AHA
Mercyhurst vs. Penn State
Saturday at 2:00 PM Central - Paid stream on BTN+
Penn State has two conference losses this season and one of them came at the hands of Mercyhurst. Their only loss last season was also at the hands of the Lakers. This is honestly likely PSU's game to lose, but if there is a team that has been able to push back on the Nittany Lions in recent years, it's Mercyhurst.
It's going to take great goaltending and a full 200-foot, 60-minute or more effort from the Lakers to slow down Penn State, who are the best we've ever seen them be at the D1 level. They're getting contributions from all their lines and are a threat at every moment, on every part of the ice. The Lakers looked shaky in their series with Lindenwood last weekend, escaping with a 2-1 win and a 3-2 victory in double overtime. Simply put, that's not going to cut it here.
Both Tessa Janecke and Grace Outwater have more than 40 points and an additional five Nittany Lions have 30 or more points. They have one of the top goalies in Katie DeSa. There are not a lot of weaknesses in their lineup, they're the number three team in the country and they've pushing to play in the Frozen Four in their own building in two weeks. I am not sure who can slow them down right now.
For Mercyhurst, they have to slow the game down. They want to control the puck and keep it from being an up and down, fast-paced game. If they can limit how long Penn State can camp in the zone and do their best to clog the middle and interrupt flow, they'll force PSU out of their comfort zone.
ECAC
(8) Quinnipiac vs. (7) Yale
Saturday at 5 PM Eastern - Paid stream on ESPN+
Yale beat Quinnipiac early in the season 4-0, but the Bobcats took the second meeting 4-3 in overtime on the final day of the regular season. In their semifinal, Yale unloaded for seven goals from six different goal-scorers. They put the dagger in the game with a short-handed goal just as Cornell looked like they could mount a comeback bid.
As in Hockey East, this is a battle of two of the top goaltenders. QU's Felicia Frank was named a top-three finalist for Goalie of the Year. Samson Frey is a freshman who is third in the country in goals against average. She split time in net for a lot of the season, but she's made a massive impression in the first 16 starts of her career.
Quinnipiac's Kahlen Lamarche has arguably been the breakout star of the whole season. She scored seven goals in the Bobcats' quarterfinal series and leads the country with 42 goals overall. The team proved on Friday that they didn't need her to score to win big games and Princeton did a good job limiting her opportunities, but she may be the most important key for QU in this game. Yale either has to assign a lot of attention to keeping her in check or they have to choose to give her space and deal with the consequences.
For the Elis, Carina D'Antonio, Jordan Ray and Molly Boyle have all been outstanding. They bring a depth to the offense here and help make sure that they are difficult to match up against.
One big advantage the Bulldogs have is on the power play - their team is scoring at nearly double the rate of the Bobcats, who are ranked 29th of 45 teams, scoring just 16.19% of the time.
Both of these teams will receive NCAA Tournament bids - what's at stake here is seeding. Yale can finish anywhere from sixth to eighth while Quinnipiac will end up either seventh or eighth.
Hockey East
(6) Connecticut vs. (5) Northeastern
Saturday at 3:30 PM Eastern - Televised on ESPNews and streamed on ESPN+
Northeastern has the higher seed but since they don't have a home arena and Hockey East needed to know they had a place to hold their championship, this game is being played in Storrs with UConn getting a rare home game where they aren't the home team.
These were the two top teams in the conference this season and this final game feels a little inevitable. Both teams are going to be playing next weekend in the NCAA Tournament, so what's on the line here for Northeastern is whether they host an NCAA quartefinal against Minnesota or they travel to Minneapolis and play at Ridder. Connecticut can finish sixth or seventh, and with Wisconsin and Ohio State locked into the top two spots in some order, if I'm UConn I'm hoping for the six seed where they'd need to beat the NEWHA champion and then get Penn State. Fot a game between two teams who are already guaranteed a spot in the NCAA Tournament, there's actually quite a bit on the line.
Northeastern beat Connecticut 3-2 in OT on the final weekend of the regular season and took a pair of wins in late January, as well. They've seen to have the "other Huskies" number this year. But I feel like Northeastern hasn't been at their strongest so far these playoffs. They can push tempo and make quick passes and move in transition, but that hasn't all been clicking as well as it's capable of. Northeastern has the Rookie and Player of the Year in Hockey East in Stryker Zablocki. She can be a game changer with the puck on her stick.
Both teams are remarkably close in team offense and team defense numbers. Northeatsern has a better penalty kill, but Connecticut is better on the power play. Both have outstanding goalies - UConn's Tia Chan was named a Patty Kazmaier Award top-10 finalist this week as well as a top-three finalist for Goalie of the Year. But Lisa Jönsson's numbers put her just behind Chan nationally.
NEWHA
Saint Anselm at Franklin Pierce
Saturday at 7 PM Eastern - Paid stream on FloHockey.tv
Franklin Pierce more than a game and a half on Wednesday to earn their semifinal win in the second overtime period. How well they rest and recover is going to be a major part of this game. Saint Anselm took a 2-1 win over Assumption thanks to two goals from NEWHA Player of the Year Brooklyn Schneiderhan.
But Franklin Pierce has NEWHA Goalie of the Year Jill Hertl as well as Rookie of the Year Addison Andre and Coach of the Year Dave Stockdale. This is a really complete Ravens team who can score goals, but has been great at limiting opponents. They're a strong defense and anything that does get through has to deal with Jill Hertl, who feels like she's been frustrating opponents for 10 years at this point. She's the backbone of this team and has been a big reason they've continued to improve. When it comes down to it, she's the player I'd want in my net in this conference championship game.
Saint Anselm has actually been slightly more prolific on offense this year, but where Franklin Pierce has a bigger advantage is on the penalty kill. Neither team is very prolific on the power play, but the Ravens have the third best penalty kill in the nation.
In four games in the regular season, FPU won twice, Saint Anselm won once and they had a 3-3 tie. Both teams had impressive seasons, though there were ups and downs for both. The Ravens get to host the game, which helps with their need for recovery and if Wednesday's semifinal is any indication, they'll have a vocal and rowdy crowd behind them.
WCHA
(2) Ohio State vs. (1) Wisconsin
Saturday at 2 PM Central - Paid stream on BTN+
These two teams have met for the last three national championships. Wisconsin won in 2023 and in 2025, while Ohio State won in 2024. They've played each other four times so far this season. Wisconsin won both games in early December in Columbus. When the teams played again in Madison in early February, both squads were without their Olympians and the teams split a pair of 4-1 wins.
In a season where there has been so much unknown in terms of how the Olympics would impact things, Ohio State has handled the chaos the best. They didn't seem to lose a step when the Olympians left and they haven't seemed to struggle to find themselves again now that the Olympians have returned. They looked composed and calm in the face of a messy Minnesota team in the semifinal game on Thursday and were especially lethal on the power play.
If the game comes down to goaltending - and it very much might - OSU's Hailey MacLeod looked locked in and solid in earning a shutout against the Gophers. Wisconsin's Ava McNaughton on the other hand has been a little shaky in her return from Milan. She gave up a goal in the final regular season series because she was awkward leaving her net to play a puck behind it and she had some shaky looking moments in the semifinal. At this point I'm wondering if Wisconsin doesn't tell her to just stay in her net. Both OSU coach Nadine Muzerall and UW coach Mark Johnson mentioned how active the boards are at St. Thomas' arena and how little space their is behind the net. Those conditions combined with McNaughton's awkwardness in handling pucks right now would make me hesitant to have her come out of her crease at all.
It should be a fast-paced and physical game. Expect a lot of play that generates from below the goal line and which team is best able to transition and move through the neutral zone. Wisconsin has a tendency to try to do too much with the puck and OSU showed an ability to keep things simple and structured on Thursday. There is so much talent on the ice when these two meet that it's impossible to know what the x-factor will be, but it will be fun to watch.
