Hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly), Derek Schooley (@derekschooley), and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) review major off-season topics that have surfaced in the month since the end of the season.

They begin by focusing on the NCAA’s proposed five-year-to-play-five-seasons eligibility model that would start at high school graduation (or a player’s 19th birthday) and could reduce eligibility for future incoming freshmen, impacting junior hockey pathways, parity, scholarships, APR/graduation rates, and creating uncertainty amid the portal, NIL, and other changes. They note widespread opposition, potential revisions, and upcoming NCAA discussion dates.

This episode also addresses House v. NCAA roster limits (26 with calls for 27+ and in-season injury replacements), debates about breaking from the NCAA versus more sport autonomy, proposals to expand games/practices and add limited non-recruiting on-ice staff, and tournament format ideas.

They close with notes on Frozen Four viewership in Las Vegas and recent coaching changes.

Find all of our podcasts at USCHO.com/podcasts

In a special offseason USCHO Report, Jim Connelly interviews ECAC commissioner Doug Christiansen about an NCAA proposal to change the eligibility window to align with high school graduation or a player’s 19th birthday. In this episode, Christiansen explains that this would have major consequences for college hockey, with 75% of players potentially losing a year of eligibility given the sport’s average player age of 20.6. 

Christiansen describes ongoing, collaborative discussions with the NCAA, NHL, USA Hockey, and development leagues. The talks emphasize hockey’s unique development path through junior hockey and that the proposed rule was not designed for hockey.


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Hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly), Derek Schooley (@derekschooley), and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) review games of the weekend and news of the past week.

In Part 1, we look at how Denver, Michigan, North Dakota, and Wisconsin made it to the Frozen Four. And we comment on the unfortunate news of the announced cancellation of men's hockey program at Mercyhurst.

In Part 2, we analyze the story lines of the four teams and the distractions for teams with the tournament being in Las Vegas.

This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Men's Frozen Four, April 9 and 11 in Las Vegas. Tickets: https://ncaa.com/mfrozenfour

Find all of our podcasts at USCHO.com/podcasts

Hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly) and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) are joined by Todd Milewski (@ToddMilewski) to give a quick Sunday night take on the NCAA Men's D-I regional finals and the field for the Frozen Four: Denver, Michigan, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.

This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Men's Frozen Four, April 9 and 11 in Las Vegas. Tickets: https://ncaa.com/mfrozenfour

Find all of our podcasts at USCHO.com/podcasts

Hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly), Derek Schooley (@derekschooley), and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) review games of the weekend and news of the past week.

In our first segment, we review the six conference championships that were decided over Friday and Saturday nights.

In our second segment, we look forward to the NCAA men's D-I ice hockey regionals in Albany, Loveland, Sioux Falls, and Worcester.

This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Men's Frozen Four, April 9 and 11 in Las Vegas. Tickets: https://ncaa.com/mfrozenfour

Find all of our podcasts at USCHO.com/podcasts

Hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly) and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) analyze the NCAA's 2026 Men's D-I ice hockey bracket as announced on March 22, 2026.

Final bracket:

Albany Region

1. Michigan (1)
2. Minnesota Duluth
3. Penn State
4. Bentley

Loveland Region

1. Western Michigan (4)
2. Denver
3. Cornell
4. Minnesota State 

Sioux Falls Region

1. North Dakota (2)
2. Providence
3. Quinnipiac
4. Merrimack 

Worcester Region

1. Michigan State (3)
2. Dartmouth
3. Wisconsin
4. Connecticut

See the full bracket with dates, times, and TV networks at https://www.uscho.com/ncaa-mens-division-i-ncaa-tournament

This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Men's Frozen Four, April 9 and 11 in Las Vegas. Tickets: https://ncaa.com/mfrozenfour

Find all of our podcasts at USCHO.com/podcasts

Hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly) and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) look at our final projected bracket after the games of Saturday, March 21, on this special episode of Bracketology XTRA. The tournament bracket will be announced at 3 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

Here is the final projected bracket:

Albany

• Michigan (1)
• Minnesota Duluth
• Cornell
• Bentley (AHA autobid)

Loveland

• Western Michigan (4)
• Denver (host)
• Wisconsin
• Minnesota State (CCHA autobid)

Sioux Falls

• North Dakota (2)
• Providence
• Quinnipiac
• Merrimack (Hockey East autobid)

Worcester

• Michigan State (3)
• Dartmouth
• Penn State
• Connecticut

This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Men's Frozen Four, April 9 and 11 in Las Vegas. Tickets: https://ncaa.com/mfrozenfour

Find all of our podcasts at USCHO.com/podcasts

Hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly), Derek Schooley (@derekschooley), and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) review games of the weekend and news of the past week.

In our first segment, we look at a weekend in which four conference No. 1 seeds were ousted from their league tournaments. Then we analyze what's at stake this weekend.

In our second segment, we look at how each conference's playoffs work, and the advantages and disadvantages of each.

This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Men's Frozen Four, April 9 and 11 in Las Vegas. Tickets: https://ncaa.com/mfrozenfour

Apologies for some audio difficulties.

Find all of our podcasts at USCHO.com/podcasts

Hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly) and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) look at where things stand on Monday, March 16, 2026 after a weekend of upsets in this episode of Bracketology XTRA.

Here is the updated bracket:

Albany

• Michigan (1)
• Providence
• Cornell
• Bentley (AHA autobid placeholder)

Loveland

• Western Michigan (4)
• Denver (host)
• Wisconsin
• St. Thomas

Sioux Falls

• North Dakota (2)
• Dartmouth
• Penn State
• Connecticut

Loveland

• Michigan State (3)
• Minnesota Duluth
• Quinnipiac
• Massachusetts

This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Men's Frozen Four, April 9 and 11 in Las Vegas. Tickets: https://ncaa.com/mfrozenfour

Find all of our podcasts at USCHO.com/podcasts

Hosts Jim Connelly (@jimmyconnelly) and Ed Trefzger (@EdTrefzger) unpack the March 11, 2026 Bracketology column on USCHO.com with this weekly episode of Bracketology XTRA.

Here is this week's updated bracket:

Albany

• Michigan (1)
• Minnesota Duluth
• Cornell
• Bentley (AHA autobid placeholder)

Worcester

• Western Michigan (4)
• Providence
• Wisconsin
• Massachusetts

Loveland

• Michigan State (3)
• Denver
• Dartmouth
• St. Thomas

Sioux Falls

• North Dakota (2)
• Quinnipiac
• Penn State
• Augustana

For details on how this bracket was put together, visit this week's column at https://www.uscho.com/2026/03/11/bracketology-a-must-swap-situation-to-protect-attendance/

This episode is sponsored by the NCAA Men's Frozen Four, April 9 and 11 in Las Vegas. Tickets: https://ncaa.com/mfrozenfour


Find all of our podcasts at USCHO.com/podcasts