8:30 p.m. from the PPL Center in Allentown. The winner will advance to face the winner of the UConn-Quinnipiac matchup in the regional final on Sunday. Other Big Ten teams being invited to this year's tournament include No. 2 overall seed Michigan State (Toledo region), Ohio State (Toledo), and Minnesota (Fargo). As many as three Big Ten teams could end up in the Frozen Four. Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.
USA Today
15-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
How to watch Penn State vs. Ohio State in Big Ten hockey semifinal
How to watch Penn State vs. Ohio State in Big Ten hockey semifinal How to watch Saturday night's Big Ten hockey semifinal matchup between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes Following a quarterfinal round sweep of Michigan, the Penn State men's ice hockey team is heading to Columbus to play for a spot in the Big Ten championship game. All that stands in the way on Saturday night is No. 3 seed Ohio State. As Penn State swept a best-of-three series last weekend in Ann Arbor, Ohio State came out on top of a three-game series against Wisconsin by winning the second and third games. Penn State comes into the Big Ten semifinal with the nation's no. 11 ranking, and Ohio State is no. 10. The winner of Saturday night's single elimination semifinal will advance to face either Michigan State in East Lansing or host Notre Dame on March 22. Michigan State will host Notre Dame in the first game of the day, so the destination and matchup for the winner will be known ahead of time. Penn State lost both games it played in Columbus during the regular season with a 4-0 and 4-2 setback in early December. Penn State returned the favor with a pair of overtime victories against the Buckeyes in January. Penn State won a shootout in a 6-6 game in the first of two games in the Pegula Ice Arena and followed that up with a 3-2 overtime win the next day against the top-10 Buckeyes. Penn State has lost just two games since then. Here is how to watch the 2025 Big Ten hockey semifinal matchup between the Nittany Lions and Buckeyes. What channel is the Penn State vs. Ohio State semifinal hockey game? Time, TV schedule TV Channel: Big Ten Network Start time: 8:30 a.m. ET Coverage of the Big Ten hockey semifinals will air on Big Ten Network with Michigan State and Notre Dame airing at 6:00 p.m. ET. The Penn State-Ohio State matchup will follow with a scheduled start time of 8:30 p.m.. Sunday's coverage will begin at 1 p.m. with Session 3 (consolation semifinals, 7th-place matches) on B1G+ (not on Big Ten Network). Finally, Session 4 coverage for the 1st, 3rd, and 5th-place matches will begin airing at 5:30 p.m. ET. Where to watch 2025 Big Ten hockey tournament on livestream Coverage of the Big Ten hockey semifinals will also be available on the Big Ten Network's streaming platform. You can get started with the link below. Watch Penn State vs. Ohio State men's hockey on Big Ten Network Playing for a spot in the NCAA Hockey Tournament The NCAA men's hockey tournament will seed 16 teams for this year's national championship tournament. Both Penn State and Ohio State may be sitting in good spots as far as the rankings are concerned, but a win in the semifinal could be a major boost toward solidifying a spot in this year's NCAA tournament. The Big Ten champion will receive an automatic seed in the tournament, however, so the stakes are high this weekend with a spot in the Big Ten championship game on the line. Follow Kevin McGuire on Threads, Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X, Facebook, and Threads.
