The No. 3 vs. 14 regional semifinal end up being a 2-1 game, and the No. 2 vs. 15 was nearly as close, but the underdog team had a goal disallowed and eventually yielded an empty-netter for a 3-0 final score.
Those were the games in which the favorites, Michigan State and North Dakota, won. Meanwhile, the other games in the Worcester and Sioux Falls Regionals were both upsets. Quinnipiac won its New England showdown with Providence in South Dakota, 5-2, and Wisconsin ended Dartmouth’s historic season 5-1.
Welcome to the 2026 NCAA Tournament, where in the grand tradition of the the sport nearly nothing is predictable and anything can happen. If the first is indicative of what we’re in store for en route to determining the national champion, it’s going to be a wild ride.
• Goaltender Trey Augustine was the star of the game for Michigan State, stopping 41 of the 42 shots he faced, but have you seen Ryker Lee’s goal? If it’s not the goal of the tournament we can’t wait to see the one that tops it. For more on the game check out Michigan State On SI.
The most entertaining man in college hockey!
Ryker Lee ties it up at 1-1 on the power play!
Tune in now on ESPN2 pic.twitter.com/Me6tqv0k78
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 26, 2026
• Jan Špunar stopped all 31 shots he faced to record the first shutout of the tournament. shutout. He’s the first UND freshman goaltender to notch a shutout in a NCAA Tournament game since Jordan Parise in 2004.
• Surprising stat of the day: Dartmouth only managed 14 shots on net against Wisconsin, half of its opponent. Granted, the Badgers had two empty-net goals, but they also saw Quinn Finley, Grady Deering, Luke Osburn and Simon Tassy ring shots off the post. Don’t be surprised if there’s a lot of talk about why the Big Green finished No. 8 in National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index, which was used to pick at-large teams and seed the tournament, when it was No. 54 in strength of schedule out of 63 teams.
• With the empty-net goal for Quinnipiac, freshman Ethan Wyttenbach tied the program record for points in a season, 59 (Collin Graf and Brian Leitch). The Bobcats outshot Providence 38-25.
• In addition to Quinnipiac, the East is already down to Cornell and Bentley, which haven’t played yet, as the three Hockey East teams were swept on the first day. Penn State is geographically an Eastern school, but not in college hockey since the Big Ten is considered a Western conference.
• Wisconsin (22-12-2) is headed to its first Regional Final since 2010, and by playing Michigan State the Big Ten is already assured of having a team in the Frozen Four. The Big Ten made an early big statement, but the first showdown with the NCHC is Friday between Minnesota Duluth and Penn State. It won’t be the last as seven of the top 10 teams in the tournament are from those two conferences.
HORBACH WITH THE GO AHEAD GOAL TO GIVE THE BADGERS THE LEAD🦡#NCAAHockey x 🎥ESPNU / @BadgerMHockey pic.twitter.com/sSpC1ysn0B
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 26, 2026
Puck Drop: Friday, March 27, 2026
• Alex Ovechkin set an NHL record by scoring a hat trick against a 21st franchise, breaking former Minnesota Duluth forward Brett Hull’s record of 20, during the Washington Capitals’s 7-4 win against Utah. It was his 34th hat trick, surpassing Hull for fourth place on the NHL’s all-time list, behind Wayne Gretzky (50), Mario Lemieux (40) and Mike Bossy (39).
• Quinnipiac women’s hockey signed center Ilsa Lindaman out of the transfer portal from St. Thomas. Meanwhile, Lindenwood sophomore forward Hannah Dods is heading to the University of of British Columbia.
• Former North Dakota and Boston University center Sacha Boisvert made his NHL debut with the Chicago Blackhawks. The 18th-overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft turned pro on March 16.
Rookie lap alert for 2024 18th overall pick Sacha Boisvert! 👏 pic.twitter.com/hTbJv2biKn
— NHL (@NHL) March 26, 2026
College Hockey Thursday Scores
NCAA Tournament
Worcester Regional
No. 3 Michigan State 2, Connecticut 1
Wisconsin 5, Dartmouth 1
Sioux Falls Regional
Quinnipiac 5, Providence 2
No. 2 North Dakota 3, Merrimack 0.
College Hockey Friday Schedule
NCAA Tournament
All times Eastern
Loveland Regional
No. 4 Western Michigan vs. Minnesota State, ESPNU, 2:30 p.m.
Denver vs. Cornell, ESPN+, 6 p.m.
Albany Regional
No. 1 Michigan vs. Bentley, ESPNU, 5:30 p.m.
Minnesota Duluth vs. Penn State, ESPN2, 9 p.m.
Hockey Quote of the Day
“Boston is both a world-class city, home to some of the best academic and medical institutions on the planet, and a quirkily parochial place, where one of the biggest annual sporting events involves college hockey players competing for a beanpot and where generations of baseball fans actively believed they were victims of a curse.”
Steve Kornacki
We’ll Leave You With This …
“Every game is going to get harder.”@UNDmhockey advances in the NCAA Tournament, with a 3-0 win over Merrimack Thursday. Jan Špunar becomes the first UND freshman goalie to earn a shutout in the NCAA Tournament since 2004. Dylan James’ last 7 goals have come in the 3rd period. pic.twitter.com/KnwezP5yVr
— Taylor Budge – Midco Sports (@TBudgeMidco) March 27, 2026
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