Three periods
College games are three 20-minute periods. Overtime in the regular season is usually a short 5-on-5 or 3-on-3 period; some games can end in a tie.
United States · 2026–27
NCAA Men, explained.
Conference races all winter. A 16-team NCAA bracket. One Frozen Four. Here’s the quick guide.
NCAA men's hockey is a conference sport first and a national tournament second. Clubs play league slates from October into March, then a 16-team NCAA bracket that ends at the Frozen Four.
A short history
The NCAA has crowned a men's hockey champion since 1948. The final four has been called the Frozen Four since 1999.
Automatic bids go to conference tournament winners. The rest of the 16-team field is at-large, ranked with the PairWise comparison used by the men's ice hockey committee.
Current teams
Open a club for that desk’s news and scores.
Hockey East
Boston College EaglesBCOfficial siteSchedule
Boston University TerriersBUOfficial siteSchedule
Maine Black BearsMEOfficial siteSchedule
Massachusetts MinutemenMASSOfficial siteSchedule
Merrimack WarriorsMRMKOfficial siteSchedule
New Hampshire WildcatsUNHOfficial siteSchedule
Northeastern HuskiesNEOfficial siteSchedule
Providence FriarsPROVOfficial siteSchedule
UConn HuskiesCONNOfficial siteSchedule
Vermont CatamountsUVMOfficial siteSchedule
Big Ten
Michigan WolverinesMICHOfficial siteSchedule
Michigan State SpartansMSUOfficial siteSchedule
Minnesota Golden GophersMINNOfficial siteSchedule
Notre Dame Fighting IrishNDOfficial siteSchedule
Ohio State BuckeyesOSUOfficial siteSchedule
Penn State Nittany LionsPSUOfficial siteSchedule
Wisconsin BadgersWISOfficial siteSchedule
NCHC
Arizona State Sun DevilsASUOfficial siteSchedule
Colorado College TigersPACOfficial siteSchedule
Denver PioneersDENOfficial siteSchedule
Miami RedHawksMIAOfficial siteSchedule
Minnesota Duluth BulldogsGONZOfficial siteSchedule
North Dakota Fighting HawksUNDOfficial siteSchedule
Omaha MavericksOMAOfficial siteSchedule
St. Cloud State HuskiesHCUOfficial siteSchedule
Western Michigan BroncosWMUOfficial siteSchedule
CCHA
Augustana VikingsCLEOfficial siteSchedule
Bemidji State BeaversORSTOfficial siteSchedule
Bowling Green FalconsBGSUOfficial siteSchedule- Ferris State BulldogsGONZOfficial siteSchedule
Lake Superior State LakersMERCOfficial siteSchedule- Michigan Tech HuskiesHCUOfficial siteSchedule
Minnesota State MavericksUTAOfficial siteSchedule
Northern Michigan WildcatsACUOfficial siteSchedule
St. Thomas TommiesSTMNOfficial siteSchedule
ECAC
Brown BearsBRWNOfficial siteSchedule
Clarkson Golden KnightsCLKOfficial siteSchedule
Colgate RaidersCOLGOfficial siteSchedule
Cornell Big RedCOROfficial siteSchedule
Dartmouth Big GreenDARTOfficial siteSchedule
Harvard CrimsonHARVOfficial siteSchedule
Princeton TigersPRINOfficial siteSchedule
Quinnipiac BobcatsQUINOfficial siteSchedule
Rensselaer EngineersRPIOfficial siteSchedule
St. Lawrence SaintsSIEOfficial siteSchedule
Union DutchmenUNIONOfficial siteSchedule
Yale BulldogsYALEOfficial siteSchedule
Atlantic Hockey America
Air Force FalconsAFOfficial siteSchedule
American International Yellow JacketsGTOfficial siteSchedule
Army Black KnightsARMYOfficial siteSchedule- Bentley FalconsAFOfficial siteSchedule
Canisius Golden GriffinsCANOfficial siteSchedule
Holy Cross CrusadersHCOfficial siteSchedule- Mercyhurst LakersMERCOfficial siteSchedule
Niagara Purple EaglesNIAOfficial siteSchedule- RIT TigersPACOfficial siteSchedule
Robert Morris ColonialsRMUOfficial siteSchedule
Sacred Heart PioneersSHUOfficial siteSchedule
How the league works
College eligibility, conference points, then a single-elimination national tournament.
Conference tables
Each conference keeps its own standings. Those tables seed conference tournaments and help the NCAA committee pick at-large teams.
PairWise
The men's committee compares teams head-to-head using a published set of criteria. That ranking, not a single RPI number, fills the at-large bids.
Power play
A penalty puts the other team a skater up. That extra-man advantage is the power play; the shorthanded side is on the penalty kill.
Offside and icing
A player cannot enter the offensive zone ahead of the puck (offside). Icing is shooting the puck the length of the ice from behind centre; play stops and the faceoff comes back.
Conferences
Hockey East, the Big Ten, NCHC, CCHA, ECAC Hockey, and Atlantic Hockey America. Independents are rare.
Eligibility
Players are college students on a limited eligibility clock. NHL draft picks can still play NCAA hockey until they sign.
How the playoffs work
Conference tournaments, then 16 teams, four regionals, and the Frozen Four.
Conference tournaments
Each league runs its own playoff. The winner earns an automatic NCAA bid.
Regionals
The NCAA seeds 16 teams into four regionals. Those are single-elimination. Win two games and you are in the Frozen Four.
Frozen Four
The four regional winners meet on a single weekend — two semis, then a Monday (or Saturday) championship game.