NCAA Men's hockey regionals reaction

The 2026 NCAA Division I men’s hockey tournament kicked off with an exciting first two rounds last weekend in the regionals.

The regionals took place in Albany, New York; Worcester, Massachusetts; Loveland, Colorado; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

There was some chaos in the first round, but the regional finals cemented that as Las Vegas looms.

Miracle seasons ended abruptly while curses continued, but the opportunity remains for the top dog in a half-chalk, half-upset Frozen Four set ahead.

Below, find our top takeaways from the NCAA Regionals.

The Broncos denied a repeat

Western Michigan looked to be the first team to win back-to-back national titles since Minnesota Duluth in 2018 and 2019, but the opportunity was all for naught.

Denver, which was the highest-ranked team to not ‘host’ a regional, shut the door on the Broncos thanks to a four-goal first period, all made possible by different scorers.

Jake Fisher dominated the faceoff for the Pioneers on the fourth line, going 8-4 at the dots.

Overall, no two goals had the same scorer for Denver, though Kyle Chyzowski led the way with two assists.

Despite three of the game’s four penalties coming in the second period, the middle third was quiet as neither side was able to come up with a score.

Transitioning to the third period, however, Western Michigan forward Zach Nehring was sent to the penalty box for high-sticking at the 16:56 mark.

That led to the lone successful power-play chance of the night for the two teams as Eric Pohlkamp had his 18th goal of the season to help seal the deal for Denver.

Though the chance at a repeat is out the window, an NCHC team still has a chance to win the title for the conference’s third consecutive year and fourth in the last five.

Four-seeds got boatraced

The biggest question of the tournament surrounded why Merrimack and Bentley deserved a spot in the field at all.

Those concerns were validated after the duo combined to be outscored 8-to-1 at the hands of the top two teams in No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 North Dakota.

The combination of a “March Madness”-style bid system with the ease of relying on NPI rankings for at-large is playing out as the PairWise system has been replaced.

Overall, only one game in the entire first round was even decided by one goal. That was, of course, Michigan State’s 2-to-1 victory over 4-seed UConn.

Big Ten: Curse or no curse?

The Big Ten is soon to run the NCHC gauntlet as the Frozen Four looms, but now it’s time to wonder whether or not the curse will soon be lifted.

The last time the conference won the national title was 2007, when Michigan State did so. The two remaining teams are Michigan and Wisconsin.

Michigan has not hoisted the trophy since 1998, and Wisconsin has not done so since 2006.

After an overtime thriller, Wisconsin must face No. 2, North Dakota. Michigan’s date with Denver is not easy either, however, as the Pioneers are striking the iron while it’s hot.

Bryan Portney is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email bep5295@psu.edu.