Happy Friday! I’m Eli Fastiff from The Ice Garden, and I’m so excited to talk about the Frozen Four, which starts today. For those of you who may be new to college hockey, the Frozen Four is the final weekend of the NCAA tournament, where three games are played (two semifinals and the national championship) and the Patty Kazmaier Award winner is named.
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This year, the tournament is hosted by Penn State at Pegula Ice Arena. I’ll give a quick overview of some of the key storylines heading into the weekend, but I can’t recommend checking out TIG’s weekend preview enough. The semifinal games will be played later today and can be streamed on ESPN+, with the championship taking place Sunday at 4 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU.
Semifinal 1: No. 1 Ohio State versus No. 5 Northeastern
On paper, Ohio State is the best team in college hockey. The Buckeyes own the best record, 35-4-0, as well as a nine game winning streak and two weeks ago they took down Wisconsin to claim the WCHA championship.
Ohio State is an all around great team. In net, Hailey MacLeod has allowed one or fewer goals in seven of her last eight games, including an NCAA tournament win over Yale. Offensively, 10 Buckeyes have tallied 20-plus points this season, paced by freshman Hilda Svensson’s 50.
Hoping to pull off an upset are the Northeastern Huskies, who downed No. 4 Minnesota to advance to the Frozen Four this year for the fourth time in school history. Led by freshman forward Stryker Zablocki — Hockey East Player of the Year and owner of the best name in college hockey — and netminder Lisa Jönsson, Northeastern is looking to avenge a 2023 semifinals loss at the hands of the Buckeyes.
Semifinal 2: No. 2 Wisconsin versus No. 3 Penn State
It’s the defending national champions squaring off against the weekend hosts. Wisconsin spent most of the year ranked No. 1 in the country, and despite falling to Ohio State in the WCHA title game, the Badgers blew by ECAC champion Quinnipiac 6-0 to return to the Frozen Four.
Wisconsin arguably possesses the best roster in college hockey. Olympic stars Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey combine with Kirsten Simms and NCAA points leader Lacey Eden to form the best offense in the nation. On the other end of the ice, reigning National Goaltender of the Year Ava McNaughton allows a Division I best 1.27 goals per game.
However, Penn State will present a difficult challenge. The Nittany Lions dominated their (somewhat weak) conference, en route to a fourth consecutive Atlantic Hockey America title. While Olympic gold medalist Tessa Janecke — who averages over a point and a half per game — is certainly a force to be reckoned with, the biggest story line of the season for Penn State has been its goaltender Katie DeSa, who talked to the Ice Garden this past week.
Key Storylines:
Can the Huskies or Nittany Lions break up Wisconsin and Ohio State’s grip on the championship game?
The past five NCAA title games have been the Badgers versus the Buckeyes, with Wisconsin taking three of the five matchups. However, both Penn State and Northeastern have the goaltending, scoring depth and playmakers to take down the midwestern powerhouses.
Who will win the Patty Kazmaier Award?
On Saturday, the NCAA will unveil the winner of its player of the year award. The three finalists, Harvey, Janecke, and Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy, all have solid arguments as to why they should win. Harvey leads the nation in assists per game and sits second in points per game, right behind Murphy. While Janecke’s numbers are not quite as impressive, the senior was named AHA Player and Forward of the Year for a second straight year.
More Hockey News:
TIG: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! The 2026 PWHL Playoff Race: Part One
Geremy has a phenomenal four-article series on the state of the PWHL playoff race, a great read for both experienced fans and those new to professional women’s hockey.
TIG: 2026 NCAA Regional Final Recap, Part One and 2026 NCAA Regional Final Recap, Part Two
Want to know more about what went down in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament? TIG has you covered!
TIG: PWHL Walter Cup Finals to air on ION in USA
For the first time in the PWHL’s young history, the Walter Cup Finals will be broadcast on linear television in the United States. Read more about what that means for the league.
The Boston Globe: The Northeastern women’s hockey team is primed for revenge in the Frozen Four. But the Huskies aren’t thinking about that.
A great dive into the mindset of one of the four teams headed to State College, Pennsylvania this weekend.
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
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