Bracket Announced for 2026 Big Ten Hockey Tournament
Pairings and seedings set for tournament which begins March 11
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference released on Friday the bracket for the 2026 Big Ten Hockey Tournament. This year’s event has a new format, shortened to two weeks with all games single-elimination. Games will continue to be hosted on campus by higher-seeded teams.
Michigan State captured the Big Ten regular season title on Thursday to claim the No. 1 seed. The 13th Big Ten Tournament begins March 11 with a single-elimination quarterfinal round. No. 2 seed Michigan (26-7-1) will host No. 7 seed Notre Dame (9-22-5), No. 3 seed Penn State (20-12-2) will entertain No. 6 seed Minnesota (11-21-3) and No. 4 seed Wisconsin (21-11-2) will host No. 5 seed Ohio State (12-20-2).
As the top-seeded team, Michigan State (25-7-2) will have a bye to the single-elimination semifinals, which are scheduled for March 14. The highest-seeded team advancing from the quarterfinals will host the second-highest advancing team, while the lowest-seeded advancing team will play at Michigan State.
The highest-seeded team remaining after the semifinals will host the single-elimination championship game on Saturday, March 21.
The quarterfinals will be streamed on B1G+ with the semifinals and championship game carried by the Big Ten Network.
The tournament champion will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
2026 BIG TEN HOCKEY TOURNAMENT QUARTERFINALS
March 11 | Single-Elimination
#7 NOTRE DAME at #2 MICHIGAN
Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, Mich.
Wednesday, March 11 — 7 p.m. ET (B1G+)
#6 MINNESOTA at #3 PENN STATE
Pegula Ice Arena, University Park, Pa.
Wednesday, March 11 — 7 p.m. ET (B1G+)
#5 OHIO STATE AT #4 WISCONSIN
Kohl Center, Madison, Wis.
Wednesday, March 11 — 8 p.m. ET (B1G+)