Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Men’s Notes: Seen and Heard in Las Vegas

Teams Practice, Address Media at T-Mobile Arena

The proverbial hay is in the hockey barn for the four teams that advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four.

On Wednesday, Denver, Michigan, North Dakota and Wisconsin all practiced and fulfilled their media obligations at T-Mobile Arena, the final prep day for the teams prior to Thursday’s semifinals.

Much has been made – and rightfully so – of this year’s field featuring the four schools with the most national titles in the sport, but it’s also noteworthy that three of the four weren’t even in the NCAA Tournament one year ago.

Denver returns after last year’s semifinal loss to eventual champion Western Michigan, and the Pioneers are chasing their third national title in five years. The others, while also marquee programs going back decades, are all trying to end championship droughts of 10-plus years.

On Thursday, old WCHA rivals North Dakota and Wisconsin will square off in the matinee (2 p.m. PT), followed by DU taking on Michigan in the nightcap (5:30 p.m. PT).

Both games can be seen on ESPN2, ESPN+ and TSN+/

Frozen Four Media (.pdf) | Tournament Bracket

Daily Scoreboard | Weekly Schedule | Scoring Leaders | Goaltending Leaders

Must Read:

Boston Globe: Massachusetts native Tyler Young bet on himself. Now he’s in the Frozen Four with UND
College Hockey News: 1982 North Dakota-Wisconsin NCAA title tilt was legendary in many ways
ESPN: How Michigan’s Michael Hage used hockey to help overcome tragedy
Grand Forks Herald: Jan Špunar is UND’s comically honest, uniquely insightful goaltender
Michigan Daily: Drew Schock and his unconventional journey to Michigan – and beyond
NHL.com: NCAA Notebook: Hughes, Pohlkamp among top players in Frozen Four
USCHO: Can Wisconsin learn from its mistakes?
USCHO: Is title No. 11 in the cards for Denver?
USCHO: Michigan hopes experience helps
USCHO: Fighting Hawks are back for first time since 2016

Must Hear:

College Hockey Today: NCAA Frozen Four preview
The Pipeline Show: Featuring Frozen Four goalies Daniel Hauser, Jack Ivankovic and Jan Špunar
UND Hockey Podcast: Frozen Four preview
USCHO Live in Las Vegas: Frozen Four week is here

North Dakota’s History Lesson:

North Dakota and Wisconsin were storied rivals when both were members of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). They faced off in the 1982 national championship game when the rivalry was perhaps at its most ferocious.

In the days prior to this year’s Frozen Four, North Dakota head coach Dane Jackson (North Dakota ’92) showed his players old video clips between the two teams, including the infamous “water bottle incident” from that same 1982 season, as well as the 2008 NCAA regional final when Andrew Kozek ended the Badgers’ season with an overtime goal.

“We have a lot of respect for their program,” Jackson said. “They always were tough, physical, really well-coached teams. We wanted our guys to know about the history.

“I think they’re one of the few teams in college hockey that we have a losing record against. We’ll work to try to get one more win on the board for our club on Thursday.”

Keep Calm and Badger On:

From mid-January through the end of the Big Ten playoffs, Wisconsin won just six of 15 games, culminating with a 7-1 home loss to Ohio State in the conference quarterfinals. The Badgers were the only NCAA Tournament team that had a sub.-500 record after Christmas.

But things clicked during the regionals, where UW dispatched of ECAC Hockey tournament champion Dartmouth and No. 3 overall seed Michigan State.

Head coach Mike Hastings (St. Cloud State ’93) pointed directly to his team’s leadership group for keeping the waters calm.

“That group has grown a tremendous amount this year, whether it’s through injuries, lack of our best play…whatever it was, they were okay saying we need to look at a mirror,” said Hastings.

He continued: “When you have that, when you have guys that are willing to do the work, if you’ve been around a little bit, it gives you a better feeling in your gut that when the chips are down, the guys will show up.”

All Shapes and Sizes:

The University of Denver’s championship tradition within the sport of hockey is well known. DU has won 10 Frozen Four championships – more than any other team – and two of the past four. The uniqueness of NCAA Division I men’s hockey is that schools of vastly different profiles can compete for the same ultimate prize.

“We have a great athletic history and tradition,” said DU head coach David Carle (Denver ’12). “But to do it with only 6,000 undergrads – not the big alumni base that a school like Michigan has. I would even throw North Dakota in there as a smaller institution as it relates to Wisconsin and Michigan.”

Further to Carle’s point, the Frozen Four has crowned seven first-time champions in the last 15 years.

“There’s lots of great college hockey towns around the country that get to play on this stage, which makes it a wonderful thing,” Carle continued. “It’s not just run and overtaken by the big boys as it would be, like you said, in football and basketball.”

Head of the Class:

Michigan senior F Josh Eernisse (Apple Valley, Minn.) claimed one of the most prestigious awards in college sports Wednesday when he was named the Elite Scholar-Athlete Award recipient for the 2026 NCAA Men’s Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship.

The award is given annually to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating in each of the NCAA’s championships. Eernisse, a sports management major with a 3.97 GPA, said he focused on soaking up the entire student-athlete experience.

“Whether that was career ventures through our academic career center, going to networking events, I just tried to maximize all the resources that were given,” Eernisse said.

On the ice, Eernisse has 10 goals and a career-best plus-17 rating in 37 games this season.

“It’s kudos to everybody around us,” Eernisse continued, “from the coaches to the players, our support staff, the teachers, the University as a whole. What an opportunity. It’s been unbelievable.”

Handing Out the Hardware:

The recipient of the 2026 Hobey Baker Memorial Award will be announced live on NHL Network on Friday. The broadcast begins at 5 p.m. PT from the Park MGM Presidio Ballroom.

During the broadcast, winners will also be unveiled for the Mike Richter, Derek Hines Unsung Hero, Tim Taylor Rookie of the Year, and Hockey Humanitarian Awards. The NCAA Division I men’s hockey All-America teams will also be announced.

Click HERE for more details.

SID Stuff:

North Dakota freshman G Jan Špunar (Olomouc, Czechia) was named Most Outstanding Player of the Sioux Falls Regional after back-to-back shutouts against Merrimack and Quinnipiac.

According to UND Assistant AD for Communications Alec Stocker-Johnson, Špunar is the first goalie in program history to not only log consecutive NCAA Tournament shutouts, but he’s also the first to even have multiple shutouts in the same tourney. Spunar has also joined Brad Eidsness (2008-09), Karl Goehring (1997-98) and Ed Belfour (1986-87) as UND’s only freshmen to win 20-plus games.

NHL Note of the Week:

Former North Dakota sniper Brock Nelson (2010-12), now with the Colorado Avalanche, is on pace to play in his 1,000th NHL game Monday in Edmonton.

He will become the ninth active NCAA alumni this season to reach 1,000 games played in the NHL.

Nelson, a first-round pick of the New York Islanders in 2010, spent two seasons at UND and led the WCHA with 28 goals as a sophomore.

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:

Jackson indicated that freshman F Ollie Josephson (Victoria, British Columbia) will return to UND’s lineup Thursday after missing the regionals with an injury … Dartmouth head coach Reid Cashman (Quinnipiac ’07) was named this year’s recipient of the Spencer Penrose Award on Tuesday as the American Hockey Coaches Association’s (AHCA) National Coach of the Year … LIU announced a strategic partnership with the New York Islanders on Monday.

Longest Active Team Winning Streaks:

11 games, Denver (began Feb. 7 vs. Colorado College)
6 games, Michigan (began Feb. 27 vs. Minnesota)
2 games, North Dakota (began March 26 vs. Merrimack, NCAA Sioux Falls Regional)
2 games, Wisconsin (began March 26 vs. Dartmouth, NCAA Worcester Regional)

Longest Active Point Streaks (FF participants):

5 games, F Jayden Perron (Michigan)
- 4-4—8, began March 11 vs. Notre Dame (Big Ten Quarterfinal)
5 games, F Garret tSchifsky (Michigan)
- 4-4—8, began March 11 vs. Notre Dame (Big Ten Quarterfinal)
4 games, F Dylan James (North Dakota)
- 4-0—4, began March 7 vs. Omaha (NCHC Quarterfinal)
4 games, F Nick Moldenhauer (Michigan)
- 2-3—5, began March 14 vs. Penn State (Big Ten Semifinal)

Longest Active Goal Streaks (FF participants):

4 games, F Dylan James (North Dakota)
- 4-0—4, began March 7 vs. Omaha (NCHC Quarterfinal)
4 games, F Garrett Schifsky (Michigan)
- 4-3—7, began March 14 vs. Penn State (Big Ten Semifinal)

Longest Active Goalie Winning Streaks (FF participants):

11 games, Johnny Hicks (Denver)
- Began Feb. 7 vs. Colorado College
6 games, Jack Ivankovic (Michigan)
- Began Feb. 27 vs. Minnesota
6 games, Stephen Peck (Michigan)
- Began Jan. 10 vs. Notre Dame
2 games, Jan Špunar (North Dakota)
- Began March 26 vs. Merrimack (NCAA Sioux Falls Regional)

Conference Champions (playoffs):

Atlantic Hockey – Bentley
Big Ten – Michigan
CCHA – Minnesota State
ECAC Hockey – Dartmouth
Hockey East – Merrimack
NCHC – Denver

Conference Champions (reg. season)

Atlantic Hockey – Bentley
Big Ten – Michigan State
CCHA – Minnesota State
ECAC Hockey – Quinnipiac
Hockey East – Providence
NCHC – North Dakota

Conference Websites

College Hockey Inc. Resources:

Did you know? 93% of NCAA Division I men’s hockey players earn their degree!