We have the four teams set to duke it out for the NCAA Women’s D-I Hockey Championship.
After a series of exciting regional finals on Saturday, the Cornell Big Red, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Ohio State Buckeyes and Wisconsin Badgers advanced to the Women’s Frozen Four.
The top-ranked Badgers were heavy favorites heading into the tournament. The WCHA Champions possess the three Patty Kazmaier Award finalists and four of the top five leading scorers in the country. However, things started inauspiciously in their regional final on Saturday, falling behind Clarkson in the first period. However, four unanswered goals, including a power-play marker from Laila Edwards, sent Wisconsin to a 4-1 win.
The Badgers, heading into the Frozen Four for the 11th in the last 12 tournaments, hope they can erase last year’s heartbreak and win a record eighth national championship.
The defending national champions will look to successfully defend their title for the first time in program history. The Buckeyes might’ve fallen short of playing for the WCHA crown, but their impressive regular season was good enough to give them a favorable region. They made the most of it by taking down St. Lawrence in the quarterfinals, with Joy Dunne’s three points powering the team to a 6-1 win.
Ohio State enters the Frozen Four for the fifth consecutive season and is trying to become the first repeat national champion since Clarkson won back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018.
Prior to last year, the Big Red hadn’t been to the final round of the national tournament since 2019. Now, they’ve made it to the Frozen Four in consecutive seasons. The ECAC champions received a lot of flack from Minnesota Duluth in the quarterfinals. Still, sophomore netminder Annelies Bergmann was sensational, turning away all 28 shots she faced, with Alyssa Regalado’s lucky goal being the difference in a 1-0 win.
Now, the Big Red head to Minnesota trying to advance to the championship game for the first time since 2010.
Speaking of Minnesota, the Golden Gophers were stunned last year by Clarkson in the national quarterfinals. This time, with home-ice advantage, they used the play of star forward Abbey Murphy and freshman Chloe Primerano to jump out to a 3-0 lead against Colgate. However, the Raiders rallied in the third period, cutting the deficit to one. However, thanks to a strong defensive stand, headlined by goaltender Hannah Clark, Minnesota hung on for a 3-2 win, punching their ticket to the Frozen Four for the first time in two seasons.
Minnesota won’t have to travel at all, as they are technically the hosts heading into the Frozen Four, as Minneapolis is the home of the final stage of the women’s tournament for the seventh time (fifth at Ridder Arena). The Golden Gophers have only made it to the final twice when they’ve hosted, winning it all in 2015.
The national semifinals are set for next Friday, March 21. Here are the matchups:
(4) Minnesota vs. (1) Wisconsin
(3) Cornell vs. (2) Ohio State
Official start times are TBD.