The road to the Frozen Four has officially begun.
Six of New England’s Division 1 men’s hockey programs are in the NCAA tournament. Among the local squads are three conference champions, including two first-time winners in Merrimack (Hockey East) and Dartmouth (ECAC Hockey).
The action begins on Thursday. Within our home region, DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., will host regional round action. Four teams will also descend upon Albany, N.Y., Loveland, Colo., and Sioux Falls, S.D. All eyes are set on the Frozen Four in Las Vegas, where a national champion will be crowned on April 11.
Now that the bracket is revealed, here is a look at each New England team in the field.
Dartmouth (23-7-4, NPI No. 6)
What to watch for: The Big Green surged to the finish, rattling off four straight victories as part of an overall eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2) to win their first-ever ECAC Hockey crown and reach NCAAs for the first time since 1980. While coach Reid Cashman and his staff have built a roster laden with New England talent, sophomore Hayden Stavroff takes to the big stage as one of the nation’s top breakout stars with 29 goals — four more than the next closest player in Sacred Heart’s Felix Trudeau. Stavroff shares the top line with former Brunswick star Hank Cleaves (Riverside, Conn.), who has also increased his goal production from five as a freshman to 17 as a sophomore. Junior Thayer grad CJ Foley (Hanover, Mass.) anchors the defense and the nation’s second-leading penalty kill, which clicks at 89.5 percent, but sophomore Tim Busconi (Milton, Mass.) was Saturday’s overtime hero against Princeton with just his second goal of the season from the back end. Junior Emmett Croteau has carried the goaltending load of late, stopping 56 of the 57 shots he faced in Lake Placid and allowing no more than two goals in any of his last five starts.
What’s next: Worcester Regional — Semifinal: 5 p.m. Thursday vs. Wisconsin (21-12-2)
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Providence College (23-10-2, NPI No. 7)
What to watch for: The Friars have arguably been Hockey East’s most consistent team all season to clinch their first-ever regular-season title. Coach Nate Leaman’s club lost just four games (15-4-0) since the calendar turned to 2026, but — just as it did on the way to the 2015 national championship in Boston — will have to shake off a quarterfinal exit after losing to Merrimack in overtime. The most impressive part of this group is how its underclassmen have developed and how crucial a role they play, with Hockey East Rookie of the Year and top-10 draft pick Roger McQueen highlighting five among the team’s top six scorers. John Mustard and Logan Sawyer (five game-winning goals) have upped their scoring as sophomores. Junior Andrew Centrella is the sole veteran on a stingy defense corps allowing just 2.2 goals per game and two or fewer in nine of its last 12 contests, while freshman Jack Parsons (.923 save percentage) has seized control of the net since senior Bruins prospect Philip Svedeback went down with injury in January.
What’s next: Sioux Falls Regional — Semifinal: 5 p.m. Thursday vs. Quinnipiac (26-9-3)
Quinnipiac (26-9-3, NPI No. 10)
What to watch for: Another dominant ECAC regular season resulted in the Bobcats winning their sixth consecutive Cleary Cup, but the postseason crown eluded them again after Clarkson pulled off a two-game quarterfinal sweep to punch its ticket to Lake Placid. Quinnipiac boasts the nation’s second-best scoring offense (4.1 goals per game), led by a pair of 20-goal scorers who have burst onto the scene as freshmen in Ethan Wyttenbach and Markus Vidicek. Captain Victor Czerneckianair (Southington, Conn.) is one of three seniors who were freshmen on the 2023 national championship team. RPI graduate transfer William Gilson (Old Greenwich, Conn.) is the elder statesman on defense, but sophomore Bruins prospect Elliott Groenewold (Springfield, Vt.) has been as steady as they come with a nation-leading plus-38 rating. Longtime coach Rand Pecknold (Bedford, N.H.) has two capable goaltenders to call upon, but sophomore Dylan Silverstein drew both ECAC playoff starts and has the better numbers (1.93 goals-against, .916 save percentage) for the season.
What’s next: Sioux Falls Regional — Semifinal: 5 p.m. Thursday vs. Providence (23-10-2)
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UConn (20-12-5, NPI No. 14)
What to watch for: Though a third Hockey East championship appearance under Mike Cavanaugh (North Andover, Mass.) fell short to Merrimack, UConn held its place inside the tournament cut line after Michigan beat Ohio State to win the Big Ten. The Huskies, who finished third in the regular-season league standings, are somewhat of a rarity in today’s college game in that they boast a load of returning experience from the team that finished a game shy of the Frozen Four last season. Stalwart goaltender Tyler Muszelik (.927 save percentage) and former Avon Old Farms captain Tabor Heaslip (six goals, 18 points) are among seven seniors. Heaslip and former St. Sebastian’s defenseman Tom Messineo (Westwood, Mass.) have never missed a game in their careers, with the regional opener set to be their 148th. Tristan Fraser is coming off scoring Friday’s semifinal game-winner against Boston College in overtime. Junior Joey Muldowney is one of the top scorers in college hockey with a team-high 17 of his 51 career goals coming this season.
What’s next: Worcester Regional — Semifinal: 1:30 p.m. Thursday vs. Michigan State (25-8-2)
Merrimack (21-15-2, NPI No. 19)
What to watch for: The ultimate Cinderella story continues. Led by Scott Borek (Swampscott, Mass.), the Warriors became the first team in Hockey East history to beat the top three seeds along their postseason road and the lowest seed (No. 8) to win the title or even reach the final. The season got off to a 5-10-0 start, but just three losses since mid-January made this run possible. It is hard to start the story anywhere but in net, where sophomore Max Lundgren has a .920 save percentage as the everyday starter and earned Hockey East Tournament MVP honors after his 49-save performance against UConn — the record for a title game that ended in regulation. Merrimack developed three of the league’s top seven scorers in first-years Parker Lalonde and Justin Gill and Niagara sophomore transfer Trevor Hoskin, but the lineup — which returns only Mark Hillier from the 2023 NCAA-bound team — is built on depth. Sophomore Ryan O’Connell exemplifies that, having scored two of his six goals at TD Garden last weekend against UMass and UConn teams that beat Merrimack in all five combined regular-season meetings. The top offensive group contributes to a 26 percent power play, which is the league’s second-best.
What’s next: Sioux Falls Regional — Semifinal: 8:30 p.m. Thursday vs. North Dakota (27-9-1)
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Bentley (23-11-5, NPI No. 23)
What to watch for: Third-year coach Andy Jones and the Falcons are making their second straight NCAA trip as Atlantic Hockey America champions, completing a perfect playoff run by beating Sacred Heart, their closest competitors in the regular season. After being named the league’s Best Defensive Forward, junior Kellan Hjartarson scored two third-period goals to help Bentley out of a 2-1 deficit, with Northern Michigan sophomore transfer Michael Mesic setting both up after scoring the opening goal himself. Last March, Bentley won its first league title and gave Boston College everything it could handle in the regional opener. Winchendon product Jake Black (Pomfret, Conn.) is one of just two 40-point scorers in the league and returned as one of seven seniors on the roster. Freshman Lukas Swedin (.939 save percentage, two shutouts in the postseason) has been excellent down the stretch in goal, backstopping a defense that allows a league-low 2.19 goals per game. Bentley also scores 3.1, but it will face a tall task against the high-flying No. 1 seed (4.6 goals per game).
What’s next: Albany Regional — Semifinal: 5:30 p.m. Friday vs. Michigan (29-7-1)
