After unveiling the full bracket and all 16 entrants in the 2025-26 NCHC Play of the Year Tournament on Tuesday, the first two match-ups in this year's Play of the Year Tournament are open for fan voting. Each day of the first round will feature one goal match-up and one save match-up. 

To open the tournament, Wednesday's goal match-up features St. Cloud State junior Barrett Hall weaving through the North Dakota defense for a stellar short-handed goal in Week 10, while Omaha freshman Marcus Nguyen scores on a breakaway at Arizona State in Week 19 with a nifty deke.

The first save match-up of the tournament pits a pair of freshmen against each other, as SCSU's Yan Shostak lifts his leg for an unreal toe save against Vermont in Week 3, while Denver's Johnny Hicks denies Michigan with a lunging leg save on a rebound in overtime at the NCAA Frozen Four.

Videos for both of today's match-ups are below with the poll to vote below each video. Voting will remain open until Thursday at 5 p.m. ET, when the next two first-round match-ups are posted and today's winners are announced. Today's winners move on to the quarterfinals on April 20 and 21. The entire bracket (with schedule) can be seen at the bottom of the page.

GOALS BRACKET: Barrett Hall vs. Marcus Nguyen
 

NCHC Poll
 

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NCHC Poll
 

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