The Terriers and Broncos play for the national championship in men’s hockey. Here’s a look at each team.
The 2025 men’s Frozen Four is down to two teams: NCHC champion Western Michigan Broncos and the Boston University Terriers of Hockey East.
In Thursday’s first semifinal, reigning national champion Denver’s bid to defend its title fell short, as the Pioneers were beaten by Western Michigan 3-2 in double overtime. The Broncos, who are in the Frozen Four for the first time, also beat Denver in double overtime in the NCHC championship game. The teams split two meetings in the regular season.
For BU, the third time was the charm as the Terriers beat Penn State 3-1 to advance to the title game after losing in the national semifinals the last two years.
The Broncos and Terriers will play for the national title at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be on ESPN2, and streaming on ESPN+.
Western Michigan is the only one of the top four overall seeds to make the Frozen Four, marking the first time since 2011 that only one of the top four seeds has made it this far. Boston College, Michigan State and Maine all were eliminated in regional play.
In terms of NHL talent, a combined 38 players have been drafted from the Frozen Four teams. BU leads the way with 14, Denver has 13, Western Michigan eight and Penn State three.
Below is a look at what needs to go right for each team to win the national title, with insight from ESPN college hockey analysts Colby Cohen and Andrew Raycroft, as well as players to watch and key statistics from ESPN research.
How the Broncos got here: Western Michigan dominated Denver over the first 40 minutes, holding a 2-0 lead and 32-8 shot advantage after two periods. The defending national champs wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, as the Pioneers controlled the third period and tied the game 2-2 with 2:39 to play in regulation. After a scoreless overtime, the Broncos struck 26 seconds into double OT, with Owen Michaels roofing his second goal of the game to win it.
Regional recap: The top seed in the Fargo Regional, Western Michigan needed double overtime to beat Minnesota State 2-1, advancing on Grant Slukynsky’s goal, then beat UMass 2-1, erasing a 1-0 deficit with power-play goals by Liam Valente and Tim Washe on the same five-minute major penalty. The Broncos then had to kill off a five-minute major of their own to fend off the Minutemen.
Numbers to know: Western Michigan is playing for the national championship in its first trip to the Frozen Four.
