The road to the Frozen Four is about to begin.
The 2022 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament is here with 16 of the best teams in the country set to battle for the national title. The squads were broken up into four regionals with tilts beginning on Thursday.
Michigan emerged with the No. 1 overall seed. The Wolverines, loaded with seven first-round NHL draft picks, finished second in the Big Ten regular season standings before claiming the conference tournament title on Saturday. The program has nine national championships, the most of any Division I school, and is primed to make a run at a 10th this spring.
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Denver and North Dakota are right behind Michigan when it comes to national titles. The National Collegiate Hockey Conference foes both have eight championships and will aim to tie Michigan with another trophy after making this year’s tournament.
The reigning champs are also back looking to defend their title. UMass demolished St. Cloud State in the 2021 national title game and punched its ticket to the 2022 tournament with an overtime win over UConn in the Hockey East Tournament championship contest. Should the Minutemen reach the Frozen Four again, they will get a chance to bring home another championship in their own state.
With 12 games on over the next four days, here’s how you can check out all the action.
What TV channel is the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament on?
Tournament games will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks.
First round games will be on ESPNU and ESPNews. Regional finals will be on ESPNU and ESPN2. The Frozen Four and national championship game will be on ESPN2.
How to stream the NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament
Games can be streamed on ESPN.com and on the ESPN App.
2022 NCAA Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament Regionals schedule
March 24
East Regional: No. 4 Harvard vs. No. 1 Minnesota State, 12 p.m. ET, ESPNU
West Regional: No. 3 Michigan Tech vs. No. 2 Minnesota Duluth, 3 p.m. ET, ESPNU
East Regional: No. 3 Notre Dame vs. No. 2 North Dakota, 6 p.m. ET, ESPNU
West Regional: No. 4 UMass-Lowell vs. No. 1 Denver, 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU
March 25
Northeast Regional: No. 4 Northeastern vs. No. 1 Western Michigan, 12 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Midwest Regional: No. 4 American International vs. No. 1 Michigan, 3 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Northeast Regional: No. 3 UMass vs. No. 2 Minnesota, 6 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Midwest Regional: No. 3 St. Cloud State vs. No. 2 Quinnipiac, 8 p.m. ET, ESPNews
March 26
East Regional Final: No. 4 Harvard/No. 1 Minnesota State vs. No. 3 Notre Dame/No. 2 North Dakota, Time TBD, ESPNU
West Regional Final: No. 4 UMass-Lowell/No. 1 Denver vs. No. 3 Michigan Tech/No. 2 Minnesota Duluth, Time TBD, ESPNU
March 27
Midwest Regional Final: No. 4 American International/No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 3 St. Cloud State/No. 2 Quinnipiac, Time TBD, ESPN2
Northwest Regional Final: No. 4 Northeastern/No. 1 Western Michigan vs. No. 3 UMass/No. 2 Minnesota, Time TBD, ESPN2
When is the 2022 Frozen Four?
The Frozen Four will take place from April 7-9 at TD Garden in Boston. This will be the city’s third time hosting the men’s hockey finals this century (2004 and 2015).
National semifinal games will be played on Thursday, April 7, setting up the national championship game on Saturday, April 9. Here’s a look at how the semifinals are set up:
Semifinals, April 7
Midwest Regional winner vs. West Regional winner, 5 p.m. ET or 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Northeast Regional winner vs. East Regional winner, 5 p.m. ET or 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2
The championship game will be played two days later at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2.