Cornell Hockey Heads to Loveland for 2026 NCAA Tournament Regional

Cornell University’s men’s hockey team will face Denver University in the NCAA regional semifinal in Loveland, Colorado, on Friday, March 27, at 6 p.m. EST, streamed on ESPN+. The announcement came Sunday following the NCAA’s selection of 16 teams for the 2026 Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship.

The Red, seeded third in the Loveland Regional, earned an at-large bid with a 22-10-1 record. Denver, the regional host and a No. 1 seed, will face Cornell after winning the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) championship. The other matchup in the Loveland Regional pits Western Michigan, too a No. 1 seed, against Minnesota State Mankato.

The NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee predetermined four regional sites for the 2026 tournament: Albany, Fresh York. Loveland, Colorado; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Worcester, Massachusetts. The committee prioritizes placing host teams within their home regions and avoiding intra-conference matchups when constructing the bracket.

Cornell’s placement in Loveland, rather than the closer Albany Regional, sparked some discussion among fans, given the team’s performance and potential for drawing a crowd in the Capital Region. The Albany Regional will feature No. 1 seed Michigan against Bentley, and Minnesota-Duluth versus Penn State.

The selection process began with automatic bids awarded to six conference champions: Michigan (Considerable Ten), Denver (NCHC), Dartmouth (ECAC), Minnesota State (CCHA), Merrimack (Hockey East), and Bentley (Atlantic Hockey Association). The remaining ten teams were selected at-large based on the NCAA Percentage Index (NPI).

The top four teams in the NPI received No. 1 seeds: Michigan, North Dakota, Michigan State, and Western Michigan. Providence and Minnesota-Duluth were seeded second, although Cornell, Dartmouth, Wisconsin, and Penn State earned No. 3 seeds. The final four at-large teams – Merrimack, Connecticut, and Quinnipiac – were seeded fourth.

Initial bracket construction followed a standard seeding pattern, but adjustments were necessary to avoid intra-conference clashes. A potential matchup between Dartmouth and Cornell in the Worcester Regional prompted a reshuffling, ultimately sending Cornell west to Loveland. According to Alan Wodon, managing editor of College Hockey News, the NPI differences between the third seeds were minimal, justifying the committee’s flexibility in placement. “There’s no tangible difference between them,” Wodon wrote. “I’ve said for decades…the Committee should feel free to move those teams around as logic dictates.”

The Sioux Falls Regional will see North Dakota face Merrimack, and Providence take on Quinnipiac. The Worcester Regional features Michigan State against Connecticut, and Dartmouth against Wisconsin.

The winners of each regional will advance to the Frozen Four, to be held in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena. The NCAA committee acknowledged the increasing importance of television ratings alongside attendance figures when finalizing the bracket, prioritizing bracket integrity and staggered game times for optimal viewership.