They say there are Three Ms in hockey in the United States.

Minnesota, Michigan, and Massachusetts.

These states have, historically, tended to produce by far the most NHL players: A combined 700 or so, more than half of all American NHLers ever.

And in a lot of ways, you could say that those states also represent the collective powers of the college hockey world, with schools from those states winning a combined 39 of 74 national championships.

All three states are represented in this year's Frozen Four for the first time since 2012, and those matchups couldn't be more historically marquee. There's the University of Michigan, the all-time co-leader with nine national titles. Then two other long-time superpowers, Boston University and Minnesota, which started racking up their five titles apiece in the 1970s, will play in the semifinals.

The only interloper, Quinnipiac, has become something of a national power itself in recent years, with eight national tournament appearances — as well as two trips to the Frozen Four — in the last 10 tournaments. Few teams have won as many games as the Bobcats in that time. But alas, they've never won the big one, and their path to their first-ever title comes against maybe the most stacked Frozen Four field in quite a while.

Let’s get into the matchups: