Women’s Hockey conference championship predictions

AHA

In the AHA, Penn State is looking to close off yet another conference title, which would be its fourth in a row.

The Nittany Lions swept Syracuse in the AHA semi-finals on their home ice, led by a trio of Olympians.

In the first game their three Olympians: Italian Matilde Fantin, Swedish Nicole Hall, and American Tessa Janecke, all scored, including a hat trick from Janecke.

Penn State comes into this game an outstanding 31-5 and has only lost once all year on their home ice, where this game will be played.

This home-ice advantage could prove huge for the Nittany Lions down the stretch, as they are currently projected to host an NCAA Tournament regional and the Frozen Four as they search for their first National Championship in program history.

They will face off against Mercyhurst, which is just on the outside looking in of the NCAA tournament.

The tournament has 11 teams, and Mercyhurst currently sits at #12 in NPI, making this a must-win game if they want to fight for a National Championship.

They have played four times this year, and Penn State has had the upper hand.

Penn State swept them in State College back in November, 3-0 and 6-1, but then the two teams split in Erie, with Penn State winning game one 3-0 and Mercyhurst winning the second 4-3.

While Mercyhurst has more on the line than Penn State, I still expect the Nittany Lions to come away with a win.

Despite winning their conference three years in a row, they have had a first-round exit in the tournament every year.

This team has so much experienced talent, and this feels like the year they finally break through and go on a run.

ECAC

The ECAC is the tournament with the most at stake.

It has not reached the final yet, but even in the semi-finals, it is a fascinating scenario.

The semi-final matches are between #8 Yale and #11 Cornell, then #7 Quinnipiac and #9 Princeton.

All of these teams are in the NCAA field right now, but could easily be knocked out if things don’t go their way in the conference tournaments.

There will for sure be at least one bid stealer from the NEWHA, so you need to be in the top 10 to have a chance.

Yale and Cornell have met twice this year, with each team winning once on their home ice.

In this game, I give the slightest of edges to Yale.

This is as much of a coin flip as it gets, but in a game like this between two teams who limit mistakes so well, I think the power play can be a deciding factor, and Yale’s 29.9% conversion rate is absolutely incredible.

For the other matchup, I give Princeton the slight edge.

Quinnipiac has a surprisingly poor faceoff unit, as they have lost more faceoffs than they have won this season.

In a one-game play-off, puck control can be a major factor, and Princeton should have a clear advantage in that regard.

In the final, I am picking Yale due to the lethal power play.

Hockey East

Another great matchup here, as the #5 and #6 teams in Northeastern and UConn will face off.

They’ve played three times this year, and Northeastern has won all three meetings.

There will be a pair of amazing goaltenders, as UConn’s Tia Chan and Northeastern’s Lisa Jonsson have an unbelievable .948 and .939 save percentage, respectively.

I am going to pick UConn here for two reasons.

First, when you beat a team every time in the regular season, it’s hard to keep doing that in the postseason.

Second, in a game with two great goalies, puck control is crucial.

UConn has an outstanding .562 faceoff percentage compared to Northeastern’s .494, so I think that will make the difference.

NEWHA

This tournament is bad news for the Hockey East bubble teams, as someone here will be stealing a bid.

In the final, #25 Franklin Pierce will take on #30 Saint Anselm.

In the four meetings, Franklin Pierce has won twice, Saint Anslem once, and they tied once.

This is a coin flip of a matchup, but I am going to pick Saint Anslem to pull off an upset because they have the best player on the ice.

Brooklyn Schneiderhan has 48 points this season, including a four-assist game the last time these two teams played.

These two teams are as close as it can get, so I will take my chances with the team with the best player.

WCHA

The final, and best conference here, is the WCHA.

They’re still in the semi-finals and include the #1, #2, #4, and #14 teams in the country.

#1 Wisconsin hosts #14 Minnesota State, and I expect this to be a relatively easy win for the Badgers.

The other semi-final is much more interesting, as #2 Ohio State hosts #3 Minnesota.

Ohio State won three of the four matchups in the regular season between the two.

The Buckeyes’ strength lies in their dominance of possession.

They win over 58% of their faceoffs and outshoot their opponents by more than 20 shots per game.

Minnesota’s strength is its offensive firepower, as Abbey Murphy, Ava Lindsay, and company. lead an incredible unit.

They are incredibly efficient with their shooting, with players like Bella Fanale having a .225 shooting percentage on 20 goals.

This is why I give the Golden Gophers the edge.

Ohio State’s goaltending is its weakness, as it only save 88.9% of shots.

I think Minnesota will take advantage of this and go to the final.

However, Wisconsin is just so good that I think they will win the WCHA Final over the Golden Gophers.

Edison Pellumbi is a first-year student studying broadcast journalism. To contact him, email him at ejp5889@psu.edu.