UConn WHOC @ 2026 National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship > 1st Round Game - 3/12/26 @7p v. Princeton Tigers @Pegula Ice Arena on ESPN+ | The Boneyard

UConn WHOC @ 2026 National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship > 1st Round Game - 3/12/26 @7p v. Princeton Tigers @Pegula Ice Arena on ESPN+

Glad the doomsday scenario of being dumped to the 1 seeds bracket didn’t come true. There’s a huge difference between Ohio state and Wisconsin and the rest of women’s hockey.
 
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-> UConn (27-8-2)​

NPI ranking: 6

How the Huskies got in: Hockey East tournament champion

NCAA history: Second appearance, seeking first title

Numbers to know: Tia Chan made 57 saves, 33 after regulation, in UConn's 2-1 double-overtime win over Northeastern in the Hockey East title game. A top-three finalist for national goalie of the year, she has the best save percentage (.950) of any netminder in the NCAA tournament and is sixth in the country with a 1.59 goals against average. ... UConn blocked 39 shots against Northeastern. ... The Huskies, who led Hockey East in both scoring (3.05) and defense (1.62), have won eight of their last nine games. <-
 
RitzLuce1 said:
Glad the doomsday scenario of being dumped to the 1 seeds bracket didn’t come true. There’s a huge difference between Ohio state and Wisconsin and the rest of women’s hockey.
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You got to beat the best to be the best.
 
It is a joke that the Penn State women belong to the Atlantic Hockey Association (AHA) with "powerhouses" Mercyhurst, Syracuse, Lindenhurst, RIT, Robert Morris and Delaware, not the WCHA with their Big Ten brethren true powerhouses, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Maybe UConn could garner a top four NCAA seed, and home ice, playing in a high school league.
 
We are the #6 ranked team in the country. Quinnipiac is #7. We play #9 Princeton while they play #25 (the 11th seeded team in the tournament) Franklin Pierce. Why? Because the NCAA committee will not pair two teams from the same conference in a first round game.
Makes a hell of a lot of sense to penalize the #6 team while granting the #7 team a gift.

Oh, by the way, #6 UConn defeated #7 Quinnipiac in the regular season. Thanks, NCAA. The ECAC loves you.
 
Viet Vet said:
We are the #6 ranked team in the country. Quinnipiac is #7. We play #9 Princeton while they play #25 (the 11th seeded team in the tournament) Franklin Pierce. Why? Because the NCAA committee will not pair two teams from the same conference in a first round game.
Makes a hell of a lot of sense to penalize the #6 team while granting the #7 team a gift.

Oh, by the way, #6 UConn defeated #7 Quinnipiac in the regular season. Thanks, NCAA. The ECAC loves you.
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But do avoid Wisconsin or Ohio State until final four.
 
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RSTuthill said:
How is it that UConn gets Princeton and Quinnipiac gets Franklin Pierce? Outrageous!!
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From the Courant article above…

-> Quinnipiac, the ECAC champion, will play Franklin Pierce on Thursday night in the regional at Wisconsin. Yale, which lost the ECAC final, will play Minnesota-Duluth in the regional at Ohio State, as Connecticut gets three teams in the 11-team field. UConn, Quinnipiac and Yale were sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in the ratings index, but the NCAA looks to avoid conference rivals playing in the first round. So rather than face the 11th seed, automatic qualifier Franklin Pierce, UConn gets Princeton, ninth in NPI. <-
 
huskymedic said:
From the Courant article above…

-> Quinnipiac, the ECAC champion, will play Franklin Pierce on Thursday night in the regional at Wisconsin. Yale, which lost the ECAC final, will play Minnesota-Duluth in the regional at Ohio State, as Connecticut gets three teams in the 11-team field. UConn, Quinnipiac and Yale were sixth, seventh and eighth, respectively, in the ratings index, but the NCAA looks to avoid conference rivals playing in the first round. So rather than face the 11th seed, automatic qualifier Franklin Pierce, UConn gets Princeton, ninth in NPI. <-
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Yeah, I knew when I posted, but it still pisses me off. To avoid the Yale Princeton matchup. That originated long ago in men's bracketing
 


-> UConn​

After making their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2024, the UConn Huskies have returned as an autobid, defeating Northeastern in double overtime in the Hockey East championship. Huskies goaltender Tia Chan has been their X factor this season, finishing second overall with a .955 SV%. <-
 
RSTuthill said:
How is it that UConn gets Princeton and Quinnipiac gets Franklin Pierce? Outrageous!!
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I explained this two days ago. It’s because the weak-kneed NCAA won’t put two teams from the same league against each other in the first round, even if it upsets conventional pairings by EARNED seeds. Since the ECAC has three teams seeded 7,8, 9 (QU, Yale, Princeton) they will not, contrary to traditional seeding, place #8 Yale against #9 Princeton in Round One. So #6 UConn gets screwed playing #9 Princeton instead of the #11 seed Franklin Pierce (ranked #25), who gets gifted to QU.

It’s a travesty. But don’t expect any comment from the NCAA or ECAC.

In any reasonable tournament matchups are chalk: 1-16, 2-15, 3-14, 4-13, 5-12, 6-11 (hello UConn vs Franklin Pierce), 7-10, 8-9.

QU gets a (probable) Get-Out-of-Jail-Free pass to the quarter-finals, that UConn had EARNED.
 
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Viet Vet said:
I explained this two days ago. It’s because the weak-kneed NCAA won’t put two teams from the same league against each other in the first round, even if it upsets conventional pairings by EARNED seeds. Since the ECAC has three teams seeded 7,8, 9 (QU, Yale, Princeton) they will not, contrary to traditional seeding, place #8 Yale against #9 Princeton in Round One. So #6 UConn gets screwed playing #9 Princeton instead of the #11 seed Franklin Pierce (ranked #25), who gets gifted to QU.

It’s a travesty. But don’t expect any comment from the NCAA or ECAC.

In any reasonable tournament matchups are chalk: 1-16, 2-15, 3-14, 4-13, 5-12, 6-11 (hello UConn vs Franklin Pierce), 7-10, 8-9.

QU gets a (probable) Get-Out-of-Jail-Free pass to the quarter-finals, that UConn had EARNED.
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Oh, I am very familiar with this bracketology. It originated with the men's tournament where the NC$$ wanted to maximize revenues and women's hockey never drew more than friends and family. Jason Moy at USCHO was the first guy to formalize it. Just pisses me off. UConn already played Princeton TWICE. (They are dangerous, btw.) I will be even MORE pissed if the game goes into OT with another game against Penn State the next day or the day after.
 
Viet Vet said:
As we should. The #6 seed should play #3 in the quarters, while #7 matches up with #2. That’s chalk.
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You need cheese with your whine? The NCAA doesn’t tell you that they set brackets using straight chalk because they don’t in any sport. They consider geography so fans can get to more games and avoiding early overs-conference games where it can easily be done. (Tennis tournaments are done with 5 through 8 being drawn as if they were interchangeable by the way.)
 
I still have cable tv in CT. Xfinity just offered all access espn for free. So last night we activated it and got it to work - we are technically challenged but somehow we got it to work. Now I can watch the game on tv instead of my phone. So excited!! I just wish it wasn’t the same time as the mens bball game.
 
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