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The Wisconsin Badgers staged a late comeback to advance to the 2026 NCAA Frozen Four with an overtime upset win over the Michigan State Spartans on Mar. 28. (Photo by M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The field is set for the 2026 Frozen Four, which will take place from Apr. 9-11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
As the field was cut down from 16 teams over four days from Mar. 26-29, three of the top-ranked teams have made it to the dance. The Michigan State Spartans, seen by many as a favorite to win it all, did not.
Ranked third in the country in USA Hockey’s weekly poll heading into the national tournament, the Spartans boasted a deep roster that included 2023 first-round pick Charlie Stramel at center, 2025 first-rounders Porter Martone and Ryker Lee on the wings and two-time world juniors gold medalist Trey Augustine in net.
For five and a half periods, everything looked good. The Spartans dispatched UConn 2-1 in their first-round game on Thursday. Against Wisconsin on Saturday, they took a 2-1 lead into the third period, then added a power-play tally by Matt Basgall at 8:33 of the final frame.
But the Badgers refused to go quietly. They outshot the Spartans 18-6 in the third and were rewarded when freshman defenseman Luke Osburn beat Augustine with 4:47 remaining. Thirty-four seconds later, undrafted sophomore Gavin Morrissey fired home a rebound to tie the game with his ninth goal of the year.
It took just 24 seconds of overtime for the Badgers to ice the game and advance. In sudden death, senior captain Ben Dexheimer lifted a shot from the blue line that beat a screened Augustine over his shoulder to end the Spartans season and send Wisconsin on to Vegas.
Gavin McKenna, Penn State Fall Early
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Gavin McKenna's Penn State Nittany Lions were eliminated in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. (Photo by Jaime Crawford/Getty Images)
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After making the biggest splash of the NCAA’s new-rules era by bringing in top 2026 draft prospect Gavin McKenna last summer, Penn State was bounced in the first round in a 3-1 loss to Minnesota Duluth. With a record of 21-13-2, the Nittany Lions were ranked ninth in the nation in the USA Hockey poll heading into the tournament.
McKenna, who turned 18 in December, finished his freshman year with a team-leading 51 points in 35 games, second in the nation behind breakout Quinnipiac freshman Ethan Wyttenbach (59 points).
Both players are among the 10 finalists for the 2026 Hobey Baker Award. The three Hobey Hat Trick finalists will be announced Apr. 3 and the award will be handed out on Apr. 10 in Vegas.
2026 Frozen Four Bracket
On Apr. 9, Wisconsin will meet No. 2 North Dakota in the first game of the day (5 p.m. ET). In coach Dane Jackson’s second year in the head job, the Fighting Hawks have returned to the Frozen Four for the first time since winning it all in 2016.
Jackson’s crew hasn’t allowed a goal yet in this year’s NCAA tournament. They took out surprising Merrimack 3-0 in their first-round game on Thursday, then beat Quinnipiac 5-0 on Saturday to punch their ticket.
Key names on the Fighting Hawks’ roster include 2024 first-round pick E.J. Emery on defense along with draft-eligible blueliner Keaton Verhoeff, who made the jump to college from the WHL’s Victoria Royals. Verhoeff’s Victoria teammate, Cole Reschny, has had a strong freshman season after being drafted in the first round by the Calgary Flames last June. In net, the two shutouts have been delivered by another WHL alumnus who spent two years with the Portland Winterhawks, 21-year-old Czech Jan Spunar.
On the other side, the top-ranked Michigan Wolverines will duke it out against David Carle’s dangerous Denver Pioneers at 8:30 p.m. ET on Apr. 9.
The Wolverines have now reached the Frozen Four in four of the last five seasons, but lost their semi-final in three-straight years: 2022, 2023 and 2024.
This year, Michigan started the tournament with a 5-1 win over Bentley, then followed up with a 4-3 victory over Minnesota-Duluth.
Denver has won two of the last four national championships, in 2022 and 2024, and beat Michigan in in overtime in their national semi-final on their way to the 2022 win. After losing to eventual champion Western Michigan in double overtime in their 2025 national semi-final, the Pioneers exacted their revenge on Sunday with a 6-2 smackdown that ended the Mustangs’ dreams of a repeat win.
Though Denver was ranked one spot higher than Western Michigan in the USA Hockey poll headed into the tournament, it was the Mustangs who held the tournament’s fourth seed, so the Pioneers’ win was technically an upset.
Signing Season
As players’ college seasons come to an end, decisions loom for top stars about whether to turn pro.
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After one NCAA season, Porter Martone is set to make his NHL debut with the Philadelphia Flyers. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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On Sunday, Martone inked his entry-level deal with the surging Philadelphia Flyers, one day after the Spartans were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament. With an 8-1-1 record in their last 10 games, the Flyers now sit just two points out of a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference heading into Monday’s games. Martone, 19, could make his pro debut as early as Tuesday, when the Flyers visit the Washington Capitals.
On Friday, defenseman Drew Fortescue made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers, picking up an assist in his first game. He had spent the last three years with Boston College, which did not make the NCAA Tournament in 2026.
Fortescue’s teammate, James Hagens, is an even more interesting case. After two years with the Eagles, the seventh-overall pick from 2025 signed an amateur tryout contract with the Boston Bruins’ AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. So far, he has a goal and an assist in his first three pro games.
It’s curious and a bit unusual that Hagens, a prized prospect, didn’t sign with the NHL club at this time.
Agents typically push for their top college players to sign their NHL contracts and get late-season games because it starts the clock on their entry-level deals. That puts them in position to negotiate their second contracts, which are typically more lucrative, sooner.
As time has gone by, that leverage has shifted a bit. Players who ‘burn’ their first years haven’t amassed as many games and points by the time their second negotiation comes around. That can end up working in the team’s favor. Every case is different, of course. Hagens, whose calling card is his offense, might actually be better served by waiting to sign his NHL deal until he’s more certain that he can be impactful at that level.
At this point, it’s also unclear whether the ATO might allow Hagens to return to college next season if he chose to do so. In the past, that door slammed shut the minute a player stepped onto the ice in any professional game but these days, the waters have muddied.
This season, a number of players who have spent time in hockey’s minor leagues joined the NCAA ranks. One example is 22-year-old defenseman Graham Sward, who spent most of 2024-25 in the ECHL and also played two AHL games, but joined Quinnipiac for the 2025-26 season.
By forgoing immediate NHL money and bonuses by signing an ATO at this time, Hagens might be able to go back to school after this AHL experiment if he chooses. So far, however, he looks like he’s ready for pro hockey at age 19.
Boston University also missed the NCAA Tournament this year, which led to a flurry of NHL signings from their roster. Sophomore Sacha Boisvert, a first-round pick from 2024, has now played three games with the Chicago Blackhawks while fellow 2024 first-rounder Cole Eiserman signed his NHL contract but then assigned to the AHL’s Bridgeport Islanders. And after being selected in the second round in 2024, defenseman Cole Hutson has made an immediate impact with the Washington Capitals. In his first six pro games, the younger brother of 2025 Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson already has five points.
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