It will be a battle of men’s ice hockey orange gang when the ball drops for the first Frozen Four match on Thursday evening at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. The four clubs have a combined 96 images in the Frozen Four and 28 national names. The schools—Boston College, Boston University, Denver and Michigan—are arguably the four most prestigious hockey programs of the past century ( though Minnesota, which lost to BU in the playoffs, could make that claim, as well ).
The third-ranked University of Denver will skate against No. 1 in the final matches. 2 Boston University at 5 p. m. ET, followed 10th- ranked Michigan against compromise No. 1 Boston College at 8: 30 p. m. CT. The games are sold out, with resale tickets asking for as much as$ 10, 781 a seat for Saturday’s final, according to Ticketmaster. Chances are, in addition to a packed home, it’ll be a Television ratings success, too. College sports has been a hit both in the stands and on the Television.

Typical time presence for the 64 schools playing major sector men’s ice hockey hit more than 3.95 million total this year, a rise of more than 400, 000 from 2022- 23. More schools are filling more seats too, with participation hitting 77 % of capacity nationwide, up from 71 % next year—that amount equaled the 2018- 19 season, the final pre- COVID campaign, according to attendance figures from the publication USCHO.
The attendance increase is hard to pin down other than the continued expansion of college hockey and the general public’s appreciation of how good and entertaining the game is, according to Mike Snee, the executive director of College Hockey Inc., an organization supported primarily by USA Hockey with an NHL grant to promote the men’s and women’s college game. ” Certainly, renaissance seasons at schools like Maine and Wisconsin or a new program and beautiful arena at Augustana]a university in South Dakota ] contribute. However, it seems like more people, especially students, are realizing that going to a college hockey game is a fantastic way to spend a Friday or Saturday evening.
If fans ca n’t get to the arena, they’re watching more on TV too. This year’s regional finals, held two weeks ago, averaged 254, 000 viewers across all games, up 50 % from last year, according to The NHL Zone. The top four games, featuring Michigan versus archrival Michigan State, drew 569, 000 viewers on ESPN2, which was nearly 60 % higher than the comparable Michigan versus Penn State game last year, had higher ratings than the comparable 2023 games.
The 2023 NCAA Tournament match between Minnesota and Quinnipiac attracted 808, 000 viewers on ESPN, which is twice the number of viewers the year before. The past 10 championships averaged 492, 000 viewers on ESPN, according to Nielsen data. Last year’s final is near the recent peak of 899, 000 households for the 2002 final between Maine and Minnesota, according to ratings data from 1995 through 2010 compiled by BC Interruption, a Boston College sports site published by Vox Media. The lowest- rated final was 1995’s matchup between BU and Minnesota, which aired on ESPN and had just 63, 000 households tune in. This year’s games are on ESPN2 and also being streamed on ESPN+.

The apparent increase in attendance and ratings can probably be attributed to the high level of hockey currently being played at the collegiate level. College hockey is now rife with NHL talent, at least at the elite levels that the teams in this year’s Frozen Four play, compared to the 1990s and earlier, when NHL prospects would typically go right into the junior leagues to develop their game.
Except for Macklin Celebrini from BU, who has been a draft-eligible student and is likely to place first this year, who has 51 picks among them. The BC- Michigan game features six NHL first- rounders, including the Eagles ‘ Cutter Gauthier, a No. After the season’s conclusion, the Anaheim Ducks are widely anticipated to have the third pick in the draft.
With the talent comes big money too: Michigan is the biggest spender of the group —and fourth overall in the nation—with a budget of$ 4.5 million on hockey in its last disclosed fiscal year, followed by BC at$ 4.36 million, Denver at$ 4.1 and BU at$ 3.7 million.
Anthony Crupi and Eben Novy- Williams lend their support.