2025 WCHA First Round Playoffs Preview

It's playoff time! Let's get into the previews for each of the four series this weekend en route to the WCHA Final Faceoff in Duluth, Minn., on March 7. All times Central unless stated otherwise.

Playoff Format:

All eight WCHA teams will play in the quarterfinals this weekend, and the winners will face off in Duluth next weekend, with the highest remaining seed facing the lowest remaining seed and the second highest seed battling the second lowest seed. If you need visuals like I do, then here you go! The winner will be crowned on Mar. 8 with Wisconsin looking to defend their title after winning last year.

Let's get into the matchups.

No. 8 Bemidji State at No. 1 Wisconsin

Friday at 7 PM, Saturday at 3 PM and Sunday, if necessary, at 2 PM

We kick off the preview with Wisconsin and Bemidji State. They actually faced each other just last week to round out the regular season, but this playoff series will shift to LaBahn this time around. The two last faced each other in postseason play in 2022.

The Badgers won the Julianne Bye Cup as the WCHA regular season champions and finished the regular season with 77 points and a conference record of 25-1-2. They only allowed 35 goals against in WCHA play, which is pretty interesting to think about, given the talent across the board in this conference. But it makes sense, given their top goaltender Ava McNaughton finished the season with a 1.18 goals against average and seven shutouts against WCHA teams alone. She was in net when Bemidji faced Wisconsin for the first time in October and shut them out in both games. So if the Beavers want to have any sort of success, they need to solve the mystery of scoring on McNaughton – which they sort of did this past weekend. They faced her in only one game, but did manage to score one goal against her, which was more than the zero they had the previous two times.

Bemidji head coach Amber Fryklund doesn’t mind the quick turnaround because the team knows what to expect against the Badgers. It also means they can continue to build on thie good defensive plays and scoring chances from last weekend's series. “Playoff hockey, anything can happen – our mindset is just all about having that growth mindset – how we can be better from this weekend to next and we’re really excited for the opportunity to compete,” Fryklund told reporters on Tuesday.

The Beavers’ secret weapon against such an offensively talented team is their defense. Three of the five most blocked shots in all of the WCHA are from Bemidji; sophomore defender Riley Reeves blocked the second most in the league, with 83 blocked shots. The defense averaged 16.40 blocked shots per game. The defense will have a tall task though as Wisconsin scores an average of 5.47 goals per game. That’s quite a lot.

Those goals have come courtesy of Laila Edwards leading the way with 30 goals, while teammates Casey O’Brien and Lacey Eden round out the top five in the conference with 23 and 22 goals respectively.  On paper it's a given for the Badgers, but don’t count the Beavers out. Where there’s a will, there’s a way – unless Riley Reeves is nearby.

No. 7 St. Thomas at No. 2 Ohio State

Friday at 6 PM ET, Saturday at 3 PM ET, and Sunday, if necessary, at 3 PM ET

The Ohio State and St. Thomas matchup may be my favorite. It is the first time the two meet in the postseason. The Tommies took strides this season with a sweep of then number-four Minnesota Duluth back in January for the program’s first win against a top five opponent. They followed that up by taking a point from ranked St. Cloud State the week after that. The following week, they led the Buckeyes in the first game of their series 3-1 at one point. Though they eventually let that lead slip and fell in overtime, they pushed a nationally ranked team to the limit. Similar to Bemidji, St. Thomas’ biggest asset is their defense. In that game against Ohio State three weeks ago, the Tommies had already recorded 27 blocked shots before the start of overtime. They also have the conference leader in blocked shots, with Ellah Hause having 86 in 34 games this season. That’s someone who isn’t afraid to put herself on the line. Rookie goaltender Dani Strom faced Ohio State three times this season. In her second-ever appearance against them, she held them scoreless until overtime having faced 59 shots in total. Strom has seen a lot of shots on goal in her first season and that experience can be incredibly useful against a team that has a lot of scoring power.

The reigning national champions didn’t skip a beat this season. Their offense is fantastic, with the likes of Jenna Buglioni, who had seven game winning goals; Jocelyn Amos, who finished third in the nation in power play goals with nine; and Joy Dunne, who recorded 21 goals and has a point in 13 of her last 14 games. Their defense is also very strong, with Ohio State allowing only 18.38 shots on goal per game. Everything looks like it’s going in the Buckeyes’ favor, and it most likely will, given they are 16-0-0 against the Tommies. But this is also the same team that swept a ranked Bulldogs team just last month.

No. 6 Minnesota State at No. 3 Minnesota

Friday at 6 PM, Saturday at 2 PM, and Sunday, if necessary, at 3 PM

Minnesota and Minnesota State meet for the second straight postseason matchup. Last year, the series went to three games. Mankato won the first before the Gophers took the next two games to advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff. The Mavericks closed out the regular season strong with a dominant 8-3 win on Feb. 21 and a 3-0 shutout victory the following day, for a sweep of St. Thomas. Minnesota State has plenty of skaters with double digit goals, including Claire Vekich with 14, Whitney Tuttle with 13, and Alexis Paddington and Taylor Otremba with 12 goals each. The Mavericks were not shut out by the Gophers this season, and in fact, they managed to score five goals in two games against netminder Hannah Clark. That goal scoring will be needed if the Mavericks want to be successful in once again defeating Minnesota in postseason play.

Clark finished the season with a 21-7-1 record and two shutouts. She also posted a .905 save percentage and has a 2.29 goals-against average in the regular season. Her second career shutout happened last weekend against number-six Minnesota Duluth. In that series, she recorded 50 saves on 52 shots and stood tall for a 1-0 win on Feb. 22. So the freshman goaltender is entering the postseason with a lot of momentum. In front of her is a team that twice put up eight goals on the Mavericks in four games. Abbey Murphy leads the charge with 52 points and has a 1.49 points per game average.

Ella Huber is tied for 9th nationally with a 0.80 assists per game average coming from her 28 assists this season but she also has 40 points in total. She’s had success against Mankato this season with two goals and four assists in three games. There are plenty of others with star power on this Gophers squad, including Josefin Bouveng who had a hat trick against Minnesota State in their last matchup. I’m torn for so many reasons but I think Mankato will manage to score at least one goal, as they have against Clark this season, but I do see Minnesota moving on.

No. 5 St. Cloud State at No. 6 Minnesota Duluth

Friday at 2 PM, Saturday at 1 PM, and Sunday, if necessary, at 1 PM

Oh boy, here we go again! For the third straight postseason the Bulldogs and Huskies will battle it out. History favors Duluth as they lead the all-time playoffs series 9-1 and swept St. Cloud State the previous two years in the WCHA tournament. Ok, not great for the Huskies and the regular season series wasn’t great either, but if you think I’m losing it by saying this matchup might be the most even of them all, let me know – or don’t. The last series sure doesn’t fit my claims, as the Bulldogs recorded back-to-back shutouts, but then again there might be a chance. Emma Gentry has a team-leading 12 goals, with Sofianna Sundelin right behind her with 11. Gentry currently has a six game point streak going as well.

But remember, this is the same team that pulled off an incredible upset against number-three Minnesota on Valentine’s Day. What consistently stands out about the Huskies is their ability to have so many players step up when needed, like Ella Anick did to win the game with 30 seconds left. But one of the most important pieces to the success of the Huskies is their goaltending capabilities, with freshman goaltender Emilia Kyrkkö and fifth-year goaltender Sanni Ahola at the helm. The two are ranked third and fourth in goals against average in the conference, with Kyrkkö sporting a 1.98 and Ahola having a 2.18. They are also third and fourth in saves percentage, with a .925 for Kyrkkö and a .918 for Ahola. Their defense also had two players in the conference's top 15 in blocked shots. But one of their biggest faults is their power play hasn’t fared well against Duluth. In the four games this season, the St. Cloud power play was a dreadful 0-14. So it’s going to take a full team effort for the Huskies to exorcise their demons and finally score and beat the Bulldogs.

On the other side, Minnesota Duluth has their own talented goaltender in net. Ève Gascon faced the Huskies in postseason play last year and shut them out while making 27 saves. This season, she is consistently one of the goaltenders on the stats chart above the St. Cloud duo. Gascon has 1.88 goals against average which puts her second in the conference. She’s also second in save percentage with a .941, trailing only Wisconsin’s Ava McNaughton and her .947 save percentage. Gascon leads the conference in shutouts with four this season. Two of those were against this same St. Cloud squad.

Her team in front of her has also been great. While St. Cloud’s power play can’t find the back of the net, Duluth’s penalty kill sure can. Olivia Mobley leads the NCAA in shorthanded goals with four. This season alone, the Bulldogs scored seven shorthanded goals. Freshman sensation Cailtlin Kraemer put together a great season ,scoring six power play goals, good for fourth in the conference and showing how special teams are a good driving force for the Bulldogs. Some of the most notable players to have success against St. Cloud is Clara Van Wieren, who has 16 points in 24 games against the Huskies. I think I’m going to be neutral in my attempt at a prediction here and say that I hope both teams have fun and hopefully next year they will meet someone else in the WCHA postseason.

Programming Notes:

All games will be streamed on B1G+, which requires a subscription.

Thanks for reading!