NCAA Division III women's ice hockey tournament
| NCAA Division III women's ice hockey tournament | |
|---|---|
| Sport | College ice hockey |
| Number of teams | 13 |
| Format | Single-elimination tournament |
| Current stadium | Hunt Arena |
| Current location | River Falls, Wisconsin |
| Played | 2002–present |
| Last contest | 2026 |
| Current champion | Wisconsin–River Falls (2) |
| Most championships | Plattsburgh State (7) |
| TV partner | NCAA.com |
| Official website | https://www.ncaa.com/sports/icehockey-women/d3 |
The annual NCAA Division III women's ice hockey tournament is a college ice hockey tournament held in the United States by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the top women's team in the NCAA. The 2020 and 2021 championships were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[1]
Origins
The NCAA Division III championship of women's ice hockey began in 2002.
NCAA Division III women's ice hockey
Seventy-eight schools in the United States, ranging from the Midwest to the East Coast, sponsor varsity women's hockey at the Division III level. Ten conferences are currently recognized by the NCAA—Conference of New England, Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, Middle Atlantic Conferences, Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, New England Hockey Conference, New England Small College Athletic Conference, Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, State University of New York Athletic Conference, United Collegiate Hockey Conference, and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. As of 2025, eight of the conferences receive automatic bids into the tournament. There are currently two independent teams as of the 2024—2025 season.
Format
This tournament is a single elimination competition of twelve teams. The first round and quarterfinals are hosted at the campuses of the higher seeds. The semi-finals and finals are called the "Women's Frozen Four." The winners of the semi-finals move on to the championship.
History
Team titles
7, 4, 3, 2, 1
| Team | # | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Plattsburgh State | 7 | 2007, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 |
| Middlebury | 4 | 2004, 2005, 2006, 2022 |
| Elmira | 3 | 2002, 2003, 2013 |
| Amherst | 2 | 2009, 2010 |
| Norwich | 2011, 2018 | |
| Wisconsin–River Falls | 2024, 2025 | |
| Gustavus Adolphus | 1 | 2023 |
| RIT | 2012 |
Coaching titles
| Coach | # | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Kevin Houle | 7 | 2007, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019 |
| Bill Mandigo | 4 | 2004, 2005, 2006, 2022 |
| Mark Bolding | 2 | 2011, 2018 |
| Joe Cranston | 2024, 2025 | |
| Jim Plumer | 2009, 2010 | |
| Jamie Wood | 2002, 2003 | |
| Mike Carroll | 1 | 2023 |
| Dean Jackson | 2013 | |
| Scott McDonald | 2012 |
Result by school and year
35 teams have appeared in the NCAA DIII Tournament in at least one year starting with 2002. The results for all years are shown in this table below.
The code in each cell represents the furthest the team made it in the respective tournament:
- – Not fielding a division III team
- FR First round (did not exist until 2018)
- x 2 teams who lost in the 2020 first round before the tournament was canceled.
- QF Quarterfinals
- x 8 teams selected in 2020 who were in the quarterfinals before the tournament was canceled.
- F4 Frozen Four
- F4* Teams who won in the third place game before its discontinuation in 2023.
- RU National Runner-up
- CH National Champion
| School | Conference as of 2026 |
# | QF | F4 | CG | CH | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plattsburgh State | SUNYAC | 21 | 19 | 4 | 8 | 7 | F4* | F4 | RU | CH | CH | QF | QF | F4* | F4* | CH | CH | CH | CH | F4 | CH | X | F4* | F4 | QF | FR | FR | |||
| Middlebury | NESCAC | 20 | 20 | 11 | 6 | 4 | QF | QF | CH | CH | CH | RU | QF | F4* | F4* | QF | RU | QF | F4 | QF | QF | X | CH | QF | F4 | F4 | ||||
| Elmira | UCHC | 20 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 3 | CH | CH | QF | RU | QF | F4* | RU | F4* | CH | QF | RU | F4* | QF | RU | QF | X | F4 | RU | QF | QF | ||||
| Amherst | NESCAC | 11 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 | F4 | QF | CH | CH | QF | QF | X | RU | QF | RU | TBD | |||||||||||||
| Norwich | LEC | 13 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | QF | RU | CH | RU | QF | RU | F4 | F4 | CH | FR | X | FR | TBD | |||||
| Wisconsin–River Falls | WIAC | 17 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 2 | F4 | F4 | QF | QF | QF | QF | F4* | F4* | RU | QF | QF | X | QF | QF | CH | CH | TBD | |||||||
| Gustavus Adolphus | MIAC | 18 | 15 | 10 | 2 | 1 | F4* | QF | F4* | F4 | QF | QF | QF | F4 | F4 | F4 | F4 | F4* | FR | X | RU | CH | QF | FR | ||||||
| RIT | moved to NC | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | QF | RU | CH | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||||||||
| Manhattanville | UCHC | 8 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | RU | RU | F4 | QF | QF | QF | RU | QF | ||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin–Stevens Point | WIAC | 5 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | RU | QF | F4* | F4* | QF | |||||||||||||||||||
| Adrian | NCHA | 9 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | QF | QF | RU | QF | F4* | X | QF | F4 | FR | |||||||||
| Hamline | MIAC | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | F4* | RU | QF | ||||||||||||||
| Bowdoin | NESCAC | 5 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | F4 | F4* | QF | QF | QF | |||||||||||||||||||
| St. Thomas | moved to NC | 6 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | QF | F4 | QF | QF | QF | F4 | – | – | – | – | – | |||||||||||||
| Wisconsin–Superior | WIAC | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | QF | F4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hamilton | NESCAC | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | F4 | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Augsburg | MIAC | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | F4 | FR | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nazareth | UCHC | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | FR | QF | FR | QF | TBD | ||
| Wisconsin–Eau Clare | WIAC | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | QF | QF | X | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Endicott | CNE | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | FR | X | QF | FR | FR | |||||
| Williams | NESCAC | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | QF | QF | FR | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Colby | NESCAC | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | QF | QF | QF | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Trinity | NESCAC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | QF | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| St. Norbert | NCHA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | QF | QF | |||||||||||||
| Lake Forest | NCHA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | QF | QF | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wilkes | MAC | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | FR | QF | |||||
| Saint Mary's | MIAC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | QF | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Concordia (MN) | MIAC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | QF | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| UMass Boston | LEC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | QF | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Morrisville State | SUNYAC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | QF | |||||||||
| Aurora | NCHA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | FR | |||||||
| Suffolk | CNE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | FR | ||||||
| Cortland | SUNYAC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | FR | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western New England | CNE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | FR | ||||
| Saint Benedict | MIAC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | FR |
No appearances
The following is a list of current Division III teams that have yet to make a tournament appearance.
See also
- Laura Hurd Award
- NCAA women's ice hockey tournament
- Title IX
- NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament
References
- ^ Staff, USCHO (2022-03-08). "After no championship since 2019, women's college hockey Division III national tournament returns with 10-team field for 2022". College Hockey | USCHO.com. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
- ^ "DIII Women's Ice Hockey Championship History | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2025-03-05.
- ^ "Perfection, Middlebury Claims NCAA Title In Record Fashion". Middlebury College. 2022-03-19. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "Women's Hockey Wins Program's First National Championship in Triple Overtime Thriller". Gustavus Adolphus College. 2023-03-19. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "Falcons cap off undefeated season with National Title on home ice". University of Wisconsin River Falls Athletics. 2024-03-17. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "Home Ice Glory: UWRF Wins Second Consecutive National Title with 3-1 Victory Over Amherst". University of Wisconsin River Falls Athletics. 2025-03-30. Retrieved 2026-02-17.
- ^ "NCAA Division III women's hockey tournament". USCHO.com | NCAA. Retrieved 2025-03-05.