A quarter of the field for the NCAA Hockey Tournament comes from Michigan, with all four teams playing Friday with a shot at advancing to Sunday's regional finals.
Three of the four teams, Michigan State, Michigan State and Western Michigan, play in the same four-team region in Maryland Heights, Missouri, and the fourth team is North Dakota State. Top-seeded Michigan State will play Western Michigan, then Michigan will play North Dakota on the same ice. Michigan Tech was the fourth team in the state to qualify, earning the right to play the No. 4 seed and top overall seed Boston College in the first round.
How they got here:Michigan State Hockey earns No. 1 seed in 2024 NCAA Tournament.Michigan earns 3rd seed
Michigan State won both the regular season and conference titles in the Big Ten this season, making its first tournament appearance since 2012. His other three schools have been mainstays in recent tournaments, with Western Michigan and Michigan Tech making appearances for the third straight season and the University of Michigan for the fourth straight season. MSU is looking to make its first Frozen 4 appearance since 2007, when it last won a national championship. The University of Michigan is looking to advance to the semifinals for his third consecutive season, while Michigan Tech is looking to break his record that dates back to 1981. WMU is looking to compete in Frozen 4 for the first time in school history.
Below is the complete schedule of NCAA Tournament hockey games for each Michigan team on Friday. Listed in chronological order.
No. 4 seed Michigan Tech vs. No. 1 seed Boston College
Game notes: Michigan Tech (19-14-6) defeated Bemidji State 2-1 in the conference championship to earn an automatic berth from the CCHA and become the last team to qualify. This is the school's third straight NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Joe Shawhan, and Michigan Tech is looking to win its first Frozen 4 since 1981. To advance, they must defeat the No. 1 team in the nation, Boston College (31-5). -1) is aiming to participate in Frozen 4 for the first time since 2016. The winner will face the winner of Wisconsin vs. Quinnipiac in Sunday's regional final. The regional tournament is being held in Providence, and Michigan Tech has an overall record of 4-0 in tournament play.
date: Friday, March 29th.
time: 2pm ET.
where: Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, Rhode Island
TV channel: ESPNU.
No. 1 seed Michigan State vs. No. 4 seed Western Michigan
Game notes: Michigan State returned to the tournament after a long hiatus thanks to the turnaround second-year head coach Adam Nightengale produced in his short time in East Lansing. The Spartans (24-9-3) have one of the best offenses in the country, ranking seventh in goals per game (3.89), while the blue line of freshman defenseman Artyom Levshunov They had NHL-level talent with a goal from a freshman netminder. Trey Augustin (second round pick of the Detroit Red Wings last summer). MSU will face a familiar team in Western Michigan (21-15-1), an at-large participant from the NCHC Conference. WMU is led by a forward trio of Luke Grainger, Dylan Wendt, and Sam Colangelo, all of whom finished the season with over 40 points, and goaltender Cameron Rowe started all 37 games. He maintains a save percentage of .905.
date: Friday, March 29th.
time: 5pm
where: Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri
TV channel: ESPNU.
3rd seed Michigan vs. 2nd seed North Dakota
Game notes: The Michigan Wolverines will return to the NCAA Tournament for a record 41st time to face college hockey's other blue blood, North Dakota. The Wolverines lost to rival Michigan State last weekend, ending their two-game winning streak in the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Michigan still has a chance to avenge that loss later this weekend, but first they have to get past North Dakota State. The Fighting Hawks won the NCHC regular season championship but failed to advance past the semifinals of the conference tournament, losing to Omaha. His two schools have a lot of history as former WCHA members, playing in the same league from 1951 to 1981 before Michigan (and Michigan State) left. The Wolverines are led by Big Ten Player of the Year Gavin Brindley. The sophomore forward had 51 points (24 goals, 27 assists) in just 37 games, but only Brindley as teammates Rutger McGroarty and Seamus Casey were also named first-team All-Big Ten. isn't it.
date: Friday, March 29th.
time: 8:30pm
where: Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
TV channel: ESPNU.
