NCAA Frozen Four: Breaking Down the Finalists and NHL Prospects in 2024

The NCAA's Frozen Four tournament has a stacked group of squads with promising future NHL talent between Boston College, Boston University, Michigan and Denver.

It all comes down to this: the final four. The Frozen Four.

We have a loaded field among the NCAA semifinalists, with Boston College taking on the University of Michigan and Boston University taking on the University of Denver. Michigan played in the final and lost last season. BC was the top team in the nation this year, with BU and Denver coming in at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively.

Twelve of the nation's 14 top scorers will play in the Frozen Four. We are in for a treat with plenty of firepower, high-end prospects, and a couple of notable 2024 NHL draft-eligible talents among the players competing for a spot in the national championship game.

Here is the schedule for the Frozen Four:

Let’s examine each matchup, what each team brings to the ice and some key players before making some predictions as we prepare for the Frozen Four.

This matchup should be a wild ride. Boston College has four of the top six scorers in the nation and arguably the best goalie in college hockey in Montreal Canadiens prospect Jacob Fowler. Michigan is loaded with NHL prospects and is hungry to go all the way.

It’s been an entertaining and highly successful season for Boston College as it’s already taken home the Hockey East Championship, defeating Boston University in the process. They’ve suffered just five losses on the season, and they boast the nation's top points-getter in Will Smith (SJS) and top goal-scorer in Cutter Gauthier (ANA).

Smith, along with his former USA Hockey National Team Development Program teammates Gabe Perreault (NYR) and Ryan Leonard (WSH), have formed one of the most dangerous lines in college hockey. Smith is the playmaking savant, Perreault is the ultimate play connector, and Leonard is the downhill power element on the line.

Boston College's dominance has been amazing to watch. They’ve been able to blow out teams and pull off magical overtime wins against some of the best squads in the NCAA. They defeated the defending national champions, Quinnipiac, in an overtime thriller just to reach the Frozen Four.

For Michigan, the return trip to the Frozen Four came after a hard-fought battle with Michigan State, the top team in its regional bracket. The hated in-state rivals had faced off five times before their regional final, with MSU taking four of the five matchups, including the Big 10 Championship game one week prior. 

With a trip to the Frozen Four on the line, Michigan fought hard to get a 3-2 lead in the third period. A magical pass by Frank Nazar (CHI) resulted in a Gavin Brindley (CBJ) goal, which took the air out of the sails for MSU, and the Wolverines avenged their loss from a week prior.

After failing to reach the national title game last year, the Wolverines still have so many of the pieces that helped them get to that point. Nazar is fully healthy this season and has looked more dangerous as the season wore on. Brindley is one of the nation's most exciting players with his blend of work ethic and skill. Rutger McGroarty (WPG) has been a force for the Wolverines all season. Seamus Casey (NJD) and TJ Hughes lead a blueline that has overperformed expectations all season. This Michigan team has a boatload of talent, but injuries and inconsistencies have been its enemy all year – until it matters most.

Boston College will have to eliminate a second team from last year’s Frozen Four if it plans on reaching the national championship game. Michigan will have to continue to defy the odds and take down the nation's top teams if it wants to reach the natty. This matchup should be a ton of fun with two high-powered offenses going head to head.

This matchup features two of the top NHL draft-eligible players in college hockey.

Projected first overall pick Macklin Celebrini and BU will take on one of the best defensemen in the 2024 class, Zeev Buium, and the University of Denver. Buium will also go head-to-head with Lane Hutson (MTL) who set the modern freshman record last year for scoring from the blueline until Buium broke it this year.

Denver has been one of college hockey’s most consistent contenders over the last half decade. They won the national championship back in 2022 under coach David Carle. They also have nine players from that 2022 roster who bring plenty of championship experience. 

Denver's blueline features Zeev’s older brother Shai Buium (DET), who has been excellent throughout the NCAA playoffs, and do-it-all defenseman Sean Behrens (COL), who played on that title-winning squad.

The forward corps has plenty of star power as well, led by Hobey Baker top-10 finalist Jack Devine (FLA). Tristan Broz (PIT) has had a bounce-back season and has played his best hockey of late; he must to continue putting together solid efforts if Denver wants to get to the final. The wild card is Massimo Rizzo (PHI), the team’s most impressive forward who has been out of the lineup with an injury for a couple of months. If Rizzo finds his way into the lineup, he makes the Denver offense much more dangerous.

The path to the Frozen Four went through a familiar foe, as Denver avenged last year's loss to the University of Minnesota, sending the 2023 runners-up home. They will look to avenge the Hockey East title game loss to Boston College should they face the Terriers in the final.

Boston University will rely heavily on Celebrini, one of three players named to the Hobey Hat Trick, who finished tied for second in the nation in scoring. Hutson will be a major factor as he continues to be one of the most dynamic players in college hockey. So much of the play goes through those two players, but they certainly aren’t the only offensive threats on the team.

Jeremy Wilmer continues to prove doubters wrong and build a solid college hockey resume as he looks to earn a pro contract down the road. Quinn Hutson has been an excellent complementary player, finishing second in goals on the team while Ryan Greene (CHI) and Luke Tuch (MTL) provide some secondary scoring as well.

BU has been a force all season, and that won’t stop now. Mathieu Caron has been incredible in net as of late. Just as he has all season, he will look to be the backbone of the BU squad as it looks to generate offensive chances however it can.

Semifinals: Boston College over Michigan, Boston University over University of Denver

Final: Boston College over Boston University