Everything You Need to Know for Women's Hockey Postseason, Bracketology: Puck Drop

We're down to the final four weekends of the women's college hockey regular season, and fewer in some conferences, which means that time is running out for every team not named No. 1 Wisconsin or No. 2 Ohio State to show that they can displace those two teams atop the sport.

Currently, the odds to not appear to be in their favor. The Badgers and Buckeyes have played in each the last three national championship games, which were all decided by one goal, and the two programs have won every national title played since 2018 (Clarkson def. Colgate 2-1 in OT).

Sure enough, they're leading the way in the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index that will be used in determining the teams and seeding in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, with Minnesota a solid No. 3. They're all slated to play each other in February, however many of the sport's top players will be participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy (Feb. 5-19).

So the mostly timely snapshot of which teams are playing the best prior to the postseason may actually be now and off this weekend's results, and not at the end of the regular season.

Besides, the Badgers (23-1-2) have been so impressive this season that even if Minnesota was to sweep this weekend's rivalry showdown at Ridder Arena, they still might not fall out of No. 1. In terms of the WCHA standings, they're 17-1-2 for 53 points, with a four-point lead over Ohio State (17-3) and five on Minnesota (16-4).

Women's College Hockey Conference Tournaments

AHA, Feb. 19-March 7: The No. 6 and 7 teams play an elimination game at the site of the No. 3 seed on Feb,. 19th. The winner advances to the single-game quarterfinal, Feb. 21, when No 5. plays No. 4. Semifinals are Feb. 27-March 1, best of 3, lowest remaining seed travels to No. 1. Other quarterfinal winner plays at No. 2 seed. For finals, highest-remaining seed hosts on March 7.

ECAC, Feb. 20-March 7: First round is single elimination, teams 5-8 hosting 9-12 on Feb. 20 or 21. Best-of-three quarterfinals, hosted Feb. 27-March 1 by the highest-remaining seeds. Semifinals and finals in Lake Placid, N.Y. on March 6-7.

Hockey East, Feb. 25-March 7: Single-elimination tournament. No. 7 and 8 host 9 and 10 on Feb. 25. After reseeding for quarterfinals, the top two seeds will host the winners of the opening round, No. 6 is at No. 3, and No. 5 is at No 4 on Feb. 28. Semifinals played at top seeds on March 3, championship game at higher seed on March 7.

NEWHA: Feb. 27-March 7: Higher seed always hots. Best-of-three quarterfinals have the top four seeds hosting the bottom four seeds. Single-elimination semifinals on March 4, championship game on March 7.

WCHA: Feb, 27-March 7: First round is best-of-three with top four seeds hosting. Final Faceoff will be hosted by St. Thomas, with semifinals on March 5 and championship game on March 7. March 8 | 11:30 a.m.

Women's College Hockey Bracketology

The tournament format is different from the men. The 11 teams include five automatic qualifiers and six at-large selections. The first-round games and quarterfinals are held on campus locations, with the Women’s Frozen Four set to be played March 20-22 at Penn State's Pegula Ice Arena.

First, the five automatic qualifiers, which for our purposes will be the teams leading their conferences: Penn State (AHA), Quinnipiac (ECAC), Northeastern (Hockey East), Franklin Pierce (NEWHA), and Wisconsin. They are ranked in the Women's National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index at No 4, 6, 5, 28 and 1. Two of the conference leaders have changed since

The rest of the field is decided by the other top six teams in NPI: Ohio State, Minnesota, Connecticut, Princeton, Minnesota Duluth and Yale. The top teams just missing and out are all in the East: Clarkson, Cornell, Holy Cross and Mercyhurst

The top four overall seeds are No. 1 seeds and will host regional finals: Wisconsin, Ohio State, Minnesota and Penn State, which means the Nittany Lions could play the entire tournament at home. The No. 4 seed hosts No. 5, Northeastern, with the winner advancing to the Frozen Four.

The next three teams are placed and have the opportunity to host first-round games. The remaining three teams are placed in order, but first-round conference matchups must be avoided if possible. The bottom three No. 2 seeds will play the three No. 3 seeds in the regional semifinals.

Projected Women's NCAA Tournament Bracket

Princeton at Minnesota Duluth; Winner at No. 1 Wisconsin
No. 5 Northeastern at No. 4 Penn State
Franklin Pierce at Quinnipiac; Winner at No. 3 Minnesota
Yale at Connecticut; Winner at No. 2 Ohio State

Here are all the tournament details, including the selection show.

2026 NCAA Women's Hockey Tournament

Selection Show: March 8, 11:30 a.m. ET, ESPNU
Regional semifinals: March 12-13, Campus sites
Regional finals: March 14-15, Campus sites of top seeds
Frozen Four: March 20 and 22, Pegula Ice Arena, Penn State

Puck Drop: Thursday, January 29, 2026

• Brown announced that head coach Brendan Whittet will step away from the program to take family medical leave effective Feb. 20, and then transition to a new role in athletics administration. Assistant coach Jason Smith will serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the season (four games and the ECAC tournament) and a national search for Whittet's replacement will begin immediately.

• College Hockey News reported that Dallas-based financier Michael Mann is attempting to work with Oklahoma State to fund a varsity hockey program, but there are still many hurdles to be cleared and nothing is imminent. Mann has helped fund OSU's club program, which plays on the Division II level of the American Club Hockey Association (ACHA).

• The Montreal Canadiens fired goaltending coach Eric Raymond. Montreal has been inconsistent at the position, including Samuel Montembeault having a 9-8-2 record, a 3.46 average and .868 save percentage, and saw former Boston College goaltender Jacob Fowler promoted from AHL Laval earlier than anticipated. Marco Marciano will serve as interim goalie coach until the end of the season. He's been working Fowler at Laval, and in 19 games has a 12-7 record, a 2.35 GAA, a .912 save percentage and three shutouts.

• Penn State Hockey Readies for 'Historic Moment' at Beaver Stadium

• What’s at Stake for Gophers Hockey Against Wisconsin This Weekend

Men's College Hockey Wednesday Scores

No Games Scheduled

Women's College Hockey Wednesday Scores

No Games Scheduled

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.

Men's College Hockey Thursday Schedule

AHA
Army at Holy Cross, 7 p.m. ET

Women's College Hockey Thursday Schedule

Hockey East
No. 13 Holy Cross at No. 6 Northeastern, 7 p.m. ET

Hockey Quote of the Day

"Hockey is much like the litigation aspects of law. In both hockey and litigation there are long periods of preparation followed by relatively brief presentations. And then the results are there. Graphically! The jury returns its verdict. The red light flashes behind you. The numbers go up on the scoreboard. The only difference is that you can't appeal the decision of a goal judge during a hockey game."
Ken Dryden (Cornell)

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We'll Leave You With This ...

WHAT A SCENE AT BEAVER STADIUM 😍 pic.twitter.com/SJNNtx5n7n
— Game Notes (@GameNotesBud) January 28, 2026