U-M Earns No. 1 Overall Seed in NCAA Tournament
3/22/2026 3:46:00 PM | Ice Hockey
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The top-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team earned the No. 1 overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Hockey Tournament, as announced Sunday (March 22) on ESPNU.
Michigan (29-7-1) will face No. 4 seed Bentley (23-11-5) in the Albany, N.Y., Regional at 5:30 p.m. on Friday (March 27) at MVP Arena, with the game set to air on ESPNU.
Penn State (21-13-2) and Minnesota Duluth (23-14-1) will meet in the other semifinal, with the winners advancing to Sunday's (March 29) regional final for a berth in the Frozen Four, scheduled for April 9-11 in Las Vegas.
The Wolverines secured the Big Ten's automatic bid by capturing the conference tournament title on Saturday (March 21) at Yost Ice Arena. Michigan rolled through the bracket with a 6-1 win over Notre Dame in the quarterfinals, a 5-2 victory against Penn State in the semifinals, and a 7-3 triumph over Ohio State in the championship game. U-M finished the regular season ranked No. 1 in the NPI and spent much of the year atop the national polls.
Michigan NCAA Tournament Notes
• Michigan is making its 42nd NCAA Tournament appearance, tied with Minnesota for the most all-time.
• The Wolverines hold a 59-33 (.641) record in NCAA Tournament play.
• This marks Michigan's third time as the No. 1 overall seed (previously 2008, 2022) and its sixth appearance as a top seed.
• U-M has 28 Frozen Four appearances, the most in college hockey. That includes a stretch of 10 consecutive appearances from 1948-57.
• Michigan owns nine national championships, second most in Division I ice hockey (1948, '51, '52, '53, '55, '56, '64, '96, '98). The last national title came in 1998 when U-M defeated Boston College 3-2 in overtime.
• The Wolverines have made 12 championship game appearances (1948, '51, '52, '53, '55, '56, '57, '64, '77, '96, '98, 2011).
• Michigan's 22 consecutive tournaments made from 1991-2012 remain the longest streak in history.
• Former Michigan coach Vic Heyliger's six championships are the most of any coach, and his 10 consecutive Frozen Four appearances are double the next-longest streak of consecutive Frozen Fours by a coach.
• Former Michigan coach Red Berenson ranks second all-time with 23 NCAA Tournament appearances.
