2026 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey tournament

Now down by 2, Bentley got right back to the attack at the start of the second period. Play again see-sawed between the two sides for the first few minutes but when Chase Davis attempted to collapse down low and help out defensively, he lost and edge and ran into Swedin. Michigan got possession of the puck while the cage was unoccupied but could not get the rubber into a shooting position before Swedin regain his footing. However, in order to prevent an open look at the goal, Tobias Larsen was forced to take a holding penalty. Michigan's #1 power play got several good shots on the Bentley cage but Swedin held firm and the Falcons were able to clear the puck and prevent a follow up chance. After the penalty expired, Jake Black put a hard shot on goal off the rush. Ivankovic made the save but Oliver Salo crashed the crease and bodied the Michigan netminder to the ice. While the Wolverines called for a penalty, none was forthcoming. A few minutes later, Salo was handed a minor penalty when he was called for interference on Kason Muscutt. Michigan's offensive firepower was on full display on their second man-advantage. Will Horcoff and Perron had several good looks on goal but it was Nick Moldenhauer who found the back of the net after the Wolverines completely wore out the Bentley defenders. Bentley went on the attack once more, desperately trying to close the gap and managed to force a couple of offensive zone draws. Michigan, however, did not give the Falcons much to work with. On one of the Wolverines' counters up the ice, the puck was deflected into the corner behind the goal. Hughes jumped on the puck and backhanded out in front, sending the rubber into Muscutt's body where it rebounded towards the goal. While the puck probably would have entered the cage under its own power, Muscutt made sure by smacking it into the back of the net. After exchanging chances, Bentley got its chance on the power play when Duke was called for boarding. While most of the man-advantage went by the wayside, Bentley did get a tremendous scoring chance when Davis fired one on goal from the half wall. Ivankovic made the stop but the puck rebounded off of his stick right onto Salo's stick but the Finnish forward could not get his shot around the Michigan goaltender. Though they failed on their chance, the Falcons kept coming with both David Helledy and Garrett Horsager getting chances for a goal, however, Ivankovic stopped the former and a defensive wall provided by the Michigan skaters stopped the second. After a TV timeout, the Wolverines tilted the game back in their favor but Bentley would not go away. After Ivankovic stopped a Kellan Hjartarson shot, Black was nearly able to get his stick on the biscuit with a yawning cage in front but he overskated the puck. At time was counting down, Drew Schock broke towards the Bentley cage on a partial breakaway but Swedin made the save.

Bentley was again the aggressors at the start of the period but were still unable to get the puck past Ivankovic. However, less than a minute in the Falcons were able to force Cole McKinney into taking a holding call, granting them a third power play. Once again, the Falcons could not take advantage of Michigan's mediocre penalty kill and even surrendered a rush up the ice that saw Swedin having to stop a Garrett Schifsky backhand with his mask. Though Michigan was no longer pinching in the offensive zone, they were nonetheless able to get their shots thanks to Bentley being forced to push everything to the offense. Just before the 5-minute mark, Duke got mixed up behind his own goal with Michael Mesic and both were given roughing minors. The open ice gave both teams a chance to get the puck on goal but no goals were forthcoming. After the penalty box was emptied, Michigan continued to hold Bentley back until the Falcons iced the puck with just over 12 minutes to play. The Wolverines won the ensuing faceoff and Duke found Schifsky with a rink-wide pass and the junior fired the puck under Swedin right arm for Michigan fifth goal. Though the game was all but over by this point, Bentley refused to quit and went right at the Michigan cage. With under 10 minutes to play, Duke was called for holding and gave Bentley a fourth man-advantage. At the end of the power play, Salo put a long shot on goal that got behind Ivankovic but the Michigan goalie was able to cover the puck before any of the Falcons could follow up the attempt. Malcolm Spence had an opportunity to increase Michigan's lead with about 3 minutes to play but his shot hit a discarded stick and jumped up into Swedin's body. Bentley then did their best to finally get on the scoresheet but Ivankovic refused to budge. With 2 minutes left, Swedin was again tested and stopped a hard drive from Schock. In the final minute of play, Spence and Black were whistled for matching interference penalties. With under 30 seconds, Bentley finally broke through when Helledy fired a puck through Ivankovic, ending the shutout bid but the final result was unaffected.

When the second period began Arnott was not on Duluth's bench, leaving the Bulldogs without their #2 center. Max Plante got the period's first grade-A chance on a breakaway after Luca Fantilli coughed up the puck. The Bulldogs forward deked Ivankovic and beat the goaltender but the backhand shot hit the post and rebounded out the other side. Michigan rushed up the ice for a counter attack and Gajan was forced to make a pair of outstanding saves on T. J. Hughes and Jayden Perron to keep UMD in the match. Duluth continued to press, looking to close the gap and got several good chances to score but they could not get the puck into the goal. Duluth's necessary focus on offense allowed Michigan to get chances and on one such break, Max Plante hauled down Schifsky and put Michigan back on the power play. This time Duluth's #2 penalty kill was able to keep the Wolverines from scoring and keep the gap at three. Both teams exchanged rushes but Michigan's defense held the Bulldogs back and prevented them from getting a shot on goal for over 10 minutes. Towards the end of the Period, Duluth's offense got back on track and Max Plante got a open look right in front of the goal but his shot hit Ivankovic in the left pad and bounced away. UMD continued to forecheck and Schifsky was handed a cross checking penalty for leveling Scout Truman. Duluth kept the pressure on in the final 90 seconds but was still unable to earn a goal.

Just after Michigan killed off the end of the penalty in the third, UMD finally found the back of the net. Zam Plante found Harper Bentz streaking towards the cage and the sophomore put a hard shot past Ivankovic's blocker. Duluth continued to attack but on one of Michigan's counters, Perron made an attempted pass across the crease. Hanson blocked the puck with a stick sweep but the rubber bounced in Michigan's favor. Perron slammed the biscuit into a half-open cage as Gajan had gone with the pass. Past the 5-minute mark, Duluth got another chance to close the gap but no one could get a stick on a loose puck in front of a half-open cage before it was cleared. Over the next five minutes, Michigan was able to keep Duluth away from the net but a turnover near the middle of the period forced Asher Barnett to take down Max Plante and Duluth was given its third shot with the power play. For the second time in the period, Zam Plante found an open Bulldogs charging at the net, this time in the form of Hanson. The sophomore made one deke and lifted the puck over Ivankovic's glove to cut the lad back to two. Minnesota Duluth increased the pressure in the offensive zone and Michigan was barely holding on at this point. After a TV timeout, the Wolverines had caught their breath and got back to playing a defensive shell. Duluth was able to force an offensive zone draw with less than 4 minutes to play and, after Kyle Gaffney was stopped by Ivankovic, Truman buried a pass off the rebound. Michigan challenged the play for goaltender interference as Gaffney had crashed the crease and bumped into Ivankovic. The play was reviewed for a long time before the referees decided that there was not enough to overturn the play and allowed the goal to stand. With about two and ahalf minutes to play, Max Plante had a tremendous chance to tie the score but his shot went right into Ivankovic's chest. With 90 seconds to play, Gajan was pulled for an extra attacker. Duluth had to block two long attempts at the vacated cage before getting their next chance to tie. After Ivankovic stopped a point shot from Hanson, the goaltender was swimming on the ice but Zam Plante, who grabbed the puck below the goal lone, could not find an open stick in front of the net. Duluth had one more chance to score in the waning moments but the puck jumped over Adam Kleber stick and slid harmlessly into the corner. Michigan gathered in the lose puck and was able to kill of the remainder of the clock, escaping with a win.

Connecticut got the first rush at the start of the second but Michigan State quickly turned momentum back in their favor an logged a pair of scoring chances. The game see-sawed for the next few minutes with both getting chances on goal. After the 4-minute mark, Charlie Stramel crashed the UConn cage after Muszelik cleared a loose puck and ran into the Huskie netminder. Stramel's goaltender interference penalty gave Connecticut another chance that they failed to capitalize on. At the end of the man-advantage, the puck deflected to center and Daniel Russell got a breakaway from center ice. Carlin Dezainde hooked Russell before the MSU forward could get a good shot and the referees awarded Russell a penalty shot. Russell skated in at a leisurely pace and made his attempt in tight hit shot hit Muszelik in the shin and the game remained tied at 1-all. UConn started applying pressure after the save and began to generate offense in the MSU end. The Huskies got a few good looks on goal but the puck either went wide or was stopped by Augustine. After an icing call, MSU was able to turn momentum in its favor and get several scoring chances. Near the middle of the period, the puck came in on the UConn cage and got lost in Muszelik's feet. While both sides searched for a loose puck, Muszelik laid flat on the ice and ended up getting a whistle to stop play. A few minutes later, Maxim Štrbák coughed up the puck in his own zone which led to two glorious chances for the Huskies. Augustine was able to stop both but then matching slashing calls were handed out to Ryan Tattle and Nilson. During the 4-on-4 time, UConn controlled the puck initially but a bad turnover by Mike Murtagh in his own end allowed Tiernan Shoudy to find a wide-open Porter Martone off to the left side of the net for Michigan State's first lead of the game. Both sides got back to alternating chances once 5-on-5 play resumed. Just before the 15-minute mark, Richard got free in the slot and tried find a clean shot past Augustine but his attempt went wide. A moment later, a second chance from the slot was prevented when Gavin O'Connell hooked the UConn forward and gave the Huskies their fifth power play of the match. It wasn't until the final moments of the man-advantage that UConn was able to get a good scoring chance. While they ultimately failed to convert, Connecticut was finally able to generate some momentum on their chance. With about two minutes to play, MSU got a chance to score with a wraparound off of an offensive-zone faceoff. Right after the save, both teams were again handed minor penalties, this time to Lee and Anthony Allain-Samaké, and a second 4-on-4 ensued. Connecticut again remained in control of the puck for the majority of the time but could not get a good scoring chance.

Both teams came out hitting in the third while their defenses were called upon to stop multiple chances before the puck got on goal. After a hand-pass forced a faceoff in the MSU end, UConn was able to get a good shot from the point but their inability to generate anything of consequence down low was harming their chances to score. A few minutes later, Richard walked the puck down the goal line and had an attempt inside the crease but could not beat Augustine. Unfortunately, that brief chance was not followed up and the MSU defense was able to push the Huskies to the outside once more. Patrick Geary and Matt Basgall were conspicuous in Michigan State's efforts and became increasingly important as MSU played a defensive shell in the third period. By the 8-minute mark, the Spartans had failed to record a single shot and were apparently trying to win the game 2–1. Near the middle of the frame, Richard got his stick under Anthony Romani's arm. Romani pinched down to made sure the referees were aware and MSU was rewarded with their second power play of the game. MSU put several good shots on goal and had at last as many near-misses but the UConn penalty kill was able to hold. As soon as Richard left the box, Connecticut got right back on the attack and tried to equalize the score. With just over 7 minutes to play, Stramel found a loose puck in the UConn end and no one between him and the netminder. He did a quick stickhandle before letting his shot go but the puck went wide. MSU then went on the attack, hemming the Huskies in their own zone until about 5 minutes to play. With time ticking away, Connecticut was becoming increasingly desperate and were forced to put all their energies towards scoring. An icing call with 3 minutes to play gave UConn an offensive zone faceoff and nearly resulted in a goal by Tattle, but his shot was stopped by the skate of Owen West. A further icing with just over 2 minutes to play resulted in UConn pulling its goaltender for an extra skater. Michigan State won the faceoff and almost scored twice into an open cage but the Huskies were able to escape disaster. Another long shot by the Spartans ended with another icing with 82 seconds left and UConn called its time out to try and set up a scoring play. Just before the faceoff, Michigan State then called their time out to make sure everyone in green and white knew what to do. Michigan State was able to get control and clear the zone and then then stop the Huskies from getting a good look. With about 3 seconds to play, Tattle found Richard right in front of the net for a tremendous chance but Augustine was able to stop the shot and preserve MSU's lead for the win.

The second began much in the way the first ended with both teams looking for their opportunities. About a minute in, Brock Cummings was charging at a loose puck near the Wisconsin cage when Palodichuk hooked him and the Big Green received its second power play of the match. Dartmouth were far better with their second man-advantage and were able to move the puck to Jack Silverberg in the slot but the puck fluttered into Daniel Hauser's belly. Wisconsin got an odd-man rush afterwards but Jack Phelan's shot went wide. Shortly after the penalty was over, Tassy got a open shot off of the rush from the right circle but Croteau's trapper captured the puck. Wisconsin continued to pressure and get looks at the Dartmouth cage but the Big Green defense did not break and several attempts were either blocked or deflected away. Wisconsin hit its second crossbar of the night when a crazy bounce from behind the goal jumped right on Grady Deering's tape but his rushed shot missed an open cage. After a TV timeout, Dartmouth upped their forecheck and were able to get a few good looks on goal. On the ensuing counterattack from the Badgers, Luke Osburn hit the post over Croteau's left shoulder for another near-miss. Moments later, Nathan Morin intercepted a blind pass behind the Wisconsin goal and was almost able to slip a wraparound through Hauser's legs but the score remained unchanged. After a faceoff shortly afterwards, Christian Fitzgerald chipped the puck into the Dartmouth end before being checked by Colin Grable. The referee ruled that the puck had been gone long enough and whistled Grable for an interference penalty. Wisconsin got several chances to score on its power play but they were unable to convert. About halfway through the man-advantage, Hauser nearly turned the puck over behind his own cage but the Badgers were able to retain possession and clear the puck out of their zone. Almost immediately after the penalty expired, a poor change resulted in a too-many men penalty for Wisconsin and Dartmouth got its turn on the power play. Despite keeping the puck in the Wisconsin end for the majority of the time they didn't get a single shot on goal. After killing off the penalty, Wisconsin went on the attack and Tassy got another wide-open chance on goal thanks to a turnover. This time, he tried to slide the puck between Croteau's legs but the Big Green goalie kept his stick on the ice and pushed the puck away. Wisconsin's final chance came as the period was expiring but another block from the Dartmouth defense prevented the puck from getting on goal. By this point the Dartmouth offense was mostly ineffectual with just 8 shots on goal, however, Wisconsin was only able to muster 17 of their own after 40 minutes.

Dartmouth jumped out to a fast start in the third and nearly got an open look at the net but a cross-crease pass went wide. A moment later, Hayden Stavroff broke in on the Wisconsin cage but Aiden Dubinsky was able to wrestle him down. Dubinsky was somehow able to escape without a penalty but the pair did end up crashing into Hauser, causing the goalie to need a moment before continuing. The two sides then exchanged attacks but both had trouble locating the net with their shots. At the 5-minute mark, Tassy got a pass from behind the net and had a clean look at the Dartmouth cage; however, Croteau came out to challenge the deflected the shot over the net. A minute later, a shot in close by Deering was absorbed by Croteau and kept Dartmouth in the game despite the wide disparity in shots. Near the middle of the period, Alex Krause was able to turn the puck over inside the Wisconsin blueline. He was able to get a good bounce off of the end boards to the far side of the net but Dartmouth failed to get a shot on goal. On the ensuing rush up the ice, Zelenov was able to find a wide-open Jack Horbach down low and the senior backhanded the puck under Croteau's blocker for Wisconsin's second lead of the game. With the Big Green now behind, they could no longer sit back and wait for their chances. Dartmouth tried to turn up the pressure but Wisconsin was not accommodating and continued to attack the Badger net. With under six minutes to play, Ryan Botterill threw a puck on goal and the shot was deflected in by Tassy. Wisconsin kept Dartmouth at bay for the next couple of minutes until they iced the puck with about 4 minutes to play. In order to give his team a rest, Mike Hastings called a timeout and Reid Cashman responded by pulling his goaltender. Just 20 seconds later, Fitzgerald was able to beat Stavroff to a loose puck in the Big Green's end and he deposited the puck into the empty net. With nothing to lose, Dartmouth pulled Croteau again and all that did was allow Finley to add another tally to the Badgers' total. The final two minutes passed without much fanfare as both sides understood that the match had already been decided and Wisconsin was able to skate away with the victory.

Off of an offensive zone faceoff, Quinn Finley slid towards the center before firing a laser off the far post and into the net. MSU tried to set themselves up for an equalizer afterwards but the Wisconsin defense did not give them a decent opportunity. Martone got a bit overeager with trying to lay the body on the Badgers and was called for roughing about three minutes after the goal. Good passing a few miscues from Michigan State allowed the Badgers to get several shots on goal but Augustine stopped all six attempts on the man-advantage. Shortly after killing off the penalty, Horbach was called for high-sticking and MSU had its turn on the power play. Despite possessing one of the strongest special teams in the nation, MSU looked like they were about to wast their first chance when a shot from Gavin O'Connell deflected off of Ben Dexheimer's stick and fluttered over Daniel Hauser, into the net. Moments later, after confirming that #1 center Charlie Stramel had ben ruled out for the remainder of the game, Tommi Männistö found Patrick Geary streaking towards the net with a backhand pass from below the goal line. The defenseman slammed the puck through Hauser for the Spartans' first lead of the game. Wisconsin then went on attack but the Spartans repaid the favor by holding the Badgers to the outside. With about six and a half minutes to play, Ryker Lee was handed an interference penalty to give Wisconsin a second shot with their power play. The red squad was far less competent on their second chance, hardly getting a shot on goal. To make matters worse, found Lee with a pass as he was exiting the box and gave the Spartan forward a breakaway. Houser made the initial save with his left pad but Lee celebrated after he saw the rubber vanish beneath the goalie's leg. The referee initially ruled that the puck did not cross the line but called for the play to be reviewed. After a second look at the play, the officials did not see the puck cross the line and let the play stand as called. With about 2 minutes to play, Michigan State nearly got their third goal when the puck hit Houser's glove and bounced behind the net. The netminder lost sight of the puck and when MSU moved the biscuit back in front for a follow up shot, the attempt hit Houser. As the rubber was rolling towards the net, the goaltender batted it away with his blocker as he was falling to the ice.

The second period began with MSU getting a great chance from the slot but Joe Palodichuk blocked the puck before it could get on goal. Wisconsin began to press but even when they got an offensive zone draw or a turnover, they were unable to turn it into much of a chance. At the 8-minute mark, Martone got a partial break and forced Dexheimer into a hooking call to stop his scoring chance. After seeing a few attempts go wide, Matt Basgall fired a shot from the blueline that sailed through a sea of bodies, off of the post and into the net. After the goal, Michigan State continued to pressure Badger puck carriers up and down the ice, not allowing Wisconsin a good shot on goal. Even when Wisconsin was able to get a puck on goal, Augustine was quick to cover the puck and end any potential rally before it could begin. However, Wisconsin kept shooting and with under 5 minutes to go they finally got a bounce to go their way. After a shot rebounded off the back boards, Oliver Tulk put a shot on goal from in tight. The puck deflected left to the stick of Luke Osburn and he threw it over Augustine's right leg for a goal. Moments later, Wisconsin pressure caused a similar play when Dexheimer found Christian Fitzgerald alone in front with a cross-crease pass. Fitzgerald's shot hit Augustine and bounced to the right and Gavin Morrissey smacked it home to tie the game. With exactly 3 minutes to play, Aiden Dubinsky was called for roughing, however, Wisconsin was saved from having to kill off a penalty due to Daniel Russell receiving an embellishment minor. Wisconsin was almost able to get a high-percentage shot in the waning minutes but two separate passes eluded Badger sticks and time expired before the winning goal could be found.

It took Wisconsin just 24 seconds to earn their trip to the Frozen Four. After the Badgers rimmed the puck in and MSU failed to clear, Dexheimer threw a shot on goal from the point. Tiernan Shoudy attempted to grab the puck out of the air but instead deflected it down into his own cage.