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NCAA women's ice hockey tournament

(Redirected from 2025 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey tournament)

The annual NCAA women's ice hockey tournament—officially known as the National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship—is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the top women's team in the NCAA.

NCAA women's ice hockey tournament
SportCollege ice hockey
Number of teams11
FormatSingle-elimination tournament
Current stadiumWhittemore Center
Current locationDurham, New Hampshire
Played2001–present
Last contest2024
Current championOhio State Buckeyes (2)
Most championshipsWisconsin Badgers (7)
TV partner(s)ESPNU
Official websitencaa.com/sports/icehockey-women/nc

Unlike most NCAA sports, women's ice hockey uses a modified version of the National Collegiate championship format, which means Division I and Division II teams compete against each other in the same tournament.

Origins

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The NCAA championship of women's ice hockey began in 2001, although several universities had had women's teams established since the early 1970s.

In 1965, the first collegiate women's ice hockey team in the United States was created at Brown University. In February 1966, the team, named the "Pembroke Pandas", played its first match. Their opponents were the Walpole Brooms, a non-collegiate team. The women's ice hockey program of Cornell University began in 1971. The Big Red team competed in its first match in 1972, which it won 4–3, against Scarborough. In 1972, they played eight matches and lost half, including two defeats against the Pembroke Pandas. Yale University made its debut in women's hockey on December 9, 1975. The University of Minnesota Duluth, the University of New Hampshire, and the rest of the Ivy League schools have similar histories.[1]

In 1976, Brown University would host the first ever Ivy League women's ice hockey tournament. Competitors in the tournament included Princeton, Yale, and Cornell, which won the tournament. Women's ice hockey continued growth and acceptance continued through the early 1980s.[1] In 1984, the Providence Friars won the inaugural ECAC women's ice hockey championship.

In the 1997–98 season, the American Women's College Hockey Alliance (AWCHA) made its debut. It was financed by the United States Olympic Committee.[2] This allowed for the first national women's ice hockey championship to occur, which was won by New Hampshire. The 1997–98 season also saw the creation of the Patty Kazmaier Award, designed to recognize the most remarkable women's collegiate ice hockey player every season. The AWCHA also conducted championships in 1999 and 2000, which were won by Harvard and Minnesota respectively.

During the 1999–2000 season, WCHA joined the ECAC in an attempt to make women's ice hockey an NCAA sanctioned sport. In August 2000, the NCAA announced that it would set up a national division of women's ice hockey with a national championship at the end of every season, starting with the 2000–01 season. The Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs won the inaugural tournament defeating the St. Lawrence Skating Saints 4–2 in the championship game.

NCAA Division I women's ice hockey

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Main article: NCAA Division I women's hockey conferences and teams

In all, 44 schools in the United States, ranging from the Midwest to the East Coast, sponsor varsity women's hockey at the National Collegiate (Divisions I and II) level. Five National Collegiate conferences are currently recognized by the NCAA—Atlantic Hockey America, ECAC Hockey, Hockey East, New England Women's Hockey Alliance, and the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

Format

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Under NCAA rules, Division II schools are allowed to compete as Division I members in sports in which a D-II championship is not contested.[3][4] As there is no Division II championship for women's ice hockey, this rule applies to the tournament. The official name of the "Division I" tournament is the National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship, which reflects the NCAA's formal terminology for championship events that are open to schools from multiple divisions.

This tournament is a single elimination competition of eleven teams. The semi-finals and finals are called the "Women's Frozen Four." This moniker is similar to the name used by the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship. The term is derived from the term "Final four."

The Patty Kazmaier Award ceremony takes place annually during Women's Frozen Four weekend.

History

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Although many schools from many conferences have been competitive, the first 13 championships were won by only three different schools all originating from the WCHA: Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. In 2014, the WCHA's hold on the championship was finally broken when Clarkson defeated Minnesota. In 2022, Ohio State won the national championship, making them the 4th WCHA team to win. The ECAC, from which Clarkson originated, has easily been the second most competitive conference, with eleven appearances in ten national title games, including the first five games. Hockey East has had four title game appearances, twice by Boston University and once each by Boston College and Northeastern. Atlantic Hockey America will play its first season in 2024–25; its women's predecessor, CHA, had one title game appearance, by Mercyhurst in 2009. The 2020 championship was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5][6][7]

Year Champion Coach Score Runner-up Coach City Arena
2001 Minnesota Duluth Shannon Miller 4–2 St. Lawrence Paul Flanagan Minneapolis, MN Mariucci Arena
2002 Minnesota Duluth (2) Shannon Miller 3–2 Brown Digit Murphy Durham, NH Whittemore Center
2003 Minnesota Duluth (3) Shannon Miller 4–3 (2OT) Harvard Katey Stone Duluth, MN DECC Arena
2004 Minnesota Laura Halldorson 6–2 Harvard Katey Stone Providence, RI Dunkin' Donuts Center
2005 Minnesota (2) Laura Halldorson 4–3 Harvard Katey Stone Durham, NH Whittemore Center
2006 Wisconsin Mark Johnson 3–0 Minnesota Laura Halldorson Minneapolis, MN Mariucci Arena
2007 Wisconsin (2) Mark Johnson 4–1 Minnesota Duluth Shannon Miller Lake Placid, NY Herb Brooks Arena
2008 Minnesota Duluth (4) Shannon Miller 4–0 Wisconsin Mark Johnson Duluth, MN DECC Arena
2009 Wisconsin (3) Mark Johnson 5–0 Mercyhurst Michael Sisti Boston, MA Agganis Arena
2010 Minnesota Duluth (5) Shannon Miller 3–2 (3OT) Cornell Doug Derraugh Minneapolis, MN Ridder Arena
2011 Wisconsin (4) Mark Johnson 4–1 Boston University Brian Durocher Erie, PA Erie Insurance Arena
2012 Minnesota (3) Brad Frost 4–2 Wisconsin Mark Johnson Duluth, MN AMSOIL Arena
2013 Minnesota (4) Brad Frost 6–3 Boston University Brian Durocher Minneapolis, MN Ridder Arena
2014 Clarkson Shannon & Matt Desrosiers 5–4 Minnesota Brad Frost Hamden, CT People's United Center
2015 Minnesota (5) Brad Frost 4–1 Harvard Katey Stone Minneapolis, MN Ridder Arena[8]
2016 Minnesota (6) Brad Frost 3–1 Boston College Katie King-Crowley Durham, NH Whittemore Center[8]
2017 Clarkson (2) Matt Desrosiers 3–0 Wisconsin Mark Johnson St. Charles, MO Family Arena[8]
2018 Clarkson (3) Matt Desrosiers 2–1 (OT) Colgate Greg Fargo Minneapolis, MN Ridder Arena[8]
2019 Wisconsin (5) Mark Johnson 2–0 Minnesota Brad Frost Hamden, CT People's United Center[9]
2020 Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic Boston, MA Agganis Arena[9]
2021 Wisconsin (6) Mark Johnson 2–1 (OT) Northeastern Dave Flint Erie, PA Erie Insurance Arena[9]
2022 Ohio State Nadine Muzerall 3–2 Minnesota Duluth Maura Crowell State College, PA Pegula Ice Arena[9]
2023 Wisconsin (7) Mark Johnson 1–0 Ohio State Nadine Muzerall Duluth, MN AMSOIL Arena[10]
2024 Ohio State (2) Nadine Muzerall 1–0 Wisconsin Mark Johnson Durham, NH Whittemore Center[10]
2025 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD Minneapolis, MN Ridder Arena[10]
2026 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD State College, PA Pegula Ice Arena[10]
2027 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD Duluth, MN AMSOIL Arena[11]
2028 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD Fairfield, CT Martire Family Arena[11]

Team titles

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Minnesota
 
Wisconsin
 
Minnesota Duluth
 
Clarkson
 
Ohio State
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Schools that have won the NCAA Championship
  7,   6,   5,   3,   2
Team # Years
Wisconsin 7 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2019, 2021, 2023
Minnesota 6 2004, 2005, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016
Minnesota Duluth 5 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010
Clarkson 3 2014, 2017, 2018
Ohio State 2 2022, 2024

Result by school and year

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29 teams have appeared in the NCAA Tournament in at least one year starting with 2001 (the initial year that the post-season tournament was under the auspices of the NCAA). The results for all years are shown in this table below.

The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament:

  •  •  First round (did not exist until 2022)
  •  QF  Quarterfinals (did not exist until 2005)
    •  x  8 teams selected in 2020 before the tournament was canceled.
  •  F4  Frozen Four
  •  RU  National Runner-up
  •  CH  National Champion

The No. 1 overall seed in the tournament is shown with a single underline.

School Conference
as of 2024 		# F4 CG CH 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Wisconsin WCHA 18 15 11 7 QF CH CH RU CH CH RU F4 F4 F4 RU F4 CH x CH QF CH RU
Minnesota WCHA 21 15 9 6 F4 F4 CH CH RU QF F4 F4 QF CH CH RU CH CH F4 QF RU x QF F4 QF
Minnesota Duluth WCHA 15 9 7 5 CH CH CH QF QF RU CH F4 CH QF QF F4 RU QF QF
Clarkson ECAC 12 6 3 3 QF QF CH QF F4 CH CH F4 x • • F4
Ohio State WCHA 6 5 3 2 F4 x F4 CH RU CH
Harvard ECAC 12 6 4 – F4 RU RU RU QF QF F4 QF QF QF RU •
Boston University Hockey East 6 2 2 – QF RU QF RU QF QF
Boston College Hockey East 12 7 1 – F4 QF F4 F4 F4 QF F4 RU F4 QF QF QF
St. Lawrence ECAC 10 5 1 – RU F4 F4 F4 F4 QF QF QF QF QF
Mercyhurst AHA 13 4 1 – QF QF QF QF RU F4 QF QF F4 F4 QF QF x
Cornell ECAC 9 4 1 – RU F4 F4 QF QF QF F4 x QF
Northeastern Hockey East 7 3 1 – QF QF QF x RU F4 F4
Colgate ECAC 5 2 1 – RU QF QF QF F4
Brown ECAC 1 1 1 – RU
Dartmouth ECAC 8 4 – – F4 F4 F4 F4 QF QF QF QF
New Hampshire Hockey East 5 2 – – F4 QF F4 QF QF
Yale ECAC 2 1 – – F4 QF
Niagara defunct 1 1 – – F4
Princeton ECAC 4 – – – QF QF QF x
Quinnipiac ECAC 4 – – – QF QF QF QF
Providence Hockey East 2 – – – QF QF
North Dakota defunct 2 – – – QF QF
Robert Morris AHA 2 – – – QF QF
Syracuse AHA 2 – – – QF •
Penn State AHA 2 – – – • •
RIT AHA 1 – – – QF
LIU NEWHA 1 – – – •
Connecticut Hockey East 1 – – – •
Stonehill NEWHA 1 – – – •

Broadcasting

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In February 2017, the NCAA announced that it had reached a four-year deal with Big Ten Network to televise the Women's national championship game beginning in 2017, and the Frozen Four semi-finals beginning in 2018.[12]

In 2021, ESPN announced that it had acquired the rights under a multi-year deal, with ESPNU to air one semi-final and the national championship annually. The other semi-final will be carried via streaming.[13]

Year Network Play-by-play Analyst Sideline
2011 NCAA.com Jamie Smock A. J. Mleczko
2012 NCAA.com Matt Menzl A. J. Mleczko
2013 NCAA.com Will Flemming A. J. Mleczko
2014 NCAA.com Leah Secondo A. J. Mleczko
2015 NCAA.com Leah Secondo
2016 NCAA.com Scott Sudikoff
2017 BTN Dan Kelly Sonny Watrous Sara Dayley
Scott Sudikoff
2018 BTN Dan Kelly Sonny Watrous Allison Hayes
2019 BTN Chris Vosters Sonny Watrous Margaux Farrell
2021 ESPNU Clay Matvick A. J. Mleczko
2022 ESPN+ Clay Matvick A. J. Mleczko Hilary Knight
2023 ESPN+ Clay Matvick A. J. Mleczko Hilary Knight
2024 ESPNU Leah Hextall A. J. Mleczko Dana Boyle

Records and statistics

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Michael McKinley, Hockey A People's History, McClelland & Stewart ltd 2006, pp 237–238. ISBN 978-0-7710-5769-4
  2. ^ Jay, Michelle (September 12, 2017). "Women's NCAA College Hockey 101". TheIceGarden.com. The Ice Garden. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
  3. ^ "Bylaw 20.4.1.2 Divisions II and III Members—Classification of a Sport in Division I" (PDF). 2010–11 NCAA Division I Manual. NCAA. p. 333. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  4. ^ "Bylaw 20.8.2 Division II Options When No Division II Championship Is Conducted" (PDF). 2010–11 NCAA Division I Manual. NCAA. p. 338. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  5. ^ "NCAA tournament canceled". March 12, 2020.
  6. ^ "After season ends in NCAA cancellation, Badgers women's hockey team takes the ice anyway". March 13, 2020.
  7. ^ "NCAA Cancels Hockey Tournaments, Ending Top-Ranked Cornell Hockey Teams' Seasons". March 12, 2020.
  8. ^ a b c d "Boston, Tampa, Chicago, St. Paul get upcoming men's Frozen Fours". www.uscho.com. December 11, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013. Women's Frozen Fours were awarded to Minneapolis' Ridder Arena in 2015 and 2018; the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, N.H., in 2016; and the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., in 2017.
  9. ^ a b c d "2019 – 2022 Future NC NCAA Championship Sites". NCAA.com. April 18, 2017. Retrieved August 24, 2017.
  10. ^ a b c d "NCAA announces host site selections from 2022–23 to 2025–26". NCAA.com. October 19, 2020. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "NCAA announces more than 240 host site selections". NCAA.com. October 2, 2023. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  12. ^ "College hockey: Women's Frozen Four to air on Big Ten Network". NCAA.com. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
  13. ^ "ESPN picks up Women's Frozen Four rights starting this year". Awful Announcing. February 23, 2021. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
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