Updated Frozen Four bracket: Predicting the national champion after regional finals have been set

The NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey tournament has made its way to the regional finals, and let's just say many brackets likely have been busted. The first round of 16 did not disappoint; two of Thursday's games needed extra time, one was won in the final 10 seconds and one started close and ended lop-sided. Friday's scores had a bit more diversity, with only one game seeing the go-ahead goal in the final 1:30.

And the madness has continued into the weekend, as teams battle for a spot in the Frozen Four.

Who will play in the Frozen Four?

Boston University became the first team to punch its ticket to the Frozen Four, edging Cornell in an overtime thriller on Saturday afternoon. The Terriers will face Penn State, the winner of the Allentown regional final thanks to their own overtime win over UConn, in the national semis on Thursday, Apr. 10.

On the other end of the bracket, No. 4 seed Western Michigan is also moving on after a 2-1 victory over UMass in the Fargo regional final. They'll face either top seed Boston College or Denver in the other national semi.

Thursday's NCAA men's hockey tournament regional breakdown

Boston University vs. Ohio State started off the tournament and it was a close one... until it wasn't. BU finished the game with six straight unanswered goals on their way to a whopping eight to three final score. Thursday's powerful slate of games also saw Cornell University upset the Michigan State Spartans in the closing seconds of the game (on a power play I might add), so my bracket certainly is busted. Michigan State, who was the second overall seed in the tournament after winning the Big 10 Championship, was a favorite by many to make a deep run into the Frozen Four.

It took the Western Michigan Broncos, who are the highest scoring team in the country with average four goals per game, two extra periods to get a win against the Minnesota State Mavericks. Western Michigan sophomore forward Grant Slukynsky became the hero at 7:14 of the second overtime, sending the Broncos to the Fargo regional final. To finish Thursday's menu of games, a higher scoring affair presented itself during the University of Massachusetts Minutemen vs. the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The third frame saw a huge three-goal comeback to gain the lead from UMass, only to be tied up seconds later by Minnesota forward Hobey Baker finalist Jimmy Snuggerud (St.Louis Blues signed). The Minutemen capitalized in overtime quickly when sophomore Adyar Suniev (2023 Calgary Flames draft pick) found the back of the net, another upset in place.

Friday's NCAA men's hockey tournament regional breakdown

Friday started with an impressive performance from the Bentley Falcons against the Boston College Eagles. Although they're not moving onto the regional final, the Falcons showed up and gave BC a fight, blocking 20 shots with a strong performance on the penalty kill. The reigning champs, the University of Denver Pioneers, got out to a quick lead against the Providence College Friars, who are ranked eighth on PairWise but have a roster full of players who are making their NCAA tournament debut (this is the team's 16th appearance). Denver's unrelenting skill proved unbeatable, coming out on top 5-1.

The battle of CT, starring the Quinnipiac University Bobcats and the University of Connecticut Huskies, did not disappoint in the opening match-up in the Allentown Regional. Connecticut secured their first ever NCAA tournament win with a 4-1 physical clash over the Bobcats. To conclude the first round, the Penn State Nittany Lions quickly went down a goal to the Hockey East champs, the University of Maine Black Bears. Ranked third on PairWise, the Black Bears crumbled, allowing five unanswered goals from Penn State, halting their quest for their third national title.

So, let's look ahead and re-adjust here. Which team's will make it out of their region and head to St. Louis for the Frozen Four?

Cornell vs. Boston: Toledo Regional prediction

The Boston University Terriers have appeared in 40 NCAA tournaments compared the Cornell University Big Red's 27. Both have experience, but if we really breakdown this match-up, I give the edge to BU. They have two offensive powerhouses in forwards Quinn Hutson and Cole Eiserman (2024 New York Islanders draft pick) who are both in the top ten of scoring in the country (Cole had two and Quinn with one in their impressive win against Ohio State). This has potential to be a high-scoring affair; the Terriers have a 3.84 goals-per-game average. Cornell's is up there too, at 3.14 average per game. The final scores of both team's first round games proved that they can still score multiple goals in high-stake tournament play, so I can see this trend continuing.

Cornell is riding high from their win against Clarkson University in the ECAC Hockey Championship (how they got into the NCAA tournament) and their literal last second win over Michigan State in round one. Expect them to come in ready for whatever BU and head coach Jay Pandolfo have in store.

With both teams exiting the tournament early last year, neither one will go down easy.

Winner: Boston University

How we fared: Well, we thought neither of these teams would go down easy, and that indeed turned out to be the case in one of the games of the tournament so far. Cole Hutson's goal late in the third period appeared to have given BU the win, only for Cornell's Jack O'Leary to force overtime. In the end, though, the Terriers wouldn't be denied, as Hutson delivered again with the game-winner.

Western Michigan vs. UMass: Fargo regional prediction

Can I predict an overtime showdown?

Game one for both squads needed extra time to decide a winner. Does that mean the Fargo final will also go to overtime? No. Would that be cool? Yes.

Western Michigan, as mentioned earlier, has the highest scoring offense in the country. They're the best team in their conference, winning the NCHC to get a berth into the tournament for their tenth appearance. Of course their offensive players have impressive stats, like sophomore forward Alex Bump (2022 Philadelphia Flyers draft pick) who leads his team with 47 points. The Broncos also have a top-five scoring defense combined with size on the blue line; only one player on their d-line roster is under six feet.

UMass is gritty and gave quite the performance in their win to upset Minnesota. The Minutemen have a scoring offense that is ranked tenth in the NCAA, with an impressive 3.38 goals per game. I just think Western Michigan is stronger.

Winner: Western Michigan University

How we fared: Two-for-two! The Broncos are headed to the first Frozen Four in program history after erasing a 1-0 lead with two goals on a five-minute power play after UMass was whistled for a major penalty in the third period.

UConn vs. Penn State: Allentown regional prediction

The Allentown regional final is featuring two powerful teams, but also two teams who have never been to the Frozen Four. As mentioned earlier, this is the Connecticut Huskies first appearance in the NCAA tournament, making it through with an at-large bid. They're having a historic season with head coach Mike Cavanaugh at the helm, this is his 12th at UConn.

I expect both teams to come out fiery, leaving everything they have out on that ice; expect gritty, physical play. This could be a high scoring affair with sophomore forward Hobey Baker finalist Aiden Fink (2023 Nashville Predators draft pick) for Penn State, who led the team in points with 34 and who can fly up and down the ice. UConn is home to forward Joey Muldowney (2022 San Jose Sharks draft pick), who boasts a .74 goals per game average, ranking second in the nation, and he found the score sheet Friday.

This regional final will be good, don't miss it.

Winner: University of Connecticut

How we fared: We missed this one, but just barely. The Huskies and Nittany Lions played an instant classic in Allentown, exchanging goals in the first and second periods before a scoreless third sent things to overtime tied at 2. In the extra period, Penn State's Matt Dimarsico sent the hometown crowd home happy with the game-winner at 17:56.

Boston College vs. Denver: Manchester regional prediction

Oh, this is going to be good. The Manchester regional final features a rematch of last year's National Championship game; the Boston College Eagles vs. University of Denver Pioneers. The Pioneers came out on top in 2024, winning their tenth national championship, which is the most titles won by any team.

Boston College comes into this tournament as the number one overall seed, with the leading scorer in the nation in Hobey Baker finalist forward Ryan Leonard (2023 Washington Capitals draft pick); he has .83 goals per game average. What's interesting though, is BC did not cruise to a win over tournament first-timers, the Bentley Falcons. Yes, Boston College can show you incredible stick handling, accurate passing, with a flurry of play-makers on their roster, but, it took them until inside 2:00 remaining in the game to crack a winning goal past Falcons goalie Connor Hasley. This won't fly against the Pioneers.

Even though Denver beat PC fairly easily, Boston College will not surrender under pressure, especially remembering last years final outcome. We'll see what the actual ice has to say, because the conditions at SNHU Arena were less than ideal, the puck was bouncing around the ice like a rock would skip over lake water on a warm summer night. Not great for a hockey game.

Winner: Boston College

How we fared: In our defense, it was tough to predict the No. 1 overall seed bowing out, even in such a wild tournament. But the Pioneers pulled the upset on Sunday night, keeping their hopes of a repeat alive by holding off a late BC rally and adding an empty-netter late for a 3-1 win. Denver is now on to the Frozen Four, where a matchup with Western Michigan awaits.

Bracket Prediction: Who will play in the National Championship?

The National Championship Game will be one for the books, I can already tell based on what we've seen so far. I am rooting for a Boston College vs. Boston University showdown, since my original bracket is already broken; I had Michigan State in the finals (they were upset by Cornell in round one, as a reminder).

After losing in the finals last year, it's the Eagles' year.

Winner: Boston College