By Ryan Stieg
We’ve now reached Las Vegas and the end of this year’s journey. Unlike last year’s trip to St. Louis where there were two first-timers, this year’s group is all bluebloods with multiple national titles. I can understand hockey fans being both excited and annoyed by that result.
Looking back at the regionals, I did okay with my picks. The first round went great for me as I went 7 for 8 with my picks with Providence being my only miss. I guess I must stop having faith in the Friars. As a kid who was raised Catholic, that can be hard to do.
Then came the regional finals where only one of my Frozen Four picks made it to Vegas. Defending national champion Western Michigan got blown out, Minnesota Duluth came up just short and then there’s Michigan State. Sigh… the Spartans had a two-goal lead with five minutes left in the third period, coughed it up and then lost quickly in overtime. I thought this might be the Spartans’ year as they had all the pieces to earn not only their first trip to the Frozen Four in 19 years, but their first national title since that same year. Instead, they’re back in East Lansing and watching two of their fellow Big Ten members party in Sin City. That’s got to sting.
Despite my struggles in the regional finals, I still got one team right, so that allowed to me to celebrate Tater Day with a mix of mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and some shoestring fries to finish off the feast. My last prizes of the college hockey season are licorice (not black licorice as that’s disgusting) for Licorice Day and grilled cheese for Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day. It’s a weird combination to close out the year, but I guess that’s the food that was available for Sunday.
Anyway, enough about food. Let’s get to the whole point of this column. Here are my picks for the 2026 Frozen Four.
Frozen Four Semifinal 1
Wisconsin vs. North Dakota
I watched these two teams play against each other a few times at the old WCHA Final Five and that was always fun to see. It’s been quite a while since they faced each other in the NCAA Tournament, most recently in 2014, so it’s kind of fun to see these two former rivals battle on the biggest stage. The Badgers are the team that rallied to topple the Spartans two weeks ago, so they’re the surprise team in the Frozen Four, their first trip since 2010. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good as Wisco dispatched Dartmouth easily, and it takes a lot of talent to come back and beat a popular national champion pick. Wisconsin has a great big three in Christian Fitzgerald, Quinn Finley and Gavin Morrissey and a decent defensive group, so it’s going to be tough to beat. UND is more than up to the challenge though. I’m not sure if the Fighting Hawks broke a sweat during the regionals as they got past Merrimack easily and then destroyed Quinnipiac on their way to Vegas. The Hawks have a quality goalie in Jan Spunar, who shut out both opponents in the regionals. They also have a long line of offensive weapons like Ben Strinden, Will Zellers and Dylan James as well as assist machines like Ellis Rickwood and Cole Reschny. I think the Badgers will put up a good fight, but UND is really strong and it powers its way to the title game. The Fighting Hawks win 4-1.
Frozen Four Semifinal 2
Denver vs. Michigan
This one will probably be the more competitive of the two games. On one side, you have the Pioneers, who are in their third straight Frozen Four and fourth in five years. They’ve won 10 national titles and seeing how it’s an even-numbered year, DU seems primed for another championship. The Pios were dominant in their regional as they smashed Cornell and then rolled over Western to avenge their loss to the Broncos in St. Louis last year. Hobey Hat Trick finalist Eric Pohlkamp is one of the best defensemen around, and he’s got a lot of goal support as well as another great defenseman in Boston Buckberger. Goalie Johnny Hicks may not have the hype of Matt Davis back in 2024, but he’s been steady and only gave up two goals in regionals. Meanwhile, there’s the Wolverines, who are looking to tie DU with a 10th title and their first since 1998, which is an insanely long drought for a blueblood program. Michigan is Michigan, so of course they’ve got offense in Hobey Hat Trick finalist T.J. Hughes along with another star in Michael Hage and leading goal scorer Will Horcoff. Goalie Jack Ivankovic is also one of the best in the country, so the Wolverines are looking good. This game is a toss-up, so I’m going with coaching here. David Carle won his first national title as coach back in 2022 and he beat a star-filled Michigan squad in the FF semifinals. I think he does it again. The Pioneers win 4-3.
National Championship
Denver vs. North Dakota
The last time these two faced each other in the championship was back in 2005 when I was in college and it went the Pioneers’ way as they ended UND’s Cinderella run. This time, it’s a coin flip. DU is good and like I mentioned before, it’s an even-numbered year, so the Pios have history on their side. At the same time, this is the deepest North Dakota team in a while. UND’s 2020 and 2021 teams were just as strong, but then Covid and the 5 OT Regional Final loss happened. 10 years ago, UND won its eighth national title on my wife’s birthday and on Saturday, I think it wins number nine. The Fighting Hawks win 3-2.