2025 NCAA Women’s Hockey Tournament Preview: Everything you need to know
Postseason women’s college hockey is well underway, and we are setting up for a very entertaining NCAA D-I Women’s Hockey National Tournament.
Several of the top teams in the nation are set to duke it out over the next few weeks to see who can claim the national title, with the top players in the country trying to further establish themselves as current stars of the game.
For those unfamiliar with the women’s tournament, 11 schools make up the field, including the five conference champions — from the CHA, ECAC, Hockey East, WCHA and NEWHA – along with six at-large bids based on national PairWise rankings.
Let’s take a look at each team and some of the players in the upcoming tournament as they try to carve their path to the Frozen Four in Minneapolis.
Who’s in?
Wisconsin Badgers
Less than a year after suffering heartbreak at the hands of rival Ohio State, Wisconsin has returned hungrier than ever before. Along with posting the best record in the uber-competitive WCHA, the Badgers won the conference championship for the second year in a row.
WCHA Coach of the Year Mark Johnson’s team is stacked with talent from top to bottom. The team possesses four of the 10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award, including fifth-year forward Casey O’Brien, who leads the country with an insane 83 points. Wisconsin has four of the top five leading scorers in the NCAA, Caroline Harvey on defense and Ava McNaughton, one of the country’s top goaltenders.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Despite bowing out in the WCHA Semifinals to Minnesota, the Buckeyes are confident they have what it takes to become the first back-to-back national champions for the first time since Clarkson accomplished the feat seven years ago. The team lost much of that championship roster, with names like Cayla Barnes, Jennifer Gardiner, Hannah Bilka and Raygan Kirk joining the PWHL.
Yet, with underclass players like Joy Dunne and Jocelyn Amos leading the charge, Ohio State was good enough to earn the No. 2 seed heading into the tournament, giving the home-ice advantage for the regional round. If OSU wants to do it again, they will have to rely on their depth in order to get through the nation’s top teams.
Cornell Big Red
Who would’ve thought that, after losing reigning Patty Kazmaier winner Izzy Daniel, the Big Red would’ve become even better?
Led by an amazing young goaltender in Annelies Bergmann, and solid scoring threats such as Avi Adam and conference rookie of the year, Lindzi Avar, the Big Red managed to end Colgate’s dominance, winning the ECAC Championship for the first time since 2020, and are in a great position to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time in six years.
Even though the ECAC might not have the same clout as the WCHA does these days, Cornell is bringing in a squad that scores by committee and plays with a firm structure that can cause fits for high-powered offenses.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Even though they are coming into the tournament as the four-seed, don’t sleep on Minnesota. There’s a reason they were able to oust Ohio State in the WCHA Tournament. Led by the exceptional talent that is Abbey Murphy, a favorite to win the Patty Kaz this year, the Golden Gophers have the group that can advance to the Frozen Four, which is being held at Ridder Arena, for the first time in two years.
Murphy has just been on a tear this year, leading many to believe she could be the No. 1 pick in this year’s PWHL Draft if she doesn’t choose to stay for a fifth year. The senior forward is fourth in the country in scoring with 63 points and has been complimented by players such as Ella Huber and Peyton Hemp on their way back to the tournament.
Colgate Raiders
For a team that lost its head coach this past summer, its star scoring threat and its No. 1 goaltender, Colgate has been having an exceptional year and was one victory away from hosting a regional.
Yet, the Raiders’ loss to Cornell ended a run of four straight ECAC titles, but under first-year head coach Stefan Decosse, Colgate is still a very good team with a lot to be worried about if you’re the opposition. With Danielle Serdachny gone, fifth-year forward Krystyna Kaltounkova and junior Elyssa Biederman have more than picked up the slack, with Kaltounkova being named as a top-10 Patty Kazmaier finalist.
With Kayle Osborne joining Greg Fargo and the New York Sirens, senior Hannah Murphy has been great between the pipes and was only second in the conference behind Bergmann. Yet, it’s going to be a more challenging path to the Frozen Four, having to go up against Minnesota in the quarterfinals.
Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs
If there was a team outside the top four that I believe can advance to the Frozen Four, it’s Duluth.
The Bulldogs lost a tough one to Wisconsin in the WCHA Semifinals last week, showing that they can hang with the top teams in the nation. Heck, the team started the year by sweeping Ohio State in Columbus. Along with having exceptional veterans such as Olivia Wallin and Clara Van Wieren, UMD has a rising star in freshman Caitlin Kraemer and one of the top netminders in the NCAA in sophomore Eve Gascon, who is one of the three nominees for national goaltender of the year.
Minnesota-Duluth’s downside is its lack of overall depth, but in such a short tournament like this, if the big names can step up and Gascon stands on her head, the team is more than capable of advancing to the Frozen Four for the first time since 2022.
Penn State Nittany Lions
For the Nittany Lions, it is another kick at the can heading into the first round, but one can argue that this team is more confident than they were heading into last year’s tournament.
The class of the rebranded Atlantic Hockey America won the conference championship for a third straight season, losing only once in AHA action this year.
Everyone is watching Tessa Janecke (more on her later), but it’s not like it’s her and a band of merry players. Katelyn Roberts and Maddy Christian have been heavy contributors offensively, while Kendall Butze won the AHA’s Molly Byrne Best Defenseman Award. Not to mention, junior Katie Desa was named the league’s best netminder.
The Nittany Lions are trying to become the first AHA (formerly known as College Hockey America) team to win a game in the NCAA Tournament since Mercyhurst made a shocking run to the semifinals in 2014.
Clarkson Golden Knights
The very competitive ECAC is well-represented in this tournament, and one of the teams that didn’t necessarily fare well in the conference tournament but made it here is Clarkson.
The Golden Knights enter the tournament for the fourth year in a row after falling to Cornell in a wild three-overtime classic in the ECAC Semifinals. Yet, despite being relegated to playing the first round this year, Clarkson has to feel good about their chances heading into this weekend, despite being placed in Wisconsin’s region.
It all starts with ECAC Player and Defender of the Year Hayley Winn. A very dynamic player that contributes at both ends of the ice. Then, you have a couple of fifth-years in Anne Cherkowski and Nicole Gosling who can be difference-makers.
St. Lawrence Saints
The Saints were one win away from advancing to the ECAC title game but were taken down by Colgate in the semis. However, their performance throughout the season was good enough to send St. Lawrence to the national tournament for the second straight year.
While players such as Sarah Marchand and Aly McLeod have been key contributors on the offensive end for SLU, senior forward Abby Hustler has lived up to her namesake against this year. While she was a little off the pace that led her to scoring 55 points as a junior, the Maritimer was the Saints’ leading scorer, and will be a critical player if the team wants to by both Penn State and Ohio State and into the Frozen Four.
Boston University Terriers
The last time the Terriers made it to the national tournament, Marie-Philip Poulin was establishing herself as one of the stars of the game. However, over the past decade, BU has struggled against some of the best in its conference.
That changed this year when second-year head coach Tara Watchorn guided this gutsy group through the program’s best regular season since the pandemic, turning things up in the playoffs. The Cardiac Terriers won all three HEA Tournament games in overtime, including against rivals Boston College and Northeastern, to win the team’s first conference title since 2015.
This team relies on timely scoring and stout defense, led by First-Team All-Star Tamara Giaquinto on defense, with goaltender Callie Shanahan putting up some big performances throughout the year.
Sacred Heart Pioneers
It’s the third year in a row where NEWHA has been granted an automatic bid into the tournament. While Long Island and Stonehill have been unable to pull off upsets in their tries in the national tournament, Sacred Heart is going to give it a whirl for the first time in program history.
The Pioneers knocked off LIU in the conference championship and now prepare for a tough first-round matchup against Duluth. If SHU wants to put up a fight, they will need Second-Team All-NEWHA forward Isabella Chaput to be a force offensively. She was the only player on the Sacred Heart roster to reach double digits in goals this year. Freshman Ella Holm made an immediate impact with the Pios this year and was named to the NEWHA All-Rookie Team.
Players to Watch
Laila Edwards (Jr., F, Wisconsin)
While she might be on her way to playing defense for Team USA at the upcoming IIHF Women’s World Championship, Laila Edwards is just an absolute unit offensively. The junior finished tied for second in the country in scoring behind teammate O’Brien, finishing second in the NCAA in goals behind Minnesota’s Murphy.
Tessa Janecke (Jr., F, Penn State)
While people scoff at the level of competition in the AHA, Janecke proves that her game goes well beyond her surroundings. Another Patty Kaz nominee and U.S. National Team member, Janecke ended up with 52 points in 37 games, good for the most in the conference and eighth in the NCAA.
Hayley Winn (Sr., D, Clarkson)
An all-around excellent player and an unquestionable first-round pick in this year’s PWHL Draft, Winn has been a huge part of Clarkson’s success over the past couple of years. This season, her 45 points were second in NCAA defensive scoring and fifth among ECAC skaters.
Joy Dunne (So., F, Ohio State)
With so much talent moving on from the program after last year’s run to the championship, Dunne has managed to lead this “new-look” Buckeyes team, giving everyone the feel that they could do it again. The second-year forward posted 54 points for OSU, placing her sixth in the nation in scoring.
Annelies Bergmann (So., G, Cornell)
If Cornell wants to break the recent dominance by the WCHA, they will need its goaltender to stand on its head. Bergmann burst onto the scene with Team Canada at the IIHF Under-18 World Championships a couple of years ago and quickly established herself as one of the top backstops in the country. She is tied for the most shutouts in college hockey (9), and is fourth in wins (24) and goals-against average (1.32).
First-round matchups (March 13)
(12) Sacred Heart vs. (5) Minnesota-Duluth (7 p.m. ET)
(10) St. Lawrence vs. (7) Penn State (7 p.m. ET)
(11) Boston University vs. (6) Clarkson (8 p.m. ET)
Quarterfinal matchups (March 15)
(5) Colgate vs. (4) Minnesota (2 p.m. ET)
Clarkson/Boston U. vs. (1) Wisconsin (3 p.m. ET)
Minnesota-Duluth/Sacred Heart vs. (3) Cornell (4 p.m. ET)
Penn State/St. Lawrence vs. (2) Ohio State (6 p.m. ET)
For the full tournament schedule, click here