The 2025 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament was the national championship tournament for

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA) men's Division I

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the go ...

in the United States. Held from March 27 to April 12, 2025, the tournament involved 16 teams in

single-elimination A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

play to determine the national champion for the top level of play.

Western Michigan West Michigan and Western Michigan are terms for a region in the U.S. state of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. Generally, it refers to the Grand Rapids- Muskegon-Holland area, and more broadly to most of the region along the Lower Peninsula's Lake ...

won their first national championship in program history. This year's tournament was the first since

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

to feature multiple programs,

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

and

Bentley Bentley Motors Limited is a British designer, manufacturer and marketer of Luxury vehicle, luxury cars and Sport utility vehicle, SUVs. Headquartered in Crewe, England, the company was founded by W. O. Bentley (1888–1971) in 1919 in Crickle ...

, making their first appearance in the NCAA playoffs. This year's Frozen Four at

Enterprise Center The Enterprise Center is an 18,096-seat arena located in downtown St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Its primary tenant is the St. Louis Blues of the National Hockey League, but it is also used for other functions, such as NCAA basketball, N ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, also featured multiple teams,

and

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

, making their first appearance. This last occurred in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, when Massachusetts-Lowell,

Quinnipiac The Quinnipiac were a historical Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. They lived in present-day New Haven County, Connecticut, along the Quinnipiac River. Their primary village, also called Quinnipiac, was where New Haven, Connect ...

and St. Cloud State all made their first Frozen Four appearances. Western Michigan also became the first team since Lake Superior State in 1988 to win a championship in their first Frozen Four appearance. The semifinal matchup between

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

and

was the first Frozen Four game to require multiple overtime periods since a

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

semifinal game between

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

and

Colorado College Colorado College is a private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 1874 by Thomas Nelson Haskell in his daughter's memory, the college offers over 40 majors a ...

. With Western Michigan's 3-2 win over Denver in double overtime, they became the first team in NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament history to play in, and win, two multiple-overtime games in the same tournament.

Tournament procedure

The tournament was composed of four groups of four teams in regional brackets. The four regionals are named after the cities in which they take place. The following are the sites for the 2025 regionals: Regional Semifinals and Finals *March 27 & 29 :Toledo Regional, Huntington Center –

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in Lucas County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the western end of Lake Erie along the Maumee River. Toledo is the List of cities in Ohio, fourth-most populous city in Ohio and List of United Sta ...

(Hosts:

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

and SMG - Huntington Center) :Fargo Regional, Scheels Arena –

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

(Host:

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (UND) is a Public university, public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, United States. It was established by the Dakota Territory, Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishm ...

) *March 28 & 30 :Allentown Regional,

PPL Center The PPL Center is an 8,500-seat capacity indoor sports arena in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It opened on September 10, 2014. It is the home arena for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, the primary development hockey team for ...

–

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

(Hosts:

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

and Spectra) :Manchester Regional, SNHU Arena –

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is the List of municipalities in New Hampshire, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire. Located on the banks of the Merrimack River, it had a population of 115,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Manches ...

(Host:

University of New Hampshire The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant coll ...

) National semifinals and championship (Frozen Four and championship) *April 10 & 12 :

–

(Hosts:

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

and St. Louis Sports Commission)

Qualifying teams

The at-large bids and seeding for each team in the tournament were announced on March 23, 2025, on

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...

at 3:00 pm ET.

Hockey East The Hockey East Association, also known as Hockey East, is a college ice hockey conference which operates entirely in New England. It participates in the NCAA's Division I as a hockey-only conference. Hockey East came into existence in 1984 for ...

received six bids to the tournament while the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

received four. Both

ECAC Hockey ECAC Hockey is one of the six conferences that compete in NCAA Division I college ice hockey, ice hockey. The conference used to be affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference, a consortium of over 300 colleges in the eastern United ...

and NCHC received two bids while

Atlantic Hockey America Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) is a college ice hockey conference which operates primarily in the northeastern United States. It participates in NCAA Division I as an ice hockey-only conference. The conference was formed in 2023 by the merger of ...

and the CCHA each received one. Number in parentheses denotes overall seed in the tournament.

Bracket

Number in parentheses denotes overall seed in the tournament.
* denotes overtime period

Results

Note: All game times are local.

Manchester Region

Regional semifinals

Regional final

Toledo Region

Regional semifinals

Regional final

Allentown Region

Regional semifinals

Regional final

Fargo Region

Regional semifinals

Regional final

Frozen Four –
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

National semifinal

National Championship

File:2025 D1 Mens Frozen Four 1000019990.jpg, Opening face-off from the finals File:2025 D1 Mens Frozen Four 1000019996.jpg, Post-game celebration

Tournament awards

All-Tournament team

*G: Hampton Slukynsky (Western Michigan) *D: Zeev Buium (Denver) *D: Joona Vaisanen (Western Michigan) *F: Cole Eiserman (Boston University) *F: Owen Michaels* (Western Michigan) *F: Tim Washe (Western Michigan) * Most Outstanding Player

Record by conference

Media

Television

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

had US television rights to all games during the tournament for the twentieth consecutive year. ESPN aired each game either on

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

, or

ESPN+ ESPN+ is an American over-the-top subscription video streaming service available in the United States, owned by ESPN Inc., which is a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communicati ...

Broadcast assignments

''Regionals'' *Toledo Regional: Kevin Gehl and Sean Ritchlin – Toledo, Ohio *Fargo Regional: Roxy Bernstein and Ben Clymer – Fargo, North Dakota *Allentown Regional: Jason Ross Jr. and

Kevin Weekes Kevin Weekes (born April 4, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 348 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is now a studio analyst for NHL Network, appearing on shows like ''On the Fly'' and '' NHL T ...

– Allentown, Pennsylvania *Manchester Regional:

John Buccigross John Buccigross ( ; born January 27, 1966) is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for ESPN since 1996. Biography Buccigross was raised in Indiana, Pennsylvania, before moving to Steubenville, Ohio, at age 11. He played basketball ...

, Colby Cohen, and Quint Kessenich – Manchester, New Hampshire ''Frozen Four'' * John Buccigross, Colby Cohen, and Quint Kessenich – St. Louis, Missouri

Radio

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

has exclusive radio rights to the Frozen Four and will broadcast both the semifinals and the championship. * Brian Tripp, Dave Starman, and Shireen Saski

References

{{2024–25 NCAA Division I championships navbox NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament Ice hockey competitions in New Hampshire Ice hockey competitions in Missouri Ice hockey competitions in Ohio Ice hockey competitions in North Dakota

Tournament procedure

Qualifying teams

Bracket

Results

Manchester Region

Regional semifinals

Regional final

Toledo Region

Regional semifinals

Regional final

Allentown Region

Regional semifinals

Regional final

Fargo Region

Regional semifinals

Regional final

Frozen Four – St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

National semifinal

National Championship

Tournament awards

All-Tournament team

Record by conference

Media

Television

Broadcast assignments

Radio

See also

References

Frozen Four –
St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...