Every year, the best of the best in college hockey compete for a national title. First, they must make their way out of the "Frozen Four," the ultimate gauntlet of up-and-coming talent with many names that may soon make their way onto the back of an NHL jersey.
The NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament features teams at the highest level of college hockey. It consists of a single elimination competition where the winners of four regionals move on to compete in the "Frozen Four" semi-finals.
In 2026, the Frozen Four and Championship final will be played in Las Vegas at the T-Mobile Center, home of the Vegas Golden Knights.
- DI Men's Hockey Rankings: Where Things Stand Before Selection Sunday
- When Is The Frozen Four Hockey Tournament? Here's What To Know
- Watch More Highlights On FloHockey
Here's what you need to know about how the NCAA hockey tournament works as teams battle for a national title.
How Does The NCAA Hockey Tournament Work?
The tournament includes 16 teams made up of automatic qualifiers and at-large bid recipients based on in-season ratings. Previously, Rating Percentage Index (RPI) was used but the NCAA made a shift to only using NPI before this season.
The teams and where they will play is scheduled to be announced during the DI Men's ice hockey championship selection show at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 22.
However, the conference championship tournaments taking place beforehand will make it clear which 16 teams have punched their ticket.
How Are Teams Selected?
Automatic qualifications are given to the six conference tournament champions. The remaining ten at-large bids are determined based on NPI—the same used in college basketball, NPI is a metric used to measure a team's own winning percentage (25%) and a team's opponents' NPI (75%).
Dials can be applied based on the weighting of home/road wins, overtime, and quality wins, and bad wins determined by the NCAA committee.
You can view the latest rankings by NPI here.
How Does Overtime Work?
Overtime rules in the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Tournament are similar to other postseason formats in which teams must play in endless 20-minute periods until a good goal is scored. There are no shootouts in postseason NCAA bracket games.
2026 NCAA Frozen Four Hockey Tournament Schedule
The 2026 NCAA DI Men's Hockey Championship will be held at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Regionals will take place first, with all sixteen teams split across four different sites and one top-seeded team at each. The two winning teams will compete in a Regional Final at the same location.
The final, winning team from each regional will move on to the Frozen Four in Las Vegas.
SELECTION SUNDAY
Sunday, March 22
- 3:00 p.m.
REGIONALS
Thursday, March 26
- TBD vs TBD | DCU Center Worcester, MA
- TBD vs TBD | Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Sioux Falls, SD
Friday, March 27
- TBD vs TBD | MPV Arena Albany, NY
- TBD vs TBD | Blue Arena Loveland, CO
Saturday, March 28
- TBD vs TBD | DCU Center Worcester, MA
- TBD vs TBD | Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Sioux Falls, SD
Sunday, March 29
- TBD vs TBD | MPV Arena Albany, NY
- TBD vs TBD | Blue Arena Loveland, CO
SEMIFINALS
Thursday, April 9
- 5:00 p.m. ET - TBD vs TBD | T-Mobile Center Las Vegas, NV
- 8:30 p.m. ET - TBD vs TBD | T-Mobile Center Las Vegas, NV
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Saturday, April 11
- 5:30 p.m. ET - TBD vs TBD | T-Mobile Center Las Vegas, NV
Highlights: Ohio University Wins ACHA National Championship For First Time In 22 Years
The Ohio Bobcats ended a 22-year drought at the ACHA Men's Division 1 National Championship with a 3-1 win over Adrian College in the final. OU has now won the Murdoch Cup five times.
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