Men’s Frozen Four

The NCAA crowns its national champion at the culmination of the college hockey season, the Frozen Four, each spring. Held before sellout crowds at NHL arenas, the Frozen Four consists of the two semifinal games and one championship game, played over three days.

In 2026, Denver rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the third period to defeat Wisconsin 2-1 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was the Pioneers’ 11th national championship and third in the last five years. DU freshman goalie Johnny Hicks was named Most Outstanding Player after stopping 78 of 82 shots in the Frozen Four. The Pioneers finished 29-11-3 overall and gave the NCHC its eighth NCAA champion in the last 10 seasons.

The Frozen Four crowns the winner of the NCAA Tournament, which has been held since 1948. The tournament expanded to its current 16-team format in 2003. The tournament opens at four regional sites of four teams each, with the winners advancing to the Frozen Four.

Over time, the Frozen Four has become more than just the games – it’s a weekend long celebration of college hockey. Thousands of fans attend year after year, regardless of the teams involved, creating crowds filled with dozens of different jerseys. On the day between games college hockey celebrates some of its best, with the presentation of the Hobey Baker Award, the Hockey Humanitarian Award, the Mike Richter Award, the Derek Hines Unsung Hero Award, the Tim Taylor National Rookie of the Year Award, and the AHCA All-America Teams.

The next two Frozen Fours will be held at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. (2027) and United Center in Chicago (2028).

All-Time Men’s Frozen Four Tournament History

Year Champion Runner-up Third Fourth Site
1948 Michigan Dartmouth Other semifinalists: BC and Colorado College Col. Springs, Colo.
1949 Boston College Dartmouth Michigan Colorado College Col. Springs, Colo.
1950 Colorado College Boston University Michigan Boston College Col. Springs, Colo.
1951 Michigan Brown Boston University Colorado College Col. Springs, Colo.
1952 Michigan Colorado College Yale St. Lawrence Col. Springs, Colo.
1953 Michigan Minnesota Rensselaer Boston University Col. Springs, Colo.
1954 Rensselaer Minnesota Michigan Boston College Col. Springs, Colo.
1955 Michigan Colorado College Harvard St. Lawrence Col. Springs, Colo.
1956 Michigan Michigan Tech St. Lawrence Boston College Col. Springs, Colo.
1957 Colorado College Michigan Clarkson Harvard Col. Springs, Colo.
1958 Denver North Dakota Clarkson Harvard Minneapolis, Minn.
1959 North Dakota Michigan State Boston College St. Lawrence Troy, N.Y.
1960 Denver Michigan Tech Boston University St. Lawrence Boston, Mass.
1961 Denver St. Lawrence Minnesota Rensselaer Denver, Colo.
1962 Michigan Tech Clarkson Michigan St. Lawrence Utica, N.Y.
1963 North Dakota Denver Clarkson Boston College Chestnut Hill, Mass.
1964 Michigan Denver Rensselaer Providence Denver, Colo.
1965 Michigan Tech Boston College North Dakota Brown Providence, R.I.
1966 Michigan State Clarkson Denver Boston University Minneapolis, Minn.
1967 Cornell Boston University Michigan State North Dakota Syracuse, N.Y.
1968 Denver North Dakota Cornell Boston College Duluth, Minn.
1969 Denver Cornell Harvard Michigan Tech Col. Springs, Colo.
1970 Cornell Clarkson Wisconsin Michigan Tech Lake Placid, N.Y.
1971 Boston University Minnesota Denver Harvard Syracuse, N.Y.
1972 Boston University Cornell Wisconsin Denver Boston, Mass.
1973 Wisconsin Denver Boston College Cornell Boston, Mass.
1974 Minnesota Michigan Tech Boston University Harvard Boston, Mass.
1975 Michigan Tech Minnesota Boston University Harvard St. Louis, Mo.
1976 Minnesota Michigan Tech Brown Boston University Denver, Colo.
1977 Wisconsin Michigan Boston University New Hampshire Detroit, Mich.
1978 Boston University Boston College Bowling Green Wisconsin Providence, R.I.
1979 Minnesota North Dakota Dartmouth New Hampshire Detroit, Mich.
1980 North Dakota Northern Michigan Dartmouth Cornell Providence, R.I.
1981 Wisconsin Minnesota Michigan Tech Northern Michigan Duluth, Minn.
1982 North Dakota Wisconsin Northeastern New Hampshire Providence, R.I.
1983 Wisconsin Harvard Providence Minnesota Grand Forks, ND
1984 Bowling Green Minnesota Duluth North Dakota Michigan State Lake Placid, N.Y.
1985 Rensselaer Providence Minnesota Duluth Boston College Detroit, Mich.
1986 Michigan State Harvard Minnesota Denver Providence, R.I.
1987 North Dakota Michigan State Minnesota Harvard Detroit, Mich.
1988 Lake Superior State St. Lawrence Maine Minnesota Lake Placid, N.Y.
1989 Harvard Minnesota Michigan State Maine St. Paul, Minn.
Year Champion Runner-up Other Semifinalists Site
1990 Wisconsin Colgate Boston College Boston University Detroit, Mich.
1991 Northern Michigan Boston University Maine Clarkson St. Paul, Minn.
1992 Lake Superior State Wisconsin Michigan Michigan State Albany, N.Y.
1993 Maine Lake Superior State Boston University Michigan Milwaukee, Wis.
1994 Lake Superior State Boston University Harvard Minnesota St. Paul, Minn.
1995 Boston University Maine Michigan Minnesota Providence, R.I.
1996 Michigan Colorado College Boston University Vermont Cincinnati, Ohio
1997 North Dakota Boston University Colorado College Michigan Milwaukee, Wis.
1998 Michigan Boston College New Hampshire Ohio State Boston, Mass.
1999 Maine New Hampshire Boston College Michigan State Anaheim, Calif.
2000 North Dakota Boston College Maine St. Lawrence Providence, R.I.
2001 Boston College North Dakota Michigan Michigan State Albany, N.Y.
2002 Minnesota Maine New Hampshire Michigan St. Paul, Minn.
2003 Minnesota New Hampshire Cornell Michigan Buffalo, N.Y.
2004 Denver Maine Boston College Minnesota Duluth Boston, Mass.
2005 Denver North Dakota Colorado College Minnesota Columbus, Ohio
2006 Wisconsin Boston College Maine North Dakota Milwaukee, Wis.
2007 Michigan State Boston College Maine North Dakota St. Louis, Mo.
2008 Boston College Notre Dame Michigan North Dakota Denver, Colo.
2009 Boston University Miami Bemidji State Vermont Washington, D.C.
2010 Boston College Wisconsin Miami RIT Detroit, Mich.
2011 Minnesota-Duluth Michigan Notre Dame North Dakota St. Paul, Minn.
2012 Boston College Ferris State Minnesota Union Tampa, Fla.
2013 Yale Quinnipiac UMass Lowell St. Cloud State Pittsburgh, Pa.
2014 Union Minnesota Boston College North Dakota Philadelphia, Pa.
2015 Providence Boston University Nebraska Omaha North Dakota Boston, Mass.
2016 North Dakota Quinnipiac Boston College Denver Tampa, Fla.
2017 Denver Minnesota Duluth Harvard Notre Dame Chicago, Ill.
2018 Minnesota Duluth Notre Dame Michigan Ohio State St. Paul, Minn.
2019 Minnesota Duluth Massachusetts Denver Providence Buffalo, N.Y.
2020 Canceled: COVID-19
2021 Massachusetts St. Cloud State Minnesota Duluth Minnesota State Pittsburgh, Pa.
2022 Denver Minnesota State Michigan Minnesota Boston, Mass.
2023 Quinnipiac Minnesota Boston University Michigan Tampa, Fla..
2024 Denver Boston College Boston University Michigan St. Paul, Minn.
2025 Western Michigan Boston University Denver Penn State St. Louis, Mo.
2026 Denver Wisconsin Michigan North Dakota Las Vegas, Nev.