Michigan hockey has been on the doorstep of the NCAA hockey national championship. The Wolverines went to three straight Frozen Fours from 2022 to 2024, but were unable to come away with the national title.
On Sunday, they at least clinched another opportunity, defeating Minnesota-Duluth 4-3 to advance to the Frozen Four in Las Vegas where Michigan will face off against Denver.
The win wasn’t easy, though. Michigan grabbed the early lead. Will Horcoff opened the scoring for Michigan hockey in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. The Wolverines then got goals from Adam Valentini and Garrett Schifsky to grab a 3-0 lead.
The lead would stay that way until the third period. Minnesota-Duluth got on board early in the third period, only to see Michigan respond, thanks to a goal from Jayden Perron.
Yet, two other goals, one with just over three minutes left, had UMD within a goal. There was a frantic push for the tying goal, but Jack Ivankovic was able to keep the score at 4-3 in favor of Michigan, which ended up as the final score.
The Michigan goalie stopped 30 shots in net to help the Wolverines get back to the Frozen Four after being absent in 2025.
Michigan nearly suffered same fate as Michigan State
The Spartans were in a position to make the Frozen Four, too. They had a two-goal lead on Wisconsin on Saturday, before blowing the lead in the last four minutes, then losing to the Badgers early in the overtime period.
MSU also lost to Michigan in the quarterfinal round back in 2024. The Wolverines will play Denver on April 9th, needing two more wins for their first national title since 1998. They are also trying to end a four-game losing streak at the Frozen Four.
Michigan was the No. 1 overall seed. Second-seeded North Dakota is on the other side of the bracket along with Wisconsin.
