COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – For the first time in the 12-year history of the NCHC, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) will only have two representatives in the NCAA Tournament as Western Michigan and Denver will compete for the 2025 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey National Championship. Prior to this season, the NCHC had sent at least three teams to the NCAA Tournament every year it had been held since 2014.
 
After topping Denver in an epic NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game last Saturday, Western Michigan earned the No. 1 seed in the Fargo Regional held at Scheels Arena in Fargo, N.D. The third-ranked Broncos will face fourth-seeded and No. 14 ranked Minnesota State on Thursday in the first regional semifinal. Game time is set for 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPNU, as well as streamed on ESPN+. Should the Broncos win, they’ll face the winner of No. 2 seed and fifth-ranked Minnesota and No. 3 seed and No. 13 ranked Massachusetts in the regional final on Saturday with the time to be determined.
 
Denver garnered the No. 3 seed in the Manchester Regional held at SNHU Arena in Manchester, N.H. The sixth-ranked Pioneers will tangle with No. 2 seed and 10th-ranked Providence on Friday in the second regional semifinal. Puck drop is slated for 5:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. MDT and will only be available on ESPN+. The other regional semifinal in Manchester features top-seeded and No. 2 ranked Boston College against No. 4 seed and 20th-ranked Bentley, which is making its NCAA Tournament debut. The winners will meet in Sunday’s regional final with the time to be determined, but it will be televised on ESPN2.
 
All NCAA Tournament games will be streamed on ESPN+ in the United States and on TSN+ in Canada.
 
The NCHC had averaged 3.9 teams per NCAA Tournament entering 2025, and now has seen 41 teams make the NCAA Tournament in its history (11 tournaments). The NCHC’s previous low of three teams in the NCAA Tournament had happened four times (2014, 2018, 2019 and 2023). In 2015, the NCHC placed a conference record-tying six teams in the NCAA Tournament, a mark matched by Hockey East this season.
 
No. 1 seed WESTERN MICHIGAN vs. No. 4 seed MINNESOTA STATE
The Broncos (30-7-1) head into the NCAA Tournament having won six straight games and lead the country with 30 wins. WMU is making its fourth straight trip to the NCAA Tournament, which is a program record, and 10th appearance overall. The Broncos also made history this season capturing both their first Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champions and their first Frozen Faceoff crown as NCHC Tournament champions. WMU became only the second NCHC team to win both NCHC titles in the same season (North Dakota, 2021).
 
Western Michigan leads the country averaging 4.1 goals per game. However, WMU is going up against the best defensive team in the nation, as the Mavericks are allowing only 1.5 goals per game. The Broncos are tied for fifth giving up 2.1 goals per game. Western Michigan has only one NCAA Tournament win in program history, which came in 2022 against Northeastern, going 1-10 all-time in the NCAAs. Thursday’s regional semifinal with CCHA champion Minnesota State (27-8-3) will mark the first-ever meeting between the teams.

No. 3 seed DENVER vs. No. 2 seed PROVIDENCE
Denver (29-11-1) is coming off a double overtime loss to Western Michigan in the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game last Saturday night at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn. The Pioneers led 3-0, before WMU stormed back to force overtime and win, 4-3. Denver did capture the 2024 NCAA National Championship on Xcel Energy Center ice last season for its record 10th NCAA title and second in three seasons. DU is making its 34th trip to the NCAA Tournament, including 16th consecutive appearance in a full season and fourth straight season overall.
 
The Pioneers are second nationally, behind only WMU, scoring 4.0 goals per game. Denver is led by senior forward and Hobey Baker Award finalist Jack Devine, who is first in the NCAA with 56 points and 43 assists. Denver faces Providence (21-10-5) for the second time in NCAA Tournament history, with DU falling to PC in a 2015 regional final in Providence. The Pioneers will now square off with the Friars for the fourth consecutive season after the squads played non-conference contests in October 2021, 2022 and 2023. The two sides split the four most recent meetings, going 2-2-0 in those games, while Providence leads the all-time series, 11-9-3. DU went 3-0 against Hockey East teams en route to last year’s national title with wins over UMass, Boston University and Boston College.
 
The NCHC is home to six NCAA National Champions in its history, all coming in the last eight NCAA Tournaments. Denver are the defending champions, having won three titles in the last seven years (2017, 2022 and 2024) to earn their 10th all-time, setting the standard in men’s college hockey. North Dakota won the Conference’s first NCAA Championship in 2016, for UND’s eighth National Championship, while Minnesota Duluth won back-to-back championships in 2018 and 2019 for UMD’s second and third national titles.
 
The 2025 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four is set for April 10-12 at Enterprise Center in St. Louis, Mo. The national semifinals are on Thursday, April 10, with the championship game on Saturday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT. All Frozen Four games will be televised on ESPN2.