The NCAA women's hockey National Championships are down to the Frozen Four - Northeastern, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin. It's East versus West in the semifinals, with a potential championship rematch brewing.
The NCAA women's hockey Frozen Four is set to get underway at Pegula Ice Arena from March 20-22.
Northeastern, Penn State, Ohio State, and Wisconsin are the four remaining teams, setting up an East verses West semifinals, with the potential for a rematch of last year's NCAA final if Ohio State and Wisconsin can prevail.
Northeastern Looks For More Against Ohio State
Northeastern continues to outperform expectations upsetting Minnesota in the regional finals. The Huskies have received strong netminder from Lisa Jonsson, and clutch play from rookie Stryker Zablocki, who has emerged as not only on of the top first year player in the nation, but one of the top players, period. Northeastern's young core, including defender Alessia Baechler, have been crucial to their success, but the team's senior leaders, Jules Constantinople and Lily Shannon, have been equally valuable.
It's a significant task for Northeastern to upset the top seed Ohio State Buckeyes who are coming off a lopsided regional final win over Yale. The Buckeyes are deep at all positions and continue to get contributions from up and down their lineup. Veterans Sloane Matthews, Sara Swiderski, Brooke Disher, and Hailey MacLeod want another crack at an NCAA title before they turn pro, but they'll need underclass players including Mira Jungaker, Hilda Svensson, Jocelyn Amos, and Kaia Malachino to get their.
Ohio State is the favorite, and it's their position in the finals to lose.
Wisconsin Looks To Go Back-To-Back
The Wisconsin Badgers, led by their senior class of Caroline Harvey, Laila Edwards, Kirsten Simms, and Lacey Eden, want back-to-back NCAA national titles to close out this era for their stars. They are a powerhouse, but are not infallible. Penn State is coming up against the best team they've played this season, but are also entering better prepared than they've been all year having played a strong tune up in their win over UConn.
Penn State is going to need excellence from Katie DeSa in net, and their big guns including Tessa Janecke, to step forward. They have the pieces to remain competitive against Wisconsin, but all those pieces will need to fall into place perfectly for the Nittany Lions to beat the Badgers.
Having a raucous home crowd on hand will help.
East Versus West
With teams from Hockey East and Atlantic Hockey America remaining to challenge the top two WCHA programs, it's an East versus West Frozen Four. The WCHA has dominated NCAA play, with the ECAC having the second best depth as a conference. With top programs coming out of the other Eastern conferences to appear in the Frozen Four, it's promising for collegiate women's hockey, although the depth in the East brings programs like Northeastern and Penn State to the Frozen Four having played significantly fewer difficult games to date. In a winner takes all semifinal however, anything can happen.
Are Ohio State And Wisconsin Destined For A Rematch?
The Buckeyes and Badgers remain heavy favorites in the Frozen Four to again meet for a rematch of the WCHA final and last year's NCAA national championship game. Ohio State won the WCHA final upsetting Wisconsin to earn the top seed at the tournament, but it's Wisconsin who enters as the reigning national champions. These programs know each other well and are one of the best rivalries in college sports. If it is an Ohio State versus Wisconsin final, yet again, expect the unexpected in a game where either team can win.