Much has changed in NCAA men’s hockey this season, but some of the traditional power programs remain the big forces.
The first Frozen Four of the CHL-players-allowed era features the four teams with the most national titles in NCAA history.
The Denver Pioneers (10 titles), Michigan Wolverines (nine), North Dakota Fighting Hawks (eight) and Wisconsin Badgers (six) will battle it out Thursday and Saturday in Las Vegas.
The biggest sign of change might be the goaltending crew — all four starters are freshmen for the first time in Frozen Four history and all have CHL experience.
Forty-nine NHL Draft picks are on the rosters, just two behind last year’s record total (per College Hockey Inc., which began keeping track in 2014).
Here’s a look at Thursday’s semifinal matchups:
North Dakota (29-9-1) vs. Wisconsin (23-12-2), 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT
Exciting game for Calgary
North Dakota has three Flames prospects on its roster, led by first-round pick and NCHC rookie of the year Cole Reschny, who has points in nine of his past 10 games. Defenceman Abram Wiebe, acquired in the Rasmus Andersson deal, and seventh-round Flames pick Cade Littler also play for first-year North Dakota coach Dane Jackson.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin has Flames pick Eric Jamieson on defence and its starting goalie is former Calgary Hitmen netminder Daniel Hauser. The native of Chestermere, Alta. had a four-game shutout streak with the WHL team last season and set a career record for wins.
Spectacular Spunar
North Dakota goalie Jan Spunar recorded a pair of shutouts in the first two rounds of the tournament, blanking Merrimack and Quinnipiac. The Czech native has a .917 save percentage and 1.90 goals-against average this season.
Penalty-kill problems
The Badgers are within two wins of a national title despite having the second-worst penalty kill in the 63-team men’s hockey national landscape (70.9 per cent). North Dakota, meanwhile, has the seventh-best power play. Wisconsin needs to stay out of the box in its first Frozen Four appearance since 2010.
Feeling a draft
North Dakota’s first-year defenceman Keaton Verhoeff is considered a strong bet to go in the top 10 of this year’s NHL Draft. Verhoeff and Reschny were teammates with the WHL’s Victoria Royals last season.
On a roll
Wisconsin forward Quinn Finley, a New York Islanders prospect, led the regional portion of the tournament with five points in two games. The former U.S. world junior team member is in his third year at Wisconsin.
Quite a comeback
Wisconsin rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third period to upset Michigan State 4-3 in overtime to earn a berth in the Frozen Four. Senior captain Ben Dexheimer scored the OT winner.
Michigan Wolverines (31-7-1) vs. Denver Pioneers (27-11-3), 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT
Long wait
The Wolverines are making their NCAA-leading 29th Frozen Four appearance, but haven’t captured a national championship since 1998. They entered the tournament as the unanimous No. 1, but Michigan faces an extremely tough test against Denver
Coach David Carle’s Pioneers skated away with NCAA championships in 2022 and ’24. Carle is 14-3 all-time in the NCAA tournament. The 36-year-old has, so far, resisted the temptation to jump to pro hockey.
How healthy is Hage?
Michigan forward and Montreal Canadiens first-round pick Michael Hage missed his team’s tournament opener with an injury and played less than seven minutes in the Albany, N.Y. regional final against Minnesota Duluth.
The Wolverines are a more dangerous team when the Canadian junior team member can play more. Hage has 13 goals and 38 assists in 38 games this season.
Hobey Baker battle
Two of the three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award as top player in college hockey are set to square off.
Wolverines captain and undrafted senior forward T.J. Hughes is second in NCAA scoring this season with 56 points (21 goals, 35 assists) in 39 games. He figures to sign an NHL deal when the season ends.
Denver’s Hobey finalist is San Jose Sharks prospect Eric Pohlkamp. The junior defenceman also leads all NCAA blue-liners and his team in scoring with 39 points (18 goals, 21 assists) in 39 games.
Minnesota Duluth forward Max Plante (Detroit Red Wings) is the other Hobey finalist.
Net gains
Denver freshman goalie Johnny Hicks, 20, started the season as his team’s No. 3, but is now the hottest goaltender in the country. The five-foot-10 native of Kamloops, B.C. is an incredible 14-0-1 with a .958 save percentage and 1.12 GAA. Not bad for a player who has just 15 games of CHL experience (last year with Victoria) after moving to the WHL from the BCHL once the NCAA eligibility rule changed.
Hicks’ goaltending counterpart in this game is the lone Frozen Four netminder picked in an NHL Draft. Michigan’s Jack Ivankovic (.923 save percentage, 2.13 GAA in 34 games) was a second-round selection by the Nashville Predators last year. He has also played for Canada’s junior team during the past two years.
Best in the country
Denver is riding an 11-game win streak, tied for the longest run in the NCAA this season with two other teams. The Pioneers are also unbeaten in 15.
Denver will go up against the country’s top power play. Michigan is clicking at a rate of 31.6 per cent
Rare double
Michigan is looking to become the first school in history to win the NCAA hockey and men’s basketball titles in the same year. The basketball team beat UConn in the national final on Monday.
The Big Ten Conference, which has Michigan and Wisconsin as members, already has national championships this year in men’s basketball, women’s basketball (UCLA) and football (Indiana).
Commit watch
Denver has already landed one of the top CHL commits for next season in Vancouver Giants defenceman Ryan Lin, a first-round prospect for this year’s NHL Draft.
Mike McMahon of College Hockey Insider reported last week that Michigan and Denver are the early favourites for Everett Silvertips star defenceman Landon DuPont, who could enter the NCAA ahead of a bid to go No. 1 overall in the 2027 NHL Draft.
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