There are eight teams meeting on Saturday with hopes of reaching the Frozen Four next week. Here, we’ll preview two of the games on Saturday’s slate and give you each team’s rundown in the conference and NCAA playoffs so far. Plus, we’ll look at some standout players and interesting stats as well.
Quinnipiac (ECAC) vs. Wisconsin (WCHA), 2 P.M. ET
The last time Wisconsin and Quinnipiac met was in the 2022-23 season. The Badgers’ record against the Bobcats all time is 8-1-1. The two teams will fight for a spot in the Frozen Four on Saturday afternoon.
Wisconsin
Last year’s national champions are ready to defend their title when they open their run of the NCAA playoffs against Quinnipiac on Saturday. The Badgers’ journey to the tournament did have some hiccups along the way including a whacky game against Bemidji State, an offensive showing against the MSU Mavericks, and another loss at the hands of Ohio State.
Wisconsin ended the regular season with a 32-4-2 record, won the WCHA regular season title for the second year in a row, and fought for the conference championship once again.
They began their conference playoffs with a sweep of the Beavers which included a game two that tested the resilience of the Badgers squad through an easily surrendered goal, goals getting called back, and extra hockey in overtime. They then faced the Mavericks in a one game semifinal tilt that saw the Badgers find the back of the net seven times. It was a tighter game in the WCHA title game against the Buckeyes where Wisconsin ultimately fell 2-1.
Still, Wisconsin has five Olympians on their squad including gold medalist Laila Edwards, who finished this season with 41 points and 20 blocks. They have Patty Kaz Award top three finalist Caroline “KK” Harvey. She finished second on the team in points with 61 points, six powerplay goals, and 25 blocks.
Scoring champion Lacey Eden who went on a tear the new calendar year scoring 39 of her 73 points after the new calendar year, also added six powerplay goals and two shorthanded goals. On top of all offense, Eden also recorded 30 blocks. That’s the thing with this Badgers team, while they are offensively talented, they also step up defensively which helps limit their opponents chances of scoring. That’s one of the reasons why the team only gave up 55 goals all season while scoring 200 of their own.
Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac won the ECAC conference title for the first time in 10 years last week after defeating Yale 5-1. Ella Johnson scored two goals in that game while goaltender Felicia Frank earned her 28th win after making 30 saves.
Frank entered the NCAA playoffs with a .942 save percentage, good for fifth in the nation. She followed up that great showing with a shutout on Thursday against Franklin Pierce. The Sweden native stopped all 29 shots she faced while her teammates finished with 53. This was Frank’s 10th shutout of the season as she also broke the single-season record for saves in program history.
Another Bobcat to scout is Kahlen Lamarche. The Junior forward recorded a hat trick in QU’s conference semifinal game against Brown earlier this month. The Ontario, Canada native entered the playoffs with 64 points, 42 of which were goals. Lamarche ranks second in the nation in goals per game scoring at a 1.08 average. She is only one of two players in the entire NCAA to average more than one goal per game. She also averages 1.56 points per game which was noticeable on Thursday when she recorded two points off two assists. Lamarche also has eight game winning goals so far. That’s good for the best in the country. It feels like Lamarche is going to be due for a big goal soon though, especially against such a big opponent like the defending national champion Badgers.
Though their start in the regional semifinal against the Ravens was slow, Quinnipiac found their offensive touch in time to pull off a notable win. That should set them up for success against Wisconsin.
The Bobcats and Badgers are in for a fun tilt on Saturday given their talent.
UConn (HE) vs. Penn State (AHA), 2 P.M. ET
These two teams faced each other early in the 2024-25 season where they split the series. Now, they’ll meet again in the playoffs with hopes of reaching the Frozen Four.
Penn State
The Nittany Lions won their fourth straight AHA conference championship last week against Mercyhurst. They pulled off a 4-2 win to claim another title. That win allowed them to host a regional for the first time in program history. While the Nittany Lions had the offense, goaltender Katie DeSa made 29 saves to keep the defense in check and allowed only two goals late in the game. The AHA Goaltender of the Year now has the most wins in program history with 32.
Gold medalist and Patty Kaz Award finalist, Tessa Janecke returned from the Winter Games and didn’t miss a beat. In her first game back she scored a hat trick in the team’s first semifinal game against Syracuse. She finished the AHA conference playoffs recording five points in three games. If UConn wants to be successful, they are going to have to find a way to limit Janecke at least.
And that’s because a lot of Penn State’s squad is capable of being game changers such as fellow Olympian Matilde Fantin who recorded four points in the AHA playoffs. AHA scoring champion Grace Outwater and Katelyn Roberts and even defenders Kendall Butze, the AHA Best Defenseman and AHA Rookie of the Year Danica Maynard are also great at scoring goals and dishing out assists. What is going to be a big difference maker for the Nittany Lions is finding ways to score on such a strong goalie like UConn’s Tia Chan.
UConn
UConn won the Hockey East title after a thrilling game winning goal by captain Kyla Josifovic in double overtime for the 2-1 win. Chan made a career high 57 saves and allowed only one goal. It was her 26th win of the season. The Huskies were stellar in the faceoff circle winning 48 of the 83 draws and blocking a season high 39 shots
The goaltending and defense helped them earn their first NCAA tournament win on Thursday when they beat out Princeton, 4-1. The Huskies were hampered in the first period where they were only able to record five shots on goal and yet ended that period with a 1-0 lead.
While Chan held down the fort and allowed only one goal on 41 shots faced, it was Josifovic who had a standout performance once again. The senior forward tallied two goals and added on six of the team’s 10 blocks against the Tigers.
This game has all the makings of a goalie duel when you look at both goaltenders. DeSa has 11 shutouts which leads the country. She also has a .935 save percentage and a 1.32 goals against average that is second in all the NCAA. Chan on the other hand has the third best save percentage in the nation with a .950 and a goals against average of 1.53. It will be fun to see which goalie gives up the first goal in Saturday’s contest.
Make sure to check out part one of the previews for the other two games on Saturday as well.
All games will stream on ESPN+.
UConn vs. Penn State at 2 P.M. ET
Quinnipiac vs. Wisconsin at 2 P.M. ET
Northeastern vs. Minnesota at 3 P.M. ET
Yale vs. Ohio State at 6 P.M. ET
