College hockey takes center ice this weekend following March Madness Final Four and alongside The Masters major golf championship. Two teams are making their first ever Frozen Four appearance, Penn State and Western Michigan. Their favored opponents are defending national champions Denver, who has won 10 Frozen Four titles and two of the last three national championships, and Boston University, who is making their third straight Frozen Four appearance and has won the national title five times.
The NCAA men’s ice hockey championship started with 16 teams and the four remaining teams all won tight, low-scoring contests last game to reach the Frozen Four at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. Both Penn State and Boston University won 3-2 overtime games. Western Michigan won their second straight 2-1 game. Denver advanced with a 3-1 win over Boston College, who the Pioneers beat 2-0 in the Frozen Four championship game last year.
Frozen Four Matchups And Odds
Ice hockey odds and futures from FanDuel Sportsbook refresh periodically and are subject to change. That includes on props and live betting. Moneyline odds listed, and all times Eastern.
Thursday, April 10
- Western Michigan Broncos (+104) vs. Denver Pioneers (-136) | Total: 5.5 | 5:00 p.m. | ESPN2
- Penn State Nittany Lions (+130) vs. Boston University Terriers (-176) | Total: 6.5 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN2
Saturday, April 12
- Championship Game | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN2
All Frozen Four games are also streamed on ESPN+. Canadian fans can find the broadcasts on TSN2 and the streams on TSN+.
NCAA Frozen Four History And 2025 Teams
Western Michigan vs. Denver
These two teams played less than three weeks ago, and Western Michigan won a thrilling 4-3 game in double overtime to capture the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship Game in St. Paul, MN and advance to the men’s hockey championship. Denver led that contest 3-0 in the third period before losing the lead and game. Pioneers defenseman Zeey Buium has been named a 2025 Hobey Baker Award Hat Trick finalist, which recognizes college hockey’s top player. He’s a first round draft pick of the NHL Minnesota Wild. Denver led the country in scoring this season averaging 4.0 goals per game with senior Jack Devine the teams leader in points with 13 goals and 44 assists. He also tops the country in points followed by teammate Aidan Thompson (20 goals, 34 assists). Denver has two other 20+ goal scorers in Sam Harris and Carter King, and the Pioneers power play is top-3 in the country converting at 30% with Boston U next.
Western Michigan was second (3.95) in scoring this season and allow the fourth fewest goals per game (2.05) in the country. Sophomore Alex Bump leads the Broncos with 24 goals and 23 assists. He’s a fifth round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers. Western Michigan’s goalie is freshman standout Hampton Slukynsky, a Los Angeles Kings prospect who has allowed just two goals (0.82 GAA) in the tournament. Te Broncos are the only team of the top-4 overall seeds to make it to the Frozen Four.
Penn State vs. Boston U
This is the first meeting between these teams and schools. Boston University has the second-worst goals against (2.9) of the four teams in the Final Four. Terriers defenseman Cole Hutson leads all college freshman in scoring with 46 points (14 goals). He’s second on the team in scoring behind his brother, junior forward Quinn Hutson (23 goals, 27 assists), who had the overtime goal against Cornell to advance here. Their brother is 21-year-old Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson. Freshman forward Cole Eiserman (23 goals) is 2024 first round draft pick of the New York Islanders.
Penn State has one 20 goal scorer in forward Aiden Fink (23 goals, 30 assists), who has the most points of any underclassman nationally. Freshman Charlie Cerrato has 15 goals and 27 assists. The Nittany Lions 3.0 goals against is the worst of the four teams and just ahead of Boston U (2.9). Penn State started 0-8-1 in Big Ten play before a remarkable turnaround that has gotten them to the Frozen Four.
Overall, a combined 38 players have been drafted from the Frozen Four teams. BU (14) and Denver (13) top the list followed by Western Michigan (8) and Penn State (3).
FanDuel Sportsbook odds to win the national championship
- +200: Denver
- +220: Western Michigan
- +240: Boston University
- +400: Penn State
FanDuel also allows bettors to wager on the exact outcome with bettor odds.
- +480: Denver to beat Boston U
- +500: Western Michigan to beat Boston U
- +550: Boston U to beat Denver
- +600: Boston U to beat Western Michigan
While the one-game elimination format has already taken out some top teams in the tournament, the Denver-Western Michigan winner is the likely national champion. However, odds are strong that Boston U will be the opponent, and the Hutson brothers along with Eiserman will make it a higher-scoring championship game if the opponent is defending champion Denver.
You can bet on it.
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