Three NCAA hot takes — News from around women’s hockey

Three predictions for this NCAA season

Natálie Mlýnková is a Patty Kazmaier top 10 finalist 

Second newsletter in a row where I mention Natálie Mlýnková. Maybe it’s because of how much Hockey East I’ve watched over the last few seasons, but I truly believe she was underrated during her time at the University of Vermont. 

This is a player that shows up on the scoresheet and has a strong defensive element to her game as a forward. In her senior season at UVM, she finished with 33 points in 35 games, blocked 36 shots and won over 57% of the faceoffs she took (336 wins in total). 

Additionally, this came during a season where UVM struggled in Hockey East. It wasn’t Mlýnková’s most productive season on the scoresheet during her time as a Catamount, but her contribution to the team over the last four seasons was an integral part of the team’s overall success between 2021 and 2024. Across 104 career games in Burlington, Mlýnková put up 97 points, 48 of those being goals. 

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Now, as she moves to Minnesota, the amount of talent she’ll be playing alongside should elevate her game to an even higher level. Names such as Abbey Murphy, last season’s NCAA leader in goals with 33, 50-point scorer Josefin Bouveng, and senior Ella Huber, who put up 42 points in her own right, litter the Minnesota lineup. Also going with Mlýnková from UVM is defender Krista Parkkonen, who has been outstanding during her time as a Catamount as well. And you can’t forget Canadian standout Chloe Primerano, who is entering her freshman year with the Gophers. 

Combine all of these names together, and Minnesota should be a powerhouse all season, with Mlýnková a top contributor for it all.  

A Hockey East school gets an at-large bid

The last time a team outside of the WCHA or ECAC received an at-large bid for the national tournament was in 2021, which doesn’t seem too far away — but that’s three years ago already. Keep in mind this was before the field expanded to 11 teams from eight. 

In the 2021 tournament, Hockey East sent three schools into the field of eight to compete for the title, and even had Northeastern make the championship game. If there’s a conference that could end up producing an at-large bid this season, I’d give Hockey East the best odds of doing so. 

Let’s look at the depth of the schedule. In the preseason poll, the top three of the conference is predicted to include UConn, Northeastern and Boston College. Those three schools have some of the toughest out-of-conference matchups that they could schedule.

UConn opens its season against nationally-ranked Minnesota and Penn State, playing both at home at the Toscano Ice Forum. The Huskies played both of these teams last season, beating and tying the Nittany Lions in State College, and playing two tough contests against Minnesota. UConn should be competitive against both teams again this year, and a win or two could be crucial in the national standings. Add in a Nutmeg Classic matchup against Yale and potentially Quinnipiac as well, and UConn could be solidly in the national conversation by American Thanksgiving. 

Then there’s Northeastern, who also plays Penn State — but at the Pegula Ice Arena. The teams met last season in a weekend series in Boston, which resulted in a closely contested splitting of wins. After that, NU returns home to face off against Quinnipiac, another nationally ranked opponent. While the Huskies have some question marks in regards to how well the new team will perform, if they’re able to play close games as expected and win them, they’ll be in a good position heading into conference play. 

Finally, the Boston College Eagles, who have two series in October against Wisconsin and Clarkson.  Both teams made the Frozen Four six months ago and are in the top five of the first USCHO poll of the year. Last year BC did not have a lot of success against either of these teams, going 0-4 overall. Now, at home, with an updated — and hopefully stronger — roster, there’s a better chance that BC sneaks a win and finds its way into the national rankings for a few weeks, and then the at-large conversation at the end of the year. 

Plus, let’s keep in mind these teams have to play each other over the course of the season within the conference. Getting wins from each other, if they’re all as high in the national pairwise as they could be after the nonconference set, could create a reciprocal effect where the teams continue to rise throughout 2024-25. The conference has just one year of at-large bids since 2019 — it’s time to change that in 2025. 

An ECAC team wins the national title 

Ok hear me out. I know the WCHA is the deepest field, and for good reason — look at the teams that are in the conference. Not to mention, no conference has had another national tournament champion since 2018 (Clarkson, also the only school not in the WCHA to have won the NCAA-sponsored title). 

I’m well aware of the risk of this prediction, and I’m fully prepared for the three-headed monster of Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota to come down with a vengeance and make it so three WCHA schools make the Frozen Four. However, I look at names out of the ECAC — Clarkson, Colgate and Cornell in particular — and I think, of those three, one could challenge for the trophy. 

The caveat is that this prediction is based off of last season’s success and rosters, and the majority of schools listed above have seen a decent amount of turnover heading into the fall. Colgate is the one that concerns me most here, as it’s lost the most talent and a head coach in one offseason. I’d be worried about OSU here also, considering how many players graduated and were drafted to the PWHL this spring, but the players they’ve pulled from the transfer portal fill any gap if there was even one to begin with. 

At the end of the day, I’d like to see an ECAC school take home the trophy, solely because I think that will lead to even more growth in the game as more schools pop up as power houses. And while I love how competitive the WCHA is and the talent it has, I’d love to see someone else get a chance in the spotlight. 

Who do I think has the best case? Well Clarkson was picked to finish first in the ECAC preseason poll, so it’s easy to say them. Although if we’re looking for a dark horse candidate, I think Cornell is an interesting wrinkle in everyone’s plans. The Big Red haven’t seen a lot of turnover outside of Abby Ruggiero (who played just two games) and reigning Patty Kazmaeir trophy winner Izzy Daniel. No big deal! 

But seriously, another season of Annelies Bergmann in net, plus the combined production that the team has already proven to have should help Cornell in the ECAC standings, and could help on the national stage as well. I’m intrigued the most by them, and hopefully that pays off moving forward. 

News and links 

2024-25 NCAA preview: WCHA — The Ice Garden

At TIG we’ve previewed four of the conferences (with the fifth and final preview on the way!) for the NCAA season. Catherine Morrison has the WCHA preview, and the AHA, NEWHA,and Hockey East ones are on the website already. Catch them all before puck drop! 

Women’s Division I college hockey: 2024-25 roster updates — USCHO 

Confused on who’s where in DI? USCHO’s Nicole Haase put together a great resource detailing all the movement, from coaches to transfers. Check it out above. 

Carly Jackson on inclusivity, women’s sports and chasing the Walter Cup — The Hockey News

Cee Benwell of THN sat down with Toronto Sceptre’s goaltender Carly Jackson for an in-depth Q&A on a variety of topics. It’s a long one, but a good one, so be sure to give it a read. 

Welcome to the new-look SDHL — IIHF

The regular season is already underway in Sweden, with a very different looking league than the one that took the ice last year. The IIHF has an in-depth feature on just what is different — including the growth of the game that helped get to this point. 

TIG Roundtable: PWHL name and logo reveal — The Ice Garden

We talked a lot about the six new names for the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s franchises last week, but if you’re looking for some more opinions, the newest TIG Roundtable has you covered.

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