Come back each week for a preview of interesting NCAA games coming up and some thoughts on what happened in the previous week's action. Check out Thursday's How to Watch for links to all the weekend's games.
There's a series from each of the conference tournamnets featured here and I tried to go with the ones that I thought would be the closest, might have a chance for an upset or have the biggest NCAA Tournament implications. We know the selection committee pretty much exclusively uses NPI to decide tournament participants, which is why it's a focus when I write these. If you want to understand NPI, I tried to break it down here.
Harvard at (10) Princeton (Best of three series)
Friday at 3:00 PM, Saturday at 3:00 PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM (if needed) Eastern
Despite ending the regular season tied for the ECAC title, Princeton is ranked behind both Quinnipiac and Yale in the NPI. Only one ECAC team can earn the auto-bid to the NCAA tournament and Princeton is likely currently on the outside looking in when it comes to at-large bids. The Tigers have to boost themselves up and give themselves some breathing room if they want to play beyond next weekend.
Harvard has been the most surprising team in the country this season. The Crimson won just two games last year, finishing with a 2-25-2 record. This season they are 15-13-3 with several wins over ranked opponents including Princeton. Goalie Ainsley Tuffy is the breakout star, dropping a full goal per game from her goals against average from last season to this one. Freshmen Morgan McGathey leads the team with 10 goals and 15 points. Importantly, they have gotten scoring from up and down their lineup.
Princeton have two of the most dynamic scorers in Issy Wunder and Mackenzie Alexander. The Tigers way outperformed expectations this season, winning a share of their first-ever ECAC regular season title after being picked sixth in the confernece coaches preseason poll. They can score in bunches, move the puck fast and have a really solid back end. But they've struggled a bit with inconsistency and losing close games.
Minnesota State at (9) Minnesota Duluth (Best of three series)
Friday at 2:00 PM, Saturday at 1:00 PM, Sunday at 1:00 PM (if needed) Central
UMD did a lot for themselves last weekend with a pair of overtime wins over the Gophers, but the NPI still has them in a precarious situation when it comes to the NCAA Tournament. They're a bubble team and need to at least advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff to keep their postseason hopes alive.
Mankato gets coach Shari Dickerman back after she spent the past month helping coach the USA women's team to a gold medal. The Mavericks have pulled off some big upsets this season and they're certianly going to give Minnesota Duluth everything they can to stop the Bulldogs to advancing. They added some scoring depth this season with Mercury Bischoff and they have both momentum and trust in themselves and each other, making this a bit of a scary draw for UMD.
Minnesota Duluth continues to have low goal totals with spectacuar goaltending and I don't expct that to change much. They have to stay poised and grab oportunities as they arrive.
Boston University at (5) Northeastern (Single elimination)
Saturday at 4:00 PM Eastern
BU defeated Northastern in OT at the Beanpot, so I'd imagine Northeastern is primed and ready for some revenge. This matchup favors the Huskies, who have been more prolific on offense and much more consistent. It's a chance for Northeatern to really solidify their spot. The NPI has been volatile this post season so far and I'd imagine that will conintinue and there's a lot oat stake.
But BU went on a postseason run last season and you could see after their NCAA loss how much it meant to the team and how important the work of getting back to that position was. They're tested and experienced in pulling off a tournament run and in a single-elimination series, it's just so much more possible.
Northeatsern has won a bunch of games in overtime or in the closing minutes of regulation. They've come up big again and again, but their margins have been thin and if they take that for granted at all or meet a tough, physical and fast opponent that doesn't let them have the puck in those crucial minutes, they might be in trouble. They have the scoring talent and goaltending to be a player into the Frozen Four, but they might also be one bad bounce from going home.
Sacred Heart at Saint Anselm (Best of three series)
Friday at 7:00 PM, Saturday at 7:00 PM, Sunday at 3:00 PM (if needed) Eastern
Since they aren't high enough in the NPI, NEWHA teams are all fighting for the NCAA Tournament auto-bid that goes to the conference tournament winner. Sacred Heart earned one back in 2024, but Saint Anselm has not - they won the NEWHA in 2018 and 2019, but the conference did not have an auto-bid at that time.
It's been an up and down year for the Pioneers, who swept Saint Anselm in late January and have beaten or tied each of the top three teams in the conference. They're capable of solid, difficult wins but don't always come away with them. It certainly helps that they've been at the top so recently and that experience might counteract whatever has led them to be so inconsistent this year. They were picked first in the coaches preseason poll, but they never really reached their promise.
Meanwhile, Saint Anselm far outperformed their expectations. They were picked fifth of eight teams. What I like about what they've done this season is that they don't have fewer losses - they converted six ties from last season into wins this season, going from 10-11-7 in conference to 16-11-1. They've played smart, cohesive hockey that puts them in a very good position to earn their first bid.
Lindenwood at Mercyhurst (Best of three series)
Friday at 3:00 PM, Saturday at 1:00 PM, Sunday at 1:00 PM (if needed) Eastern
I haven't talked much about the AHA this season because Penn State clinched the conference title a full month ago. There's been no suspense. And I'm not sure this tournament is any different. It has seemed inevitable all along that it would be Penn State vs. Mercyhurst in the championship and nothing I've seen since has done much to convince me that's not inevitable.
Lindenwood had their best season in their NCAA era, winning 14 games overall and 11 in conference and placing third in the AHA standings. That's a huge improvement and the kind of growth I've been hoping to see from them for awhile. Unfortunately for them, I think there's still a decent gap between them and the top teams in the AHA. They do have one win over Mercyhurst this season, a 5-2 victory in erie back in early December.
I feel like they actually match up pretty well with personnel, but Mercyhurst has eons more experience with what it takes to win in the postseason. I expect the Lakers to be more calm and settled and I think in a three game series, they are in the driver's seat.
(Photo: Northeastern Women's Hockey/x)
