NCHC Semifinals Preview : College Hockey News

March 13, 2026

For just the fourth time in the NCHC’s 13-year history, the top four seeds have advanced out of the first round; North Dakota, Denver, Western Michigan and Minnesota Duluth all swept their quarterfinal series.

Now the league’s playoff format will feature a new look, as the winner-take-all semifinals move to campus sites for the first time. North Dakota hosts Minnesota Duluth at 6:07 p.m. (CT) on Saturday, while Denver hosts Western Michigan at 6:07 p.m. (MT).

All four teams find themselves within the top eight of the NPI.

Saturday’s winners will advance to the NCHC championship game (March 21) with the higher seed hosting, and the winner will receive an automatic NCAA Tournament berth. The NCAA Tournament selection show is set for March 22.

No. 1 North Dakota (27-8-1, 17-6-1) vs. No. 4 Minnesota Duluth (22-13-1, 11-12-1)

North Dakota received a late dose of adversity last Friday when Will Zellers, Ben Strinden and David Klee had to sit out of their playoff opener due to illness. Strinden and Klee missed Game 2 as well. However, UND still advanced with 5-3 and 5-1 wins over Omaha.

UND found itself down 2-1 after 20 minutes in Game 1, yet Dane Jackson’s club exploded for four second-period goals. Jan Spunar made six of his 17 saves in the third period to secure the win.

Spunar was one of four UND players named to the NCHC All-Rookie Team this week. He was also an All-NCHC First Team selection and named the NCHC Goaltender of the Year.

“Jan’s been exceptional,” Jackson said of his goaltender. “He’s been very reliable for us and he hasn’t had many bad starts. He makes all the saves that he should make and then some spectacular ones.”

UND fell behind on Saturday as well, but scored five unanswered en route to the series-clincher. Swanson netted a pair while Zellers had three points (1-2-3) in his return. It’s the third time in four years that UND has eliminated Omaha, and Saturday marked the 16th time UND has scored five or more goals this season.

With its wins over Omaha, UND is 13-4-1 since the calendar flip. Now the Penrose champs will look to continue working towards additional hardware.

“It was always a huge motivation to win our league and try to win the Penrose, but I think this year even more so to be able to have the home games in the playoffs,” Jackson said.

UMD earned a pair of overtime wins over St. Cloud State last weekend, doing so in eerily similar fashion.

Zam Plante tied Game 1 with just 23 seconds left in regulation and scored 3:30 into overtime, lifting UMD to a 4-3 win. Plante was the hero again on Saturday, scoring with 31 seconds left in regulation and 5:11 into overtime.

The sophomore has three consecutive two-goal games and ranks second on UMD’s roster with 20 goals, just two behind his brother, Max. Max (first) and Zam (third) were both All-NCHC selections this week. Sophomore defenseman Ty Hanson was also an All-NCHC Second Team selection.

Five of UMD’s 22 wins have come in overtime this season, including a pair against UND. UMD earned a 4-3 OT win in Grand Forks to open NCHC play (Oct. 31) and beat UND in Duluth last month, 3-2.

UND lost just four times at Ralph Engelstad Arena this season — including that Halloween contest — and UMD is the only team with multiple wins over UND this winter. However, UND won the other two matchups (Nov. 1 and Feb. 7) in convincing fashion, 5-1 and 4-1.

“We know they’re a good, high-quality team, but I think we also know that we’ve been in three of those games the whole time, with leads that we didn’t hold onto like we would’ve wanted to,” UMD captain Joey Pierce said. “I think we learned from that and the last month we’ve definitely been more comfortable in games regardless of the score.”

“Very similar the way the games went,” UMD coach Scott Sandelin said. “Hopefully we’re in that same position to be leading in the third period again.”

No. 2 Denver (23-11-3, 17-6-1) vs. No. 3 Western Michigan (26-9-1, 16-7-1)

The past two national champions will meet Saturday in Denver, as both clubs target another deep postseason run.

It’ll be the fifth time DU and WMU meet this season as well; the teams split their previous four matchups. DU swept a series in Kalamazoo in early November, while the Broncos returned the favor at Magness Arena in early January.

Both teams are coming off sweeps to open the NCHC playoffs, too. Denver earned a pair of wins over Miami, 3-0 and 6-2, while Western Michigan swept Colorado College, 5-2 and 2-1 in OT.

The Pioneers and Broncos remain among the nation’s highest-scoring clubs. WMU averages 3.7 goals per game and Denver averages 3.5, which are tied for seventh and 11th in the country. They’re also among the nation’s top defensive teams; DU allows 2.2 and WMU is right behind at 2.4 – which are tied for fifth and 10th nationally.

Denver carries an 11-game win streak into Saturday’s contest and continues to click with a young roster, which features 10 freshmen.

Junior defenseman Eric Pohlkamp continues to produce and leads the way in goals (17) and points (36), and Pohlkamp was a near-unanimous All-NCHC First Team selection. The San Jose pick broke the NCHC single-season record for goals by a defenseman and is a finalist for NCHC Player of the Year and Offensive Defenseman of the Year.

Junior forward Sam Harris ranks second on the club with 31 points and has points in seven straight, and junior Boston Buckberger has 26 points and has been a reliable defenseman all season.

Johnny Hicks is 10-0-1 between the pipes with an absurd 1.04 GAA and .960 save percentage, and the freshman made 34 saves last weekend against Miami. Hicks has filled in for freshman Quentin Miller, who last played on Jan. 24 (injury). Miller finished the regular season 12-10-2 with a 2.39 GAA and .916 save percentage.

“When an opportunity was presented to him, he was able to take advantage of it,” David Carle said of Hicks. “It is a really good life lesson and obviously a good sports lesson. You are only in control of so much, and I thought Johnny has done an excellent job of staying present and controlling what he could. And then when the opportunity presented itself that was out of his control, he was ready to cash in on it and make a difference for our team.”

Goaltending has also been a key for Western Michigan, as sophomore Hampton Slukynsky has been the Broncos’ backbone. The sophomore has started all 36 games and is 26-9-1 with a 2.27 GAA and .915 save percentage.

Senior Liam Valente and junior William Whitelaw continue to lead the way up front. Valente has a team-leading 20 goals, including 10 on the power play, and Whitelaw is right behind with 19. Junior forward Grant Slukynsky leads WMU in points (40) and assists (30).

Now Pat Ferschweiler’s club will try to earn another win in the Mile High City.

“They play as a group,” Ferschweiler said of DU. “They have a game plan, and they stick to it. They’re a fast group, highly skilled, and really elusive out there. They can create some offense from their back end. You always have to be ready, always shoulder checking out there and making sure you know where their guys are because they can make you pay. These are the games you want to be a part of. These are the games you dream of playing in. We are really looking forward to the challenge this Saturday.”