5 takeaways from the NCAA women’s ice hockey tournament quarterfinals

The quarterfinals of the 2022 NCAA women’s hockey tournament had it all. 

In four games, there was an upset, an almost-upset, a 71-save performance, two overtime-winners and a rematch of last season’s national championship. It had everything. 

It was yet another example of why it’s difficult to top postseason hockey. 

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Here are the five biggest takeaways from the quarterfinals.  

1. Corinne Schroeder was sensational 

Do you have any idea how good a player has to play to be the No. 1 takeaway after losing? 

Quinnipiac goalie Corinne Schroeder was not just good on Saturday night — she was unbelievable. At night’s end, she stopped 71 of the 75 shots that No. 1 Ohio State sent her way in the 4-3 loss.

Throughout the night, Schroeder was the reason Quinnipiac stayed close. Schroeder made multiple phenomenal stops. A lot of those came in the first overtime with the Buckeyes firing for the game-winner. 

Ohio State is the No. 1 seed in the tournament for good reason. That was evident in Ohio State outshooting the Bobcats by 53. The Bobcats looked visibly gassed trying to defend against the Buckeyes using their elite speed, skill and physicality to earn open space and quality scoring chances. 

But there was Schroeder standing tall and posting a memorable performance in net. 

2. Minnesota Duluth completes the huge upset over No. 2 Minnesota 

For the first time since 2014, the No. 2 seed in the NC women’s college hockey tournament will not be in the Frozen Four. Minnesota Duluth worked extremely hard to make that a reality. 

The Bulldogs survived the full wrath of Minnesota’s offense — the No. 1 scoring attack in the country. The Golden Gophers outshot Minnesota Duluth, 38-27, and dominated in the third period, peppering the Bulldog net with 16 shots. 

Still, Minnesota Duluth did everything it could to keep Minnesota at bay. We’ll get to goalie Emma Soderberg in a bit, but the play that propelled the Bulldogs into the Frozen Four was Gabbie Hughes’ eventual game-winner. Hughes has been on a tear so far in the tournament, scoring a hat trick in the 4-0 win over Harvard and potting one on Saturday. 

Gabbie Hughes loves the NCAA Tournament. pic.twitter.com/lgieffVBXi

— UMD Women’s Hockey (@UMDWHockey) March 12, 2022

No. 2 Minnesota entered this tournament as a squad who had a real case to be No. 1. Now the Gophers are out because of the Bulldogs. 

3. Last season’s national championship rematch lived up to the hype 

The quarterfinal matchup everyone had circled was Northeastern and Wisconsin, and rightfully so. The two schools went head-to-head in last spring’s national championship game. Wisconsin took that one with a 2-1 win in overtime. 

To raise the interest level in this game even more, Northeastern goalie Aerin Frankel and Wisconsin star Daryl Watts traded shots in their media availabilities before Saturday’s game. The pot was stirred. 

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The Huskies came away with a 4-2 win and got revenge, but it didn’t come easy. Wisconsin outshot Northeastern, 41-32. The Badgers responded fairly quickly to Northeastern’s opening goal by scoring one of their own. Then, with Northeastern up by two to begin the third period, Wisconsin pulled within one. The Badgers continued to up the pressure in the third period, earning chance after chance and sustaining zone time.

In the end it just wasn’t enough. Northeastern scored the 4-2 win and will play Minnesota Duluth in the Frozen Four. 

4. Terrific goaltending ruled the day 

Aside from Schroeder, there were three other outstanding goaltending performances: Soderberg, Frankel and Yale’s Gianna Meloni. 

Let’s start with Soderberg, since she was a vital part of Minnesota Duluth’s upset over No. 2 Minnesota. She stopped 37 of the 38 shots sent her way by the country’s No. 1 offense. That included all 16 shots faced in the third period. 

RELIVE THE FIRST ROUND: Takeaways from the first round of the tournament

Then there was Frankel. It’s no surprise that Frankel was terrific, but Saturday’s win felt extra special for the star goaltender. After falling just short of a national championship win in a loss to Wisconsin last season, Frankel stopped 38 of the 40 shots she faced on Saturday to get revenge and lead the Huskies past the Badgers with a 4-2 win.

Out of all of her saves, Frankel’s best came when she robbed Wisconsin’s Brette Pettet of a sure goal. 

Just an absurd stop from Aerin Frankel of @GoNUwhockey: pic.twitter.com/ZVmpP8V5IQ

— Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) March 12, 2022

In the Yale-Colgate quarterfinal, Meloni kept Colgate’s offense at bay. The Raiders applied pressure in Yale’s zone for most of the afternoon, and Meloni quelled it. In all, she stopped 28 of the 29 shots she faced. 

5. Overtime mayhem between Yale and Colgate 

The Raiders thought they won. The goal horn went off and the five Colgate skaters on the ice celebrated. Kalty Kaltounkova had just shoveled the puck in. 

Only one problem: The referee behind the net was waving the goal off. Goalie interference. On they played. 

Here’s the game-winner off the stick of Dettling!! pic.twitter.com/LLBKe3Nbxa

— Yale Women’s Hockey (@YaleWHockey) March 12, 2022

Shortly after, Emma DeCorby’s shot from the point was stopped by Colgate netminder Hannah Murphy. But there was Tess Dettling cleaning up the rebound and sending Yale to the Frozen Four for the first time in program history. 

Tons of drama packed into an overtime that was only 2:05. 

That summed up the entire day of college hockey.