March is here, and that means college hockey’s conference tournaments are officially underway. Four conferences have already dropped the puck; the CCHA, NCHC, Atlantic Hockey, and ECAC are all in action this weekend.
The Big Ten and Hockey East are still playing regular-season games and won’t tip off their postseason until March 11, but Hockey East has major seeding questions still to be answered before the brackets are set.
Six automatic bids are on the line, one for each conference tournament champion, with the remaining 10 spots in the 16-team NCAA field going to the top teams in the NPI rankings. The bracket will be unveiled on March 22. Check Puck Drop for all scores and the full postseason schedule, but here is a rundown of each conference playoff and why you should watch.
CCHA
The Mason Cup Playoffs open with a best-of-three series beginning Friday. Only Augustana is on the right side of the bubble, for now, but the Vikings would need to advance to feel confident that they would at least earn an at-large bid. Minnesota State won the regular-season crown, with a stifling defense that was fourth nationally in scoring defense, and some outstanding goaltending by Alex Tracy.
2026 Mason Cup Playoff Bracket. | CCHA
Why to watch: Minnesota State, St. Thomas, Bowling Green, and Michigan Tech are all in the top 25, making this the closest race of all the conference tournaments. If the Mavericks make a deep run but another squad wins the tournament, the CCHA could get multiple teams into the NCAA tournament, although the teams obviously can’t count on that. The only way to be certain is to earn the automatic bid by winning the tournament.
Quarterfinals
- No. 8 Ferris State at No. 1 Minnesota State
- No. 5 Bowling Green at No. 4 Michigan Tech
- No. 6 Bemidji State at No. 3 Augustana
- No. 7 Lake Superior State at No. 2 St. Thomas
NCHC
This year the format changes for the NCHC to be entirely on campus sites. The top eight teams in the conference make the Frozen Faceoff. North Dakota enters as the No. 1 seed, with Denver at No. 2, defending national champion Western Michigan at No. 3, and Minnesota Duluth at No. 4. All of the top four teams are firmly in the NCAA field, yet they’re all teams that no one really wants to play in the postseason.
Apr 12, 2025; St. Louis, Missouri, UNITED STATES; Western Michigan Broncos hoist the national championship trophy after defeating the Boston University Terriers to win the Frozen Four college ice hockey national championship at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images
Why to watch: The defending national and conference champs, Western Michigan, is trying to remain on top but finsihed third in the league standings. Meanwhile, the Pioneers have been red hot in the final stretch of the season, and North Dakota has been the team to beat all season.
Quarterfinals
- No. 8 Omaha at No. 1 North Dakota
- No. 7 Miami (Ohio) at No. 2 Denver
- No. 6 Colorado College at No. 3 Western Michigan
- No. 5 St. Cloud State at No. 4 Minnesota Duluth
AHA
The AHA tournament is already in full swing with No. 10 Mercyhurst stunning No. 7 Canisius 5-2, and No. 8 Niagara ending No. 9 Army’s season, 5-4, in the first round. The quarterfinals will take place beginning Friday, in a best-of-three series hosted by the higher seed. Can Bentley back up its regular-season title?
Quarterfinals
- No. 10 Mercyhurst at No. 1 Bentley
- No. 5 RIT at No. 4 Holy Cross
- No. 6 Air Force at No. 3 Robert Morris
- No. 8 Niagara at No. 2 Sacred Heart
Why to watch: The AHA doesn’t have a team in the top 30, so the conference tournament champion will be the only representative in the NCAA Tournament. Bentley, earned the top seed and home ice throughout, but March is the time for Cinderellas. The AHA could have Cinderella written all over it.
ECAC
The ECAC has three teams considered locks to make the NCAA Tournament: Quinnipiac, Dartmouth, and Cornell. The Bobcats won the regular season title and earned the No. 1 seed with Dartmouth at No. 2, Cornell at No. 3, and Princeton at No. 4. All of the top four teams get a bye to the quarterfinals. Four single-elimination games will be played this weekend, with two on Friday and two on Saturday.
Quinnipiac Bobcats Victor Czerneckianair, goalie Vinny Duplessis, Cristophe Tellier and CJ McGee watch as a shot from Boston College forward Jack Malone heads into the net to win the NCAA Regional Hockey Final 5-4 in overtime for the Eagles. | Kris Craig/Providence Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK
First Round
- No. 11 St. Lawrence at No. 6 Harvard (Friday)
- No. 9 RPI at No. 8 Clarkson (Friday)
- No. 12 Brown at No. 5 Union (Saturday)
- No. 10 Yale at No. 7 Colgate (Saturday
Why to watch: This weekend, the ECAC is win or go home in a string of one-game series. Once it gets to the quarterfinals, it will be interesting to see if teams play their full lineup or rest for the big dance.
Big Ten
First Round
Michigan State secured top seeding and the coveted bye into the quarterfinals with its lopsided win at Minnesota on Thursday night. Although the regular season concludes Friday night, the first round pairings are set:
• No. 5 Ohio State at No. 4 Wisconsin
• No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 2 Michigan
• No. 6 Minnesota at No. 3 Penn State
The tournament is single-elimination, lose and you’re done, and played entirely on campus sites. So not only do the Spartans not have to worry about the first round, they be home for every game until the NCAA Tournament. The team we’re curious to see play is Penn State, which has gone 2-5-2 over its last nine games, with five of them decided in overtime. The Nittany Lions don’t seem to have much momentum heading into the postseason.
