The 2024 NCAA Division I Women’s Hockey Tournament is here.
Eleven teams remain alive in the quest for a national championship, and it all begins Thursday with a trio of first-round regional matchups.
The four winners from each regional bracket will advance to the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four on March 22 and 24 at the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore Center Arena in Durham.
Both NCAA Frozen Four semifinal matchups will air live on ESPN+ in the United States and on TSN+ in Canada. This year’s national championship game will air on ESPNU in the United States and on TSN+ in Canada.
Wisconsin is the defending NCAA champion while Ohio State, last year’s national runner-up, enters the 2024 tournament as the No. 1 seed.
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Must Read:
Boston Globe: In its second year in Division I, Stonehill achieves a big first: an NCAA Tournament berth
Duluth News Tribune: NCAA tournament becoming ‘a foregone conclusion’ for UMD
ESPN: Women’s Frozen Four 2024: Schedule, top players, how to watch
The Ice Garden: NCAA Roundup: Regionals first round preview edition
Mankato Free Press: Dickerman named MSU women’s hockey coach after Harrington retires
Minneapolis Star Tribune: Gophers women’s hockey will play at Clarkson to open NCAA Tournament
The Hockey News: PWHL Draft prospects to watch at the NCAA national tournament
The Rink Live: 11 teams prepare for NCAA women’s hockey regional tournaments
USCHO: Weekend wrap (March 11)
Must Hear:
Bulldog Insider: ‘MK’ cracks open the Northeast pipeline to UMD
Champs App Podcast: Featuring College Hockey Inc. Director of Women’s Hockey Sadie Lundquist
Inside College Hockey America: Featuring Mercyhurst F Sara Boucher and Penn State F Julie Gough
Inside ECAC Hockey: Featuring Clarkson senior G Michelle Pasiechnyk
Inside Hockey East: Women’s championship edition
Inside the NEWHA: NCAA Tournament Preview with Stonehill Head Coach Lee-J Mirasolo
The PodKaz: Looking ahead to the NCAA Tournament with new Minnesota State coach Shari Dickerman
First Things First:
Both UConn and Stonehill are making their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
UConn (25-7-5) captured both the Hockey East regular-season and playoff championships and has lost just once in the last 18 games (14-1-3). The Huskies will face Minnesota Duluth in a first-round regional matchup Thursday in Columbus, Ohio.
Stonehill (21-15-2) – in just its second year as an NCAA Division I women’s hockey program – secured its automatic bid with a pair of 3-2 overtime victories in the NEWHA Tournament, including a defeat of Franklin Pierce in the conference championship game. The Skyhawks will square off against Cornell in the opening round Thursday.
Tale of the Tape:
This year’s 11-team field boasts a combined 100 NCAA Tournament appearances (incl. this season):
Tourney appearances by the field
Minnesota – 21
Wisconsin – 18
Minnesota Duluth – 15
Clarkson – 12
St. Lawrence – 10
Cornell – 9
Ohio State – 6
Colgate – 5
Penn State – 2
Stonehill, UConn – 1
Defending NCAA champion Wisconsin, which defeated WCHA rival Ohio State in last year’s national title game, boasts the most national titles in NCAA Division I women’s hockey:
Most NCAA titles
Wisconsin – 7
Minnesota – 6
Minnesota Duluth – 5
Clarkson – 3
Ohio State – 1
Leaders of the Pack:
The nation’s top 10 scorers this season – in fact, the nation’s top 14 scorers – are all competing in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, led by a Wisconsin trio that’s combined for more than 200 points:
Top 10 NCAA scoring leaders
71 – Kirsten Simms (So.), Wisconsin
69 – Casey O’Brien (Sr.), Wisconsin
61 – Britta Curl (Gr.), Wisconsin
61 – Danielle Serdachny (Gr.), Colgate
60 – Abbey Murphy (Jr.), Minnesota
56 – Lacey Eden (Sr.), Wisconsin
55 – Abby Hustler (Jr.), St. Lawrence
55 – Kristýna Kaltounková (Sr.), Colgate
55 – Izzy Daniel (Gr.), Cornell
53 – Tessa Janecke (So.), Penn State
Elite Eight:
This year’s national tournament will also showcase eight of the 10 finalists for the 2024 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
The eight include forwards Izzy Daniel (Cornell), Abby Hustler (St. Lawrence), Tessa Janecke (Penn State), Abbey Murphy (Minnesota), Casey O’Brien (Wisconsin), Danielle Serdachny (Colgate), and Kirsten Simms (Wisconsin), as well as defender Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin).
The winner will be announced March 23 at the NCAA Frozen Four in Durham, New Hampshire.
Skyhawks Soaring:
Stonehill enters Thursday’s first-round matchup against Cornell having won eight games in a row, the longest active winning streak of any team in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
UConn, Wisconsin and Colgate are tied for second with active five-game winning streaks.
ADDITIONAL NOTES BY REGION
Columbus, Ohio (OSU Ice Rink)
Top-seeded and host Ohio State awaits the winner of Thursday’s first-round matchup between Minnesota Duluth and UConn … UConn (.950) and UMD (.948) rank first and third, respectively, in the NCAA in team save percentage … OSU’s Raygan Kirk (Gr., Ste. Anne, Manitoba) and UConn’s Tia Chan (Sr., Hamilton, Ontario) are tied with Clarkson’s Michelle Pasiechnyk (Sr., Ottawa, Ontario) for the NCAA lead in shutouts with eight each … OSU is tied for second nationally in shooting percentage (12.2).
Madison, Wisconsin (LaBahn Arena)
St. Lawrence and Penn State will meet Thursday with the winner advancing to face host and defending NCAA champ Wisconsin in the regional final … The Badgers have won all six of their previous NCAA games at LaBahn Arena with a scoring margin of 28-2 … UW (31.6%) and St. Lawrence (31.4%) rank 3-4 in the national power-play rankings … PSU (1,266) and (1,237) UW rank 1-2 in faceoff wins … The Nittany Lions have won a nation’s-best 58.9 percent of their draws.
Hamilton, New York (Class of 1965 Arena)
Thursday’s first-round game pits first-time NCAA Tournament qualifier Stonehill against nine-time participant Cornell … The winner faces host and No. 3 seed Colgate … Colgate’s power play has struck an NCAA-leading 46 times this season and ranks second nationally in efficiency (35.9%) … Stonehill boasts the nation’s fourth-best faceoff team (55.8%) … Cornell’s seven short-handed goals are tied with Ohio State and Wisconsin for the most among the tourney field.
Potsdam, New York (Cheel Arena)
Clarkson will host Minnesota in Saturday’s regional final in a matchup of the tournament’s No. 4 and 5 seeds … The matchup pits Minnesota’s No. 1-ranked power play (37.0%) against Clarkson’s top-ranked penalty kill (91.8%) … The Golden Knights have yielded just 45 goals against this season, the fewest in the nation.
Notebook Quotebook:
“They are a bunch of believers, and I am so fortunate to coach this group. They did this. They earned this.”
-- Stonehill Head Coach Lee-J Mirasolo (Boston College 08) after the Skyhawks defeated Franklin Pierce 3-2 in the NEWHA championship game to earn the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth (source: StonehillSkyhawks.com)
PWHL Note of the Week:
Ottawa F Kateřina Mrázová (Minnesota Duluth, 2013-18) is currently enjoying a six-game point streak, tied for the longest in the PWHL this season. She dished out three assists in her most recent contest, a 4-2 road win at Montreal, and now has 13 points in 16 games on the year. Mrázová spent four seasons at Minnesota Duluth and produced 25 goals and 50 assists over her 117 collegiate games.
Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:
Penn State sophomore G Katie DeSa (Pawcatuck, Conn.) registered a shutout in two of her three CHA Tournament wins … Wisconsin’s Kirsten Simms (So., Plymouth, Mich.) is the first Badger to hit the 30-goal mark since 2011-12 … Colgate became only the second team in league history to win four straight ECAC playoff championships … Izzy Daniel’s (Gr., Minneapolis, Minn.) 35 assists are three away from tying Cornell’s single-season school record … Minnesota’s Josefin Bouveng (So., Vassunda, Sweden) has racked up 12 points over her last four games.
Conference Champions (playoffs):
College Hockey America – Penn State
ECAC Hockey – Colgate
Hockey East – UConn
NEWHA – Stonehill
WCHA – Wisconsin
Conference Champions (reg. season):
College Hockey America – Penn State
ECAC Hockey – Colgate
Hockey East – UConn
NEWHA – Long Island
WCHA – Ohio State
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Did you know? 98% of NCAA Division I women’s hockey players earn their degree!