Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Women’s Notes: 2025 Women’s NCAA Tournament
Tournament Field Features Star Power, Record-Breakers, Excitement
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 2025 NCAA Frozen Four on March 21 and 23 at the University of Minnesota’s Ridder Arena.
The entire NCAA Tournament, including Thursday and Saturday’s regional games, will be streamed on ESPN+ in the United States and TSN+ in Canada.
To see more information on the 2024-25 NCAA tournament participating teams, tournament history and general NCAA DI women’s hockey information see below:
Conference Champions:
AHA – Penn State
ECAC – Cornell
Hockey East – Boston University
NEWHA – Sacred Heart
WCHA – Wisconsin
Daily Scoreboard | Weekly Schedule | Composite Schedule | Stat Leaders | Goaltending Leaders
Must Read:
The Athletic: Top 10 finalists for 2025 Patty Kazmaier Award announced: Who made the cut?
Clean Sheet Hockey: All Roads Lead to Franklin Pierce
Daily Gazette: Union hockey had successful first season under head coach Tony Maci
The Hockey News: NCAA Tournament: Women’s Hockey Bracket Set
The Hockey News: Cornell Wins ECAC Women’s Hockey Title
The Ice Garden: New York Sirens Sign Lauren Bernard from Toronto Sceptres
NHL: Kraken, Mandrycky take center stage on International Women’s Day
NHL: NHL, NHLPA enhance ‘Women’s Hockey Advancement Committee’
PWHL: Knight, Stacy, Rooney named PWHL 3 Stars of the Week
PWHL: Weekly Notebook March 11, 2025
PWHL: A Night of Firsts and 1,000 Saves: Vasko Shines as Maschmeyer Exits in Charge Win
USCHO: Weekend Wrap March 10, 2025
USCHO: UMD’s Wallin, Maine’s Lahtinen, Cornell’s Bergmann earn HCA women’s honors for Feb. 2025
USCHO: NCAA unveils 11-team bracket for 2025 National Collegiate women’s hockey tournament
USCHO: Wozniewicz’s goal in the final minute wins WCHA Championship for Wisconsin
Must Watch & Hear:
Jocks in Jills: Trade Deadline Coming Up + Full Speed Ahead with Renata Fast
The PodKaz: Ep. 41 It’s NCAA tournament time; here’s a bracket breakdown
The Ride to the Rink: Work Hard, Be Kind & Stay Curious with Lindsay Pennal
First Things First:
Less than 10 years into their division I era, the Sacred Heart Pioneers have secured their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Pioneers defeated regular-season champion Long Island University, 4-2, to claim their second NEWHA Championship. Their last NEWHA championship was in 2018, prior to the league having an auto bid.
Goaltender Carly Greene (Sr., Minnetonka, Minn.) was named the NEWHA Tournament MVP, stopping 145 shots in four games, including 50 in the semifinal win over Saint Anselm.
The Pioneers, who finished the season 21-14-3, will face the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs on Thursday. The winner will play No. 3 seed Cornell.
Tale of the Tape:
This year’s 11-team field boasts a combined 115 NCAA Tournament appearances (incl. this season):
Tourney appearances by the field
Minnesota – 22
Wisconsin – 19
Minnesota Duluth – 16
Clarkson – 13
St. Lawrence – 11
Cornell – 10
Boston University – 7
Ohio State – 7
Colgate – 6
Penn State – 3
Sacred Heart – 1
Most NCAA titles:
Wisconsin – 7
Minnesota – 6
Minnesota Duluth – 5
Clarkson – 3
Ohio State – 2
Leaders of the Pack:
The nation’s top nine scorers this season are all competing in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, led by a Wisconsin trio that has combined for more than 210 points. The tournament features 13 of the top 15 scorers from the 2024-25 season.
Top 10 NCAA Scoring Leaders:
Casey O’Brien, Wisconsin – 83
Kirsten Simms, Wisconsin – 65
Laila Edwards, Wisconsin – 65
Abbey Murphy, Minnesota – 63
Caroline Harvey, Wisconsin – 58
Joy Dunne, Ohio State – 54
Lacey Eden, Wisconsin – 53
Tessa Janecke, Penn State – 52
Elyssa Biedermann, Colgate – 50
Issy Wunder, Princeton – 50
Nine is Prime:
This year’s national tournament will showcase nine of the 10 finalists for the 2025 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award.
The nine include forwards Abbey Murphy (Minnesota), Casey O’Brien (Wisconsin), Joy Dunne (Ohio State), Kirsten Simms (Wisconsin), Kristýna Kaltounková (Colgate), Laila Edwards (Wisconsin), Tessa Janecke (Penn State) as well as defenders Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin) and Haley Winn (Clarkson).
The winner will be announced March 22 at the NCAA Frozen Four in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Regional Breakdown:
Madison, Wisconsin (LaBahn Arena)
Clarkson and Boston University will meet Thursday with the winner advancing to face host and defending NCAA runner-up Wisconsin in the regional final … The Badgers have the nation’s top three scorers, top power play, top penalty kill and boast a 12-1-1 record against NCAA Tournament opponents this season.
Columbus, Ohio (OSU Ice Rink)
Reigning NCAA Champion and host Ohio State awaits the winner of Thursday’s first-round matchup between Penn State and St. Lawrence … Penn State finished the season 9-0-1 taking the AHA conference championship. St Lawrence is competing in its eleventh NCAA Tournament.
Ithaca, New York (Lynah Rink)
Thursday’s first-round game pits first-time NCAA Tournament qualifier Stonehill against sixteen-time participant Minnesota Duluth … The winner faces host and No. 3 seed Cornell on home ice… Sacred Heart enters the tournament leading the field in blocked shots with 521 while Minnesota Duluth ranks second in short-handed goals with seven. Cornell has only surrendered 47 goals against this season, only second to Wisconsin (42).
Minneapolis, Minnesota (Ridder Arena)
Minnesota hosts Colgate in Saturday’s regional final in a matchup of the tournament’s No. 4 and 5 seeds … Minnesota boasts the second most goals for this season with 148 while Colgate enters the tournament 8-2-0 in their last ten games.
DIII Domain:
The NCAA Division III Women’s Ice Hockey Committee has selected 12 teams for the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Eight earned automatic bids as conference champions, while four received at-large berths. First-round games begin March 15 with winners moving to quarterfinals on March 22 on campus sites. The Championship will be held March 28 & 30 at Hunt Arena in River Falls, Wisconsin. To see more details on the DIII NCAA Tournament, visit here.
Conferences and Teams Receiving Automatic Qualification (8):
- Conference of New England, Endicott
- Middle Atlantic Conference, Wilkes
- Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Augsburg
- New England Hockey Conference, Elmira
- New England Small College Athletic Conference, Amherst
- State University of New York Athletic Conference, Plattsburgh State
- United Collegiate Hockey Conference, Nazareth
- Women’s Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, St. Norbert
At-large Berths (4):
- Colby
- Gustavus Adolphus
- Middlebury
- University of Wisconsin-River Falls
Conference Awards:
Each conference has officially announced its annual winners, including Player of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goalie of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and more. See the full list of conference winners here.
Conference Players of the Year:
AHA – Tessa Janecke, Penn State
ECAC – Haley Winn, Clarkson
Hockey East – Reichen Kirchmair, Providence
NEWHA – Julia Wysocki, Post
WCHA – Casey O’Brien, Wisconsin
PWHL Note of the Week:
With less than ten games remaining in the regular season the PWHL standings are:
1. Montreal Victoire – 43 points
2. Toronto Sceptres – 36 points
3. Boston Fleet – 35 points
4. Minnesota Frost – 35 points
5. Ottawa Charge – 30 points
6. New York Sirens – 22 points
To see the full standings, games remaining and other stats, visit here.
Fries at the Bottom of the Bag:
Wisconsin junior defender Caroline Harvey (Salem, N.H.) set the school record for points by a defenseman on Friday with 131 career points … Sacred Heart senior goalie Carly Greene (Minnetonka, Minnesota) played 180 minutes in the NEWHA conference tournament with 114 saves, three wins, and two shutouts … Minnesota senior forward Abbey Murphy (Evergreen Park, Ill.) netted her 100th goal of her career on Friday against defending champs Ohio State … The Boston University Terriers punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament in a 3-2 thriller over Northeastern. The Terriers are now 6-1 all-time in Hockey East title games … Cornell defeated Colgate 5-1 to claim the ECAC conference championship, it’s the first championship since 2014 for the Big Red.
CONFERENCE WEBSITES
CHA | ECAC | Hockey East | NEWHA | WCHA
Did you know? 97% of NCAA Division I women’s hockey players earn their degree!