It's the fourth season that the NEWHA conference champion will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA women's national championship tournament. Franklin Pierce will look for their historic first win after earning top seed for the conference playoffs.
Franklin Pierce will look to make history by earning their first berth to the NCAA women's hockey national championship tournament. The top seed from NEWHA, after finishing atop the league's regular season standings, will open their NEWHA quarterfinal series February 27 against Saint Michael.
Franklin Pierce will be closely challenged by Assumption after finishing only two points ahead of the second place team. It would also be Assumption's first ever national championship appearance should they win.
Franklin Pierce swept their four game season series against Saint Michael this year shutting out the Purple Knights three times. Assumption will host Post University to open their conference playoffs, but they struggled at times against Post this season going 2-1-1.
NEWHA, which is NCAA women's hockey's newest NCAA Division I conference still lags behind the rest of the nation in competition, but since exiting the league's waiting period, the conference champion now earns an automatic entry to the NCAA national championships.
The first NEWHA team to win their way to the tournament came only three years ago when Long Island University qualified in 2023. They were followed by Stonehill (2024), and Sacred Heart (2025). No NEWHA team has ever won a game in the national tournament.
Saint Anslem's Brooklyn Schneiderhan was the conference's scoring leader this season climbing into the top 10 nationally during the Olympic break with 22 goals and 45 points in 34 games. Saint Anslem finished third in NEWHA this season and will take on Sacred Heart in their quarterfinal, best 2-of-3 series. The teams split their four game season series, and Sacred Heart brings experience to the match up as the reigning NEWHA champions.
The final series will see NEWHA's other two NCAA national championship tournament experienced teams in Stonehill and LIU face off. The Stonehill Skyhawks edged Long Island 2-1-1 in their season series.
Following the best 2-of-3 quarterfinal series', NEWHA will host their semifinal round March 4, followed by the conference championship game on March 7.
