College Hockey National Championship Odds: Who Will Win the NCAA Hockey championship?

We all know that March Madness begins in just a few short days. 

But, for all the puck-heads out there, the NCAA Tournament for college hockey is also just right around the corner. 

It’s a crowded field once again, headlined by a Boston College roster with multiple NCAA prospects, including Washington Capitals’ forward Ryan Leonard and projected 2025 NHL Draft number 1 pick James Hagens.

But outside of BC, there are a number of contenders all around the country vying for a trip to St. Louis, where this year’s Frozen Four and National Championship game will be hosted. 

Here’s a look at where the odds stand for the National Championship winner as of March 19. 

NCAA Hockey Championship Favorite

Boston College (+300)

BC is one of the bluest of blue bloods in college hockey. This season, they’re a formidable team, having been ranked number one in the USCHO poll, hockey’s equivalent to the AP poll, for most of the year. 

However, I’m surprised oddsmakers still have them as the favorite for this year’s championship after an embarrassing 3-1 loss at home to unranked Northeastern in the first round of the Hockey East conference tournament. 

After that loss, they fell to second place in the USCHO poll for one of the first times this season. 

BC fans have bemoaned the team’s inability to ‘win the big one’ over this recent stretch. They were defeated 2-0 in last year’s National Championship game and then lost in the championship game of the Beanpot regular season tournament to their archrival Boston University. 

Yes, the Eagles have one of the most stacked rosters of prospects, given their recruiting over recent years. They’ve plucked lines from the US National Development team and put them onto their roster, but this hasn’t necessarily translated to winning on the biggest of stages yet. 

NCAA Hockey Championship Contenders

Michigan State (+400)

Michigan State is building a case to become the new favorite for the NCAA championship. 

The Spartans are ranked first in the newly updated version of the USCHO poll after BC fell to Northeastern, and they’re still alive in their conference tournament. 

On March 15, they played Notre Dame in the semifinal, pulling off a 1-0 victory in the third period. They’ll face Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game on Saturday night. 

Junior forward Isaac Howard is red hot for the Spartans. He led the Big Ten in scoring and won conference Player of the Year honors. He’ll probably be in the mix to win the Hobey Baker Award, hockey’s equivalent to the Heisman trophy. 

We’ve already seen how the Spartans match up with Boston College after the two schools split a non-conference regular season series in East Lansing. With that history and how each team’s looked in recent weeks, it could be more of a tossup than oddsmakers would have you believe. 

Denver (+700)

The reigning champion Denver Pioneers will not be an easy out for anyone come tournament time. 

While they’re ranked just sixth in the recent edition of the USCHO poll, the program’s pedigree launches them into the conversation. Head coach David Carle is considered one of the best in the country and will likely field some offers from NHL teams after this year’s season. 

With that in mind, he may be looking at a walk-off championship win as the final piece to a resume that already includes two national titles. 

Defenseman Zeev Buium is the star of the Pioneers and a likely NHL star whenever he gets called up by the Minnesota Wild, who drafted him 12th overall in last year’s NHL Entry Draft. At only 19 years old, Buium has an incredible resume, with a National Championship, two World Junior gold medals, and a U18 World Championship golden medal in his trophy case. 

It’s not hard to picture Denver hoisting yet another National Championship trophy in St. Louis. 

Who Will Win the NCAA Hockey Championship?

These top three teams have a great chance at winning it all this year, but even outside of that, the rest of the bracket is crowded. 

Don’t discount other blue blood teams like Minnesota and Boston University, the latter of whom has made the Frozen Four in the past two seasons. But even a team like Maine, who’ll be playing in the Hockey East semifinals on Thursday, has a chance at winning their first title since 1999. 

If it weren’t for Boston College’s loss to Northeastern last weekend, it would probably be easier to pick them as the title winner, but it’s fair to doubt their championship pedigree. 

It’s a slight cop-out to pick the number-one-ranked team as the winner, but right now, I feel best about Michigan State winning the whole thing come April.