The 2023 Frozen Four field was set on Saturday as Ohio State, Minnesota, Northeastern and Wisconsin punched their ticket to Duluth with quarterfinal wins.
Top seed Ohio State will face Northeastern at 2:30 pm CT on Friday. Minnesota will face Wisconsin for the sixth time this season in the second semifinal, scheduled for 6 PM CT on Friday. Both games will stream on ESPN+.
(1) Ohio State 5, (8) Quinnipiac 2
The Bobcats had a 12-10 advantage in shots and took a 1-0 lead into the locker room after the first period thanks to a late power play goal from Kendall Cooper and looked like their marathon 3 OT regional semifinal wasn’t a worry. Ohio State came out firing in the second, outshooting Quinnipiac 24-3, but it wasn’t until past the mid point that they were able to get one past Logan Angers. Gabby Rosenthal took it in unassisted to tie the game on the power play and a few minutes later, Lauren Bernard took it in alone and tucked it in the top corner to give OSU the lead. In the third, Emma Peschel put back a rebound to extend the lead to 3-1 and Sophie Jaques’ near post shut squeaked through to make it 4-1. Quinnipiac pulled their goalie and Maddie Samoskevich pulled one back for the Bobcats to make it 4-2 with under four to play. Jaques added an empty-net goal to secure the 5-2 win and set a new WCHA record for career goals by a blueliner with 61. The defending national champions return to the Frozen Four for the third straight year and fourth time in program history. They last played Northeastern in the 2006-2007 season and own a 7-3-2 all-time record against the Huskies.
(2) Minnesota 3, (7) Minnesota Duluth 0
After a back and forth first period, the Gophers started to edge away in the second. Madeline Wethington’s coast to coast goal midway through the frame broke the stalemate and would prove to be the game-winner. Early in the third, Abbey Murphy extended her nine-game scoring streak with a stunner from a near impossible angle to make it 2-0. Catie Skaja’s snipe midway through the third sealed the win for Minnesota, who advance to their first Frozen Four since 2019. It’s the 15th Frozen Four berth in Gopher program history.
(3) Colgate 2, (6) Wisconsin 4
The Badgers came out strong and pinned the Raiders back in the first, which set the tone for much of the game. They took the lead on a snipe from defender Nicole LaMantia, who carried the puck in down the boards and picked her spot in stride. The Raiders adjusted at the intermission and struck immediately thanks to Allyson Simpson’s stickhandling to make it 1-1. Colgate looked to be building some momentum, but Casey O’Brien’s power play goal late in the period put the Badgers up once again as the penalty kill unit did not allow a shot on two back to back late penalties in the second. Vivian Jungels find open ice between the two Colgate lines on a rush into the zone and one-timed the pass from O’Brien to give Wisconsin some breathing room. Laila Edwards chipped in a goal on the empty net to extend the lead to 4-1 with under two to play. Colgate fought for one more as Kalty Kaltounkova netted a snipe with 9.7 on the clock, but the Badgers took the 4-2 win. Wisconsin outshot Colgate 35-15 in the win and held the most prolific power play in the country (38 goals) off the board in five attempts. It’s the eighth Frozen Four in nine tournaments for the Badgers and 14th in the history of the program.
(4) Yale 1, (5) Northeastern 4
The Bulldogs looked like the might be the ones to end Northeastern’s long win streak early in this game, pinning the Huskies in the zone and sending goalie Gwyn Philips scrambling. But Northeastern pushed back and began to find their rhythm and broke through early in the second period with an unlikely source as rookie Lily Shannon scored her sixth goal of the season off a brilliant steal by Skylar Irving and a quick pass to Shannon, who deked and found the back of the net. In the third, the Huskies were cycling the puck when Megan Carter unleashed a shot from distance. Chloe Aurard redirected the puck in from her spot in front of the goalie. Midway through the final frame, Maureen Murphy picked up the puck along the boards in the defensive zone and hit Alina Mueller in stride as she raced out of the zone on a two-on-one with Aurard alongside. A tic-tac-toe passing sequence gave Mueller the wide open shot at the back post to make it 3-0. Yale broke the shutout when Elle Hartje picked up a busted clearance pass and fed it to Jordan Ray, who’s shot rebounded out to Anna Bargman. Her shot did not miss and it was 3-1. On a late 6-on-4 power play for Yale, Murphy poked the puck ahead and took off to earn a shorthanded empty net goal to close the game out 4-1. Philips made a career-high 38 saves in the game.
