Hockey East Earns Three Bids To Women's National Tournament For First Time
Northeastern Selected As Top Overall Seed, Boston College and Providence Also Advance
ncaa-release

WAKEFIELD, Mass. - Hockey East has earned three bids into the National Collegiate Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament for the first time in league history. Four-time defending Hockey East Tournament champion Northeastern has been selected as the top overall seed while Boston College and Providence have earned At-Large bids into national tournament. Quarterfinal play begins March 15 with the entirety of the national tournament will take place in Erie, Pennsylvania.

The No. 1 Huskies (20-1-1) earned an automatic bid into the National Tournament, their first as the top seed, after claiming the school’s fourth consecutive Hockey East Women’s Tournament title Saturday, 6-2, over Providence at home in Matthews Arena. It marks the fifth time that Northeastern has earned a berth in the National Tournament and its fourth straight trip to the national postseason after claiming Hockey East’s automatic bid in each of those seasons. The Huskies have secured a top-four seed in the national tournament for the third year in a row, drawing a first-round contest with College Hockey America Tournament champion No. 8 Robert Morris at 2:00 p.m. on March 15. Northeastern has never advanced to the Frozen Four.

No. 6 Boston College (14-5-0) appears in the National Tournament field for the 12th time in program history and it marks the 10th appearance for the Eagles in the national quarterfinals in the past 11 seasons. All time, Boston College is 6-1 when selected as a top-four seed in the national postseason, while going just 1-2 when seeded lower than fourth. Boston College has moved on to the Frozen Four on seven occasions, including three of the last five times the Frozen Four has been held. The Eagles appeared in the national title game in 2016. Boston College will face off with No. 3 Ohio State on March 16 at 7:00 p.m..

No. 7 Providence (12-7-1) returns to the national postseason for just the second time in program history and has earned an At-Large bid for first time. In 2005, the first national tournament to feature eight competing teams, the Friars fell to No. 1 overall seed and eventual champion Minnesota after claiming Hockey East’s automatic bid. The Friars draw a match up with No. 2 Wisconsin in the quarterfinals at 2:00 p.m. on March 16.

The field is rounded out by No. 4 Colgate and No. 5. Minnesota Duluth.

The 2021 National Collegiate Women’s Ice Hockey Tournament Championship will run from March 15-20 at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania. Quarterfinal games will be played on March 15-16 followed by the semifinals on March 19 and the national title game on March 20. The four quarterfinals will be streamed live by NCAA Live Stream. The first Frozen Four semifinal will be streamed on ESPN3 at 2:00 p.m. on March 18 before the second semifinal at 7:00 p.m. and the National championship game on March 20 at 7:30 p.m. will be aired live on ESPNU.