University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Grab No. 4 Overall Seed in NCAA Tournament
3/8/2026 10:53:00 AM | Women's Hockey
MINNEAPOLIS – The Golden Gopher women's hockey team received the fourth overall seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament. No. 4 Minnesota will face No. 5 Northeastern after the NCAA unveiled the 11-team bracket for the 2026 National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Championship on Sunday morning.
Minnesota and Northeastern will play on Saturday, March 14 at Ridder Arena at 2:00 p.m. CT.
Receiving an at-large bid, Minnesota is making its 23rd overall appearance in the NCAA postseason. The Gophers will look to return to the Frozen Four for the 16th time, with their last appearance in the event in 2023.
Quinnipiac (ECAC Hockey), Penn State (AHA), Franklin Pierce (NEWHA), UConn (Hockey East), and Ohio State (WCHA) earned the five automatic bids by winning their respective conference tournaments while Minnesota Duluth, Northeastern, Minnesota, Princeton, Wisconsin, Yale and Saint Anslem earned at-large bids.
2026 NCAA Tournament Match-Ups
No. 1 Ohio State hosts Yale/Minnesota Duluth
No. 2 Wisconsin hosts Quinnipiac/Franklin Pierce
No. 3 Penn State hosts UConn/Princeton
No. 4 Minnesota hosts No. 5 Northeastern
Quarterfinal competition will take place on the campuses of the four host institutions with the winners advancing to the 2026 Women's Frozen Four on Friday, March 20 and Sunday, March 22 at Pegula Ice Arena in University Park, PA.