With the games nearly upon us, I wanted to take some time to dive into some interesting facts about the tournament teams, and then provide some predictions for this week’s games! I’ve compiled a list of team stats about each of these schools and provided them below, along with the big story for all thirteen tournament teams. Below the bye teams, I will preview all five First Round matchups this weekend! First off, I’ll remind you of what this year’s bracket looks like, and then, I’ll provide you with my team sheets and analysis.
The Byes
Saturday Schedule
3:00 PM ET- #13 Saint Benedict (16-7-4) @ #4 Amherst (19-2-6)
3:00 PM ET- #11 Adrian (24-5-0) @ #6 Wilkes (24-1-1)
3:00 PM ET- #9 Plattsburgh (20-6-1) @ #8 Williams (17-4-5)
3:00 PM CT- #12 Elmira (19-5-2) @ #5 Augsburg (21-4-1)
3:00 PM CT- #10 Endicott (21-4-2) @ #7 Hamline (20-5-1)
#13 Saint Benedict @ #4 Amherst
We open up our previews by looking at perhaps the most unlikely First Round matchup in terms of what we would have predicted before the season. We have quite the juxtaposition in program success.
On one hand, Saint Ben’s, one of the first programs to start up varsity women’s hockey, has had its fair share of struggles. Coming into this season, the school had never won a share of a conference title, no tournament titles, and only made the choosy MIAC playoffs a mere four times (one year, everyone made it). Now, the Bennies have altered history, pulling off an incredible season to finally qualify for the Big Dance. After finishing 3rd in an incredibly tough MIAC, the Bennies shocked Hamline and edged out Gustavus to capture the automatic bid. The Bennies have had an amazing turnaround story under coach Lindsay Macy, and aren’t done quite yet.
On the other hand, Amherst is one of the “blue bloods” of the sport. The Mammoths have made the NCAA Tournament 11 times now, including four in a row, backstopped by do-it-all goaltender Natalie Stott. The program’s highlights are 2 national championships, 5 Frozen Four appearances, 5 NESCAC regular-season titles, and having just earned the 7th NESCAC tournament title. AC has also played in two of the last three national championships, falling short against Gustavus and River Falls in 2023 and 2025. Amherst is determined to not let another season go to waste in Stott’s final season in the blue paint.
Common Opponents:
Given we have a rare First Round crossover games, we have no common opponents, which explains how incredibly stupid that a calculator determines our postseason.
It’s no surprise these two schools haven’t played any of the same opponents this season. So I won’t leave this section completely blank, it is worth noting Amherst has played west teams the past few seasons, for what it’s worth. Last season, the Mammoths defeated St. Olaf, and lost to River Falls in the championship game. Three seasons ago, Amherst lost to Gustavus in the national title game.
Final Look:
Obviously, Amherst, given their experience in the NCAA tournament, home ice (with no long flight beforehand), and overall skill is the prohibitive favorite in this one. But, the Mammoths should not take the Bennies lightly in the slightest.
CSB has overcome a complete gauntlet of a 2nd half of their schedule, playing Saint Mary’s, Hamline, Augsburg, Gustavus, and Concordia (MN) in their final ten regular season games, before the aforementioned Hamline and Gustavus playoff victories. In several of those games, CSB was overmatched at times, but still found ways to hang in those games, play extremely sound in their own zone, and capitalize on the chances they do get.
In the end, that’s been enough to earn some very impressive wins, so Amherst has to stay diligent. It won’t be easy to beat freshman goalie Lexi Badali, who has stood on her head in the MIAC playoffs. Obviously, the Bennies will have to find a way to beat Stott as well, easier said than done for the all-time winningest goalie in Division III. Amherst has posted five straight shutouts, which is insane to think about, so it won’t be easy for the Bennies. Both of these teams win on the margins, so it really seems like it will come down to who can take care of a golden chance, as it really seems like it’ll be low-scoring.
#12 Elmira @ #5 Augsburg
In matchup #2, we have another cross-region first rounder between the Soaring Eagles and the Auggies. While not quite as wide of a gap as our first matchup, this one has quite the range of program success stories as well.
Elmira is another blue blood in the sport, and even though their best teams of late haven’t had the high-end achievements other EC teams have in the past, this is still an incredibly proud program. This will mark Elmira’s 20th appearance in the national tournament, as the program has astonishingly made 12 Frozen Fours in its previous 19 trips, including 3 national titles. In EC’s return to the UCHC, they looked choppy at times, but got it done when it counts, upsetting previously undefeated Nazareth to get to the Big Dance. Elmira has followed this script before, having seemingly good, but not great teams, and getting hot at the right time. It brought them all the way to the national title game two years ago, and they pulled a big 12 over 5 upset last season. Can they do it again?
Augsburg has always been a proud program hampered by its location, depth of the talent from schools around it, and running into a buzzsaw in their own league for years and years. This program was considered a sleeping giant for years, and now it appears they have awoke. The program had only made one national tournament (pre-NCAA, but still recognized) and finished national runner up all the way back in 2000. Last year, they broke through with a bang, earning the #1 seed, and getting to the Frozen Four before falling in a hard-fought battle versus the eventual national champs, River Falls, who also ended Elmira’s season a week earlier. Will that experience be enough to carry them even further this year? The Auggies have as strong of a resume as anyone in the country with countless quality wins (as seen above), so they are more than battle-tested.
Common Opponents:
Again, just like before, with this crossover matchup, we have no common opponents, which explains how incredibly stupid that a calculator determines our postseason.
In terms of recent east-west crossover involving the two, there is a little on Elmira’s side. Last season, Elmira lost to River Falls in the quarterfinals. The year prior, Elmira lost to Adrian to open the season, and River Falls to close the season in the national championship. In the 2021-22 season, Elmira tied Adrian. Augsburg hasn’t played an east team anytime recently.
Final Look:
Again, on paper, the #5 seed should be decent favorites against the #12. That’s typically how it works. I feel this one will come down to how much do you really trust Elmira to continue their late-season hot streak, as they’ve done in previous years. Resume-wise, this isn’t close. Augsburg has played and beaten numerous great teams, and while Elmira has some good results, there is nowhere near the quantity. However, this shows that in a big spot, Elmira most definitely can play with the title contenders. They’re also used to the flight to MSP in March, now.
Augsburg has been a little too reliant on their transition game to score, and they’ve shown they can be shut down against a team that can skate with them, as the Auggies are as fast as just about anyone. If Elmira can keep up, they’ve got a much better shot. I’m very curious to see who Augsburg plays in net as well. There’s a bit of a controversy brewing with two elite goaltenders splitting time. There is a phrase though, that “if you have two goalies, you have none,” so we’ll see how that shakes out.
#11 Adrian @ #6 Wilkes
This matchup is going to be extremely hard to predict, as we just don’t know as much about these teams as we would have hoped by now. Both Wilkes and Adrian have played lesser schedules, and I’m really not sure how this one will go with so many of both schools’ games being utter blowouts and straight-up uncompetitive.
Wilkes is one of the darlings of this tournament, putting together a sparkling 24-1-1 record after beating up the MAC. Their signature win came early on against a good Cortland squad, who they later tied in their second meeting. The Colonels are well-coached, and have phenomenal veteran leaders. Last season, after the MAC got its own bid, the Colonels advanced to the NCAA Tournament, where they gave Colby all they could handle up in Maine. I would think that bodes well for Wilkes’ chances this year, but on the flip side, they’ll have everyone’s attention now.
Adrian has definitely played a much more challenging schedule than Wilkes, but there is still a lot to be desired on their slate. The Bulldogs were extremely lucky to go 1-3 in their biggest tests, as they were outplayed quite badly in their two trips to Minnesota to face Augsburg and Gustavus. However, credit the Bulldogs for finishing the chances they did have, and playing strong in front of their goaltender. They also finished the season very strongly, winning seven in a row, including coming back to defeat CUW, and knocking off rival St. Norbert three times, including the NCHA title game. This is already Adrian’s 10th NCAA appearance, but this time, they’ll be more of an underdog if they want to reach Frozen Four #5. Still, the skill that is on this roster cannot be overlooked, and it can take them a long way.
Common Opponents:
Guess what! No common opponents! Yes, yes, the NPI is extremely flawed, but what also makes this conversation tricky involves another bone I have to pick. Wilkes played three non-conference games all season. Three. That has to change
Adrian has played lots of east teams over the years, including falling in a tight game to Amherst this season, as well as defeating Trinity. Last season, Adrian split with Canton, while earning wins against Trinity, Utica, and Chatham. In 2023-24, Adrian lost to Utica, but defeated Elmira, Oswego (x2), Williams, and Bowdoin before defeating Hamilton in the NCAA Tournament.
Final Look:
Again, this one could go a million different ways it seems, but if I had to give any sort of key to the game, I would bet the team that performs better on special teams will pull out the win. Both teams have great power plays and pretty good penalty kills. But more importantly, both teams take quite a bit of penalty minutes, especially given how often each team has the puck in a given game.
Another key particularly for Adrian will be their breakouts, as Adrian has struggled mightily to connect on passes against a team that can skate with them. If Wilkes can truly keep pace with the Bulldogs, it might be a busy afternoon for Keira Stack in net. It’s most definitely a game of stars too, as the top lines for both teams can score in bunches. Most notably, Haylee Bouchard of Wilkes always seems to find the big goal her team needs.
#10 Endicott @ #7 Hamline
In my opinion, this is the must-watch game of Round 1, as I feel like both of these teams’ seeds are much lower than where I would rank them personally in a poll of which teams are best in this field of 13. Both schools are starting to find their footing, and get back to the high standard they both have. The cross-region games are an added bonus of intrigue, as well.
Endicott is what many consider a “new blood” in women’s hockey, as they have established themselves as a perennial power, but are still in the building process, to try to reach the mountaintop. The major talking point here, is the fact despite four prior NCAA appearances, the Gulls still do not have an NCAA Tournament win, something Endicott fans are sick of hearing about. But, they’ll have to go cross-country to get that first win this weekend, as they’ll be flying into MSP for a surprising rematch from earlier this season. This team is very talented, plays fast, and has shown they belong near the top. Can they do enough of the little things to advance them to Round 2?
Hamline, historically, was a dormant program that awoke with a bang, when the program loaded up on talent, making two straight Frozen Fours in 2018 (Third Place) and 2019 (Runner-Up). With former coach Natalie Darwitz now long gone, her assistant is back in charge now, with Jake Bobrowski finally getting the Pipers back to the biggest stage. This program has been bumping up against the NCAA tournament ceiling for some time, but was decimated by the depth of the MIAC. Now, Hamline has an exciting roster, highlighted by numerous freshman and sophomore talents that can score in a hurry. Hamline’s resume is quite good, but they’ve shown some growing pains in big games as of late. Hamline will need to flip the script ASAP if they want to make a run at another Frozen Four.
Common Opponents:
Again, these teams don’t have any common opponents… shocking. But there is one massive datapoint that technically counts here: Back on January 5, Hamline took a cross-country trip where they played on a Monday evening at Endicott. In that game, the Pipers absolutely dominated, winning 5-1 on the road, having two goals disallowed that were awfully suspect, and completely dominating the possession of that game. This time, Endicott makes the return trip, and I do expect a much closer game given the stakes of this one.
Final Look:
It’s very hard to not look at the first matchup when comparing these two teams. However, you have to keep in mind that in a do-or-die situation, I expect a much stronger effort from Endicott. EC is playing much more structurally sound as of late, going 13-0-1 down the home stretch. Hamline will get loads of chances in this game. They will have to convert them at a much higher clip than what they’ve shown lately.
I do look at Hamline’s power play as something that can give them an edge in this game. With both teams having strong goalies, I think the man advantage could be the deciding factor here. Hamline has a great power play, and Endicott has somewhat struggled on the kill this year. What I will say, is that both these teams can fly, so I expect an amazing game to unfold in St. Paul.
#9 Plattsburgh @ #8 Williams
In our final game, we see a true, #8 vs. #9 nailbiter with #1 awaiting the winner. While your head screams a March Madness thriller, this one will take place on the ice of Lansing Chapman Rink. We have two proud programs represented in this one, with teams on slightly different trajectories as of late. Plattsburgh is red hot as of late, going 10-0-1 in its last 11, while Williams is just 4-3-4 in that same span.
Frankly, there isn’t much to say about Plattsburgh, now in their 21st NCAA appearance. 7 national titles, 15 Frozen Fours, now 17 regular-season conference titles and 14 conference tournament titles. Coach Kevin Houle does not have the dynasty on his hands he once hand, but I have to give he and his team credit for how this team has rebounded after a brutal start to the season. Hard schedule or not, Plattsburgh was sitting under .500 a good deal into the season and were struggling to score. Since then, some new faces have emerged, and Plattsburgh has gotten going, earning some big time wins along the way.
Williams has put together an amazing, albeit surprising season, as most people would not have picked the Ephs to make the NCAA tournament, especially over one of their NESCAC rivals like Middlebury or Colby. But the Ephs are here, and hung on by a hair to make the field. Williams qualified for the NCAAs for the 4th time (5th national tournament), and are looking to enact some revenge on Plattsburgh. The Cardinals knocked out the Ephs in the quarterfinals of their last two appearances, back in 2014 and 2019. While those were title teams for the Cardinals, Williams would love nothing more than a little payback. They did meet earlier on this year, with Williams earning a massive win, but they’d like a little more.
Common Opponents:
The elephant in the room is that we have another rematch on our hands: Back on December 6, Williams pulled out a huge road win at Plattsburgh, winning 2-1 after a masterful performance from Ephs goalie Erin Pye, stopping 39 of 40 shots, while the Ephs only mustered up 14 shots on goal.
- Each team has played Middlebury twice in a home and home series. Williams lost at home 5-0, while tying the Panthers on the road, 1-1. Plattsburgh lost on the road, 6-1, while defeating Midd 2-1 in overtime at home.
- Williams won against Morrisville at home, 4-1, while Plattsburgh swept the Mustangs, winning 5-0 on the road, and 8-0 at home.
- These are both the only two schools to defeat Norwich this season, as Williams won a home overtime contest against the Cadets, 2-1. Plattsburgh hosted NU for the season-opener, and won 3-0.
- Plattsburgh won at Trinity 4-1, while Williams went 1-0-1 in a pair of road games against the Bantams, winning 5-0, and tying 3-3.
Against common opponents, Plattsburgh went 5-1-0, whereas Williams went just 3-1-2. However, Williams has the head-to-head win on the road.
Final Look:
With Williams not looking at their peak as of late, and Plattsburgh rolling, it might seem like a good opportunity to jump on the Cardinal bandwagon. However, with Pye in net, the Ephs have a chance to win any game. Also, in likely a physical game, the Plattsburgh power play has been quite dreadful this year, as they haven’t been able to fully figure it out. Williams may not be scared to take a couple penalties and send a message. I think the first goal in this one is particularly massive.
Obviously, Williams wants to stake a claim as a team to beat in the NESCAC going foward. Also, Plattsburgh is on a three-game NCAA Tournament losing streak, and although their 14-year NCAA qualifier streak is intact, this season goes down as one of the more disappointing if they can’t get into at least the quarterfinals. I think both teams will empty the tank, and give it all they have. If Plattsburgh can do against Williams what they’ve been able to do against some lesser SUNYAC teams (finish plays), they should win. However, if Plattsburgh is merely good, and not great, Williams has the team defense and goaltending to make it happen
