2026 NCAA men’s hockey tournament bubble watchplayWestern Michigan claims first NCAA hockey championship in school history (0:40)In a stunning 6-2 victory over Boston University, Western Michigan wins the national championship, the school’s first. (0:40)ESPNMultiple AuthorsFeb 20, 2026, 06:55 AM ET
tamil yogi
With selection day for the NCAA men’s hockey tournament about a month away, it’s time to look at the contenders for the field of 16, from teams on the bubble to those playing for No. 1 seeds.
Six automatic bids to the NCAA tournament will be awarded to the winners of the six conference tournaments, with championship games scheduled for March 20 and 21. Ten more teams will earn at-large spots determined by the NPI formula, which replaces the PairWise rankings this season. Every game can impact the NPI rankings, which factor in strength of schedule, home/road splits and overtime results.
Once the NCAA field is set, the four regional brackets will be revealed March 22. Regional games will be played March 26-29; the sites are Albany, New York; Loveland, Colorado; Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Worcester, Massachusetts. The Frozen Four will be held April 9 and 11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Every game of the NCAA tournament, and the selection show, will be available on ESPN networks and the ESPN app.
Here’s a look at the NCAA contenders, listed with their NPI rankings, key results and remaining regular-season schedules.
NPI rankings as of Feb. 20.
Frozen Four or bust
Michigan State and Michigan have been at or near the top of the rankings all season as the top teams in the best conference in the country. North Dakota and Western Michigan are not far behind as their counterparts in the always-rugged NCHC.
No. 1 Michigan State
Record: 23-6-0, 14-5-0 Big Ten
Key results: The Spartans have won six of their last seven games, including a 5-2 win over Michigan on Feb. 7. Michigan State lost 4-3 in overtime at Michigan on Feb. 6.
Remaining schedule: vs. Notre Dame on Friday; vs. Ohio State Feb. 27-28; at Minnesota March 5-6
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No. 2 Michigan
Record: 24-5-1, 15-4-1 Big Ten
Key results: The Wolverines took five of six points in a weekend series with Penn State on Feb. 13-14 and split four meetings with Michigan State on the season.
Remaining schedule: at Wisconsin on Friday, Saturday; vs. Minnesota Feb. 26-27
No. 3 North Dakota
Record: 23-7-0, 15-5-0 NCHC
Key results: NoDak is 8-4 against ranked teams this season, splitting four games with Minnesota Duluth and a pair against Denver in January.
Remaining schedule: vs. St. Cloud State on Friday, Saturday; at Western Michigan Feb. 27-28
No. 4 Western Michigan
Record: 22-8-0, 14-6-0 NCHC
Key results: The defending national champs are 12-2 since Christmas, including wins over Boston College and Wisconsin in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off and a two-game sweep at Denver.
Remaining schedule: at Colorado College on Friday, Saturday; vs. North Dakota Feb. 27-28
Rock solid
The four teams in this tier should be sure to keep their calendars clear for the last weekend of March. It is hard to craft scenarios where they miss the NCAA tournament.
No. 5 Penn State
Record: 18-9-1, 10-7-1 Big Ten
Key results: The Nittany Lions are 17-3-0 against teams not named Michigan and Michigan State, but 1-6-1 against the Big Ten’s two top teams. Two of those losses came in overtime, but Penn State needs to show it can beat the best.
Remaining schedule: vs. Ohio State on Friday, Saturday; at Notre Dame Feb. 27-28; vs. Wisconsin March 5-6
Penn State, with Ben Schoen (right), and Michigan State, with Maxim Strbak, are both safely in the NCAA field. Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images No. 6 QuinnipiacRecord: 24-5-3, 15-2-1 ECACKey results: The Bobcats are 12-1-1 since the calendar flipped to 2026, with the lone loss to UConn. Quinnipiac has outscored its opponents 78-22 over that span. The only question for the Bobcats is their strength of schedule, which ranks 47th.Remaining schedule: vs. Cornell on Friday; vs. Colgate on Saturday; at Dartmouth Feb. 27; at Harvard Feb. 28 No. 7 ProvidenceRecord: 19-8-2, 14-4-1 Hockey EastKey results: The Friars had a nine-game winning streak snapped Feb. 13 against Northeastern. The run included wins over ranked conference foes Maine, Boston University and Boston College.Remaining schedule: at Vermont on Friday, Saturday; vs. New Hampshire Feb. 27; at New Hampshire Feb. 28; vs. UConn March 7 No. 8 DenverRecord: 19-11-3, 15-6-1 NCHCKey results: Denver is unbeaten in its last seven games (6-0-1), including a two-game sweep of Minnesota Duluth. The Pios have rebounded after opening January with a 1-5-1 stretch against Maine, Western Michigan and North Dakota.Remaining schedule: vs. Arizona State Feb. 27-28Looking goodThese four teams are in good shape to make the field, but they can’t be complacent. A sloppy finish to the regular season would crank up the pressure come conference tournament time. No. 9 Minnesota Duluth Record: 18-12-0, 9-11-0 NCHCKey results: The Bulldogs are coming off a tough stretch of their schedule, dropping five of six against Western Michigan, Denver and North Dakota. Still, UMD has wins over Western Michigan and NoDak (two) on its résumé.Remaining schedule: at Miami (Ohio) on Friday, Saturday; vs. Colorado College Feb. 27-28 No. 10 Cornell Record: 17-7-1, 12-5-1 ECACKey results: The Big Red were rolling, winning 11 of 12, before going 0-2-1 in their last three games. Cornell yielded an average of two goals per game in its hot streak.Remaining schedule: at Quinnipiac on Friday; at Princeton on Saturday; vs. St. Lawrence Feb. 27; vs. Clarkson Feb. 28 No. 11 DartmouthRecord: 17-7-2, 11-5-2 ECACKey results: Dartmouth’s place in the NCAA field is on the strength of its 11-0 start. The Big Green have been sub-.500 since, but have a chance to boost their standing when Quinnipiac comes to town.Remaining schedule: at RPI on Friday; at Union on Saturday; vs. Quinnipiac Feb. 27; vs. Princeton Feb. 28 No. 12 UConnRecord: 17-7-4, 11-5-2 Hockey EastKey results: The Huskies took five of six points at Maine on Feb. 13 and 14, and beat Quinnipiac on Jan. 24, putting them in strong position to make the NCAA field. The rest of their schedule includes five games against top-four teams in Hockey East, so they must remain sharp.Remaining schedule: at Boston College on Friday; vs. Boston College on Saturday; vs. UMass Feb. 27; at UMass Feb. 28; vs. New Hampshire March 5; at Providence March 7In the field — for nowThe cutline in the NPI rankings for making the NCAA field figures to be at No. 15, as the Atlantic champ will earn an automatic bid and claim the 16th seed. As of Feb. 19, these teams are on the right side of the bubble, but that could change with any slip-ups. No. 13 St. ThomasRecord: 18-9-3, 15-5-2 CCHAKey results: St. Thomas rode an 11-game winning streak prior to losing two of its last three games. The Tommies don’t have a big margin for error, as there’s a chance the CCHA will be limited to one bid.Remaining schedule: vs. Augustana on Friday, Saturday; at Bemidji State Feb. 27-28The enhanced ESPN App
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No. 14 Boston College
Record: 17-10-1, 11-7-0 Hockey East
Key results: The biggest result to date for Eagles fans was BC’s win over Boston University for the program’s first Beanpot title in 10 years. Overall the Eagles’ season has been a bit uneven, but they have opportunities to solidify their status the rest of the way.
Remaining schedule: vs. UConn on Friday; at UConn on Saturday; at Boston University Feb. 27; vs. BU Feb. 28; at UMass March 5; vs. Northeastern March 7
No. 15 Wisconsin
Record: 18-10-2, 11-9-0 Big Ten
Key results: The Badgers got off to a fantastic start this season, splitting two games at Michigan and winning twice at Michigan State, and were No. 3 in NPI at the start of 2026. But six straight losses in January, plus a brutal closing stretch in the regular season, has Wisconsin in a precarious spot.
Remaining schedule: vs. Michigan on Friday, Saturday; at Penn State March 5-6
Bentley/Atlantic champ
Record: 17-9-5, 15-4-4 Atlantic; No. 28 in NPI
Key results: The 16th spot in the NCAA field most likely will be filled by the Atlantic Hockey champion, with Bentley closing in on the No. 1 seed for the conference tournament. The Falcons’ best weekend of the season, based on NPI, was taking five of six points against Princeton (currently No. 32) in late January.
Remaining schedule: at RIT on Friday; vs. Air Force Feb. 27-28
Work to do
Teams in this tier have between an 18% and 23% chance of making the NCAA field as either an automatic qualifier or at-large team, according to collegehockeynews.com projections. Four of these teams are in the CCHA’s logjam, where head-to-head matchups will be huge. The at-large hopes aren’t great, but we’re saying there’s a chance — and there’s always the conference tournament to fall back on.
Minnesota State
Record: 16-9-5, 12-7-3 CCHA; No. 16 in NPI
Key results: The Mustangs are 5-5 in 2026, going 1-3 against fellow CCHA bubble teams St. Thomas, Michigan Tech and Augustana in that stretch.
Remaining schedule: at Bowling Green on Friday, Saturday; vs. Northern Michigan Feb. 27-28
Augustana
Record: 19-10-3, 13-8-3 CCHA; No. 17 in NPI
Key results: After going 9-1 in January, the Vikings are 1-3 in February with a two-game set at St. Thomas sure to play a key role in their NCAA hopes.
Remaining schedule: at St. Thomas on Friday, Saturday
Michigan Tech
Record: 21-10-3, 16-5-3 CCHA; No. 18 in NPI
Key results: At 9-2-1 since Jan. 9, the Huskies are the hottest of the CCHA contenders.
Remaining schedule: vs. Bowling Green Feb. 27-28
Bowling Green
Record: 16-8-6, 13-6-3 CCHA; No. 19 in NPI
Key results: In addition to holding their own against the best of CCHA, the Falcons went 1-0-1 against Ohio State and 2-0 against Princeton.
Remaining schedule: vs. Minnesota State on Friday, Saturday; at Michigan Tech Feb. 27-28
UMass
Record: 17-11-0, 10-8-0 Hockey East; No. 20 in NPI
Key results: After a sluggish start to the season, the Minutemen have won eight of their last nine games. They have a chance to move higher in NPI with two games against UConn and one against Boston College.
Remaining schedule: vs. New Hampshire on Friday; at New Hampshire on Saturday; at UConn Feb. 27; vs. UConn Feb. 28; vs. Boston College March 5; at New Hampshire March 7
