Five NCAA special events to watch

Ice Breaker Tournament

First on the calendar is this four-team tournament taking place on Oct. 25 and 26. Ohio State plays host to Cornell, Penn State and Stonehill for the event, which will be held at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. Each team will play two games, with the winners of Friday’s matches (Penn State vs. Cornell; Ohio State vs. Stonehill) advancing to the championship on Saturday while the losers play a consolation game. The women’s Ice Breaker Tournament is entering its fourth year as an early-season women’s hockey showcase, and with teams from the WCHA, ECAC, AHA and NEWHA, it puts talent from across the NCAA on display. 

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Smashville Tournament

Music City plays host to Penn State, Merrimack, Clarkson and St. Thomas in the fifth annual Smashville Tournament. The first round is on Nov. 29, with the winners and losers of each of the two games competing in the finals on Nov. 30. The event weekend, hosted by the NHL’s Nashville Predators, also includes a girls hockey showcase so young athletes can watch and learn from the college players — a nice initiative for growing the game. 

The Frozen Confines

If you enjoy open-air hockey, you can get 2025 started off right with a rematch of the 2024 national championship outside at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Wisconsin and Ohio State will face off on Jan. 4 as part of the Frozen Confines Big Ten Hockey Series, which also features three outdoor men’s hockey games. I love a good outdoor game and any face-off between these two WCHA powerhouses is set to be exciting — so this is certainly one to watch. 

Women’s Beanpot

Few hockey tournaments are as iconic as this battle between Boston’s best. The 2025 women’s Beanpot Tournament is the 46th installment, with the semifinals on Jan. 14 as Boston University hosts Harvard and Northeastern faces Boston College. The finals are on Jan. 21 and will once again be held at TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins. Last year marked the first time that the women’s Beanpot championships were held at the NHL arena, so it’s always great to see the women’s game getting the space and attention it deserves. 

Hockey Day Minnesota

If you’re still yearning for more outdoor women’s hockey in January, you can find the Minnesota Golden Gophers and Bemidji State Beavers taking the ice on Jan. 25 for Hockey Day Minnesota. This year’s installment of the annual celebration in the State of Hockey is taking place at Valleyfair Amusement Park, which is a pretty unique venue!

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News from around the sport

Over at The Ice Garden, my colleague Emma Sullivan’s NCAA Journal details what’s going on in the Hockey East conference this weekend as several teams kick off their seasons with matches against ranked non-conference teams. 

The Victory Press is back, with a reboot helmed by Nicole Haase. Check out her weekly Stick Taps and Snark and What to Watch columns, and articles like this one from Sam Gray on why the New York Sirens playing in New Jersey is a good thing.

Chloe Primerano is a name you should know, and Hailey Salvian and Thomas Drance at the Athletic did a great feature on her and her journey to being a 17-year-old freshman at the University of Minnesota. 

Another NCAA star is Wisconsin’s Caroline Harvey, who spoke about the upcoming season and overcoming adversity with The Hockey News. 

Talking about the pros, my Ice Garden colleague Geremy wrote about the impact of the PWHL’s rise on the SDHL, a fascinating exploration of the connectedness of women’s hockey around the world.