The WCHA will begin its postseason tournament on with best of three series on March 1-3.  This weekend’s schedule includes #1 seed Ohio State hosting #8 seed Bemidji State, #2 seed Wisconsin hosting #7 seed St. Thomas, #3 seed Minnesota hosting #6 seed Minnesota State and #4 seed hosting #5 seed St. Cloud State.  The winner of each series will then advance to the 2024 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff, which will take place at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on March 8-9.  

WCHA PLAYOFFS - FIRST ROUND (Best of 3 Series)

FRIDAY, MARCH 1 - WCHA PLAYOFFS (Best of 3)
#8 Bemidji State at #1 Ohio State, 5:00 p.m.
#7 St. Thomas at #2 Wisconsin, 5:00 p.m.
#6 Minnesota State at #3 Minnesota, 6:00 p.m.
#5 St, Cloud State at #4 Minnesota Duluth, 4:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 2 - WCHA PLAYOFFS (Best of 3)
#8 Bemidji State at #1 Ohio State, 2:00 p.m.
#7 St. Thomas at #2 Wisconsin, 4:00 p.m.
#6 Minnesota State at #3 Minnesota, 3:00 p.m.
#5 St, Cloud State at #4 Minnesota Duluth, 3:00 p.m.

SUNDAY, MARCH 3 - WCHA PLAYOFFS (Best of 3) - IF NEEDED
#8 Bemidji State at #1 Ohio State, 2:00 p.m.
#7 St. Thomas at #2 Wisconsin, 4:00 p.m.
#6 Minnesota State at #3 Minnesota, 3:00 p.m.
#5 St, Cloud State at #4 Minnesota Duluth, 3:00 p.m.

WCHA Notebook - Complete Release (PDF)

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WCHA NOTEBOOK: News and Notes for First Round of Playoffs

POLL POSITION: In the latest Division I national polls released on Feb. 26-27, Ohio State held on to the number one spot in both polls while Wisconsin stayed at #2 in both polls.  Minnesota ranked #4 in both polls and Minnesota Duluth stayed at #8 in the polls.  St. Cloud State was ranked #10 in both polls.  Minnesota State earned votes in the Rink Live/USA Hockey poll, while Bemidji State and St. Thomas were unranked in the polls.  

CHAMPIONS:  Ohio State clinched its second consecutive WCHA Julianne Bye Cup championship (regular champions) with a 12-1 and 4-1 weekend sweep over St. Thomas on Feb. 16-17.  This marks the second WCHA regular season title for the Buckeyes as they also won the crown in 2023.

PLAYOFF TIME:  The WCHA will begin its postseason tournament on with best of three series on March 1-3.  This weekend’s schedule includes #1 seed Ohio State hosting #8 seed Bemidji State, #2 seed Wisconsin hosting #7 seed St. Thomas, #3 seed Minnesota hosting #6 seed Minnesota State and #4 seed hosting #5 seed St. Cloud State.  The winner of each series will then advance to the 2024 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff, which will take place at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on March 8-9.  

FFO FACTS:  Minnesota won th 2023 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff with a 3-1 win over Ohio State at Ridder Arena.  This was Minnesota’s eighth WCHA Final Faceoff title since 1999-20...Wisconsin has won the most WCHA Final Faceoff titles with nine during the conference’s tenure, while Minnesota Duluth has won five tournament titles and Ohio State has won two.  Since 2020, Ohio State has won FFO titles in 2020 and 2022, while Wisconsin last won the tournament crown in 2021...the winner of the Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff receives the conference’s automatic to the NCAA tournament...last year’s participants in the Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff were Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota Duluth...here is a rundown of the number of Final Faceoff appearances for each WCHA program since the tournament made its debut in 2000: Minnesota (24), Wisconsin (23), Minnesota Duluth (21), Ohio State (15), North Dakota (7), Bemidji State (3), St. Cloud State (2) and Minnesota State (1).

WCHA VS. EVERYONE ELSE:  In 2023-24, WCHA teams own a 35-8-3 record against non-conference opponents.  This includes a 12-3-0 record against CHA opponents and a 9-5-3 record against ECAC teams.  WCHA teams are 8-0-0 in play against Hockey East teams and 6-0-0 in action against NEWHA teams this winter.  In play against team’s currently ranked in the top 15 this season, WCHA teams are 9-4-2.  In those games against top 15 opponents, WCHA teams have outscored those opponents 59-31.

STERLING EFFORTS: The WCHA’s Sterling Trophy Players of the Week for Feb. 23-24 were announced on Feb. 26.   The honored players for the week included WCHA Forward of the Week from St. Cloud State Emma Gentry, WCHA Defender of the Week from SCSU Taylor Larson, WCHA Goalie of the Week from Ohio State Raygan Kirk and WCHA Rookie of the Week from St. Thomas Rylee Bartz.

2024 KWIK TRIP WCHA FINAL FACEOFF - SINGLE GAME TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE: All-session tickets and single-game tickets are currently available for purchase for the upcoming 2024 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff, which will be held at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on March 8-9.  For complete information about the Final Faceoff tournament, please visit www.wcha.com/finalfaceoff  

GOY SEMIFINALISTS: Four WCHA goaltenders have been named as semifinalists for the 2024 HCA National Goaltender of the Year Award.  The league goalies selected to the list include Ohio State’s Raygan Kirk, St. Cloud State’ Sanni Ahola, Minnesota Duluth’s Éve Gascon and Minnesota Duluth’s Hailey MacLeod.  

PERFORMANCE OF THE WEEK: This week’s WCHA Howies Hockey Tape Performance of the week was produced by St. Cloud State’s senior forward Emma Gentry, who had four goals and one assist in a weekend sweep at Bemidji State on Feb. 23-24.

ROY WATCH LIST:  WCHA players named to the National Rookie of the Year Watch List recently were Ella Boerger (UST), Joy Dunne (OSU), Eve Gascon (UMD), Cassie Hall (UW), Emma Kreisz (UM), Ava Lindsay (UM) and Ava McNaugton (UW).

WATCH ON BIG+:  Don’t miss any of the WCHA playoff action this weekend!  All WCHA home games in 2023-24 will be available for live streaming on B1G+ (www.bigtenplus.com)

HOCKEY HUMANITARIAN NOMINEE:  Ohio State graduate student forward Kenzie Hauswirth was one of 18 nominees in men’s and women’s college hockey for the 2024 Hockey Humanitarian Award.  Last year, Gabbie Hughes of Minnesota Duluth received the 2023 Hockey Humanitarian Award.

WCHA FACTS: St. Thomas set a new program record for wins in a season (Division I level) with its 5-4 win over MSU.  The Tommies now have 10 wins this season...Wisconsin’s 4-2 win on Feb 24 snapped a 16-game winning streak for Ohio State.  The Buckeyes finished the regular season with a program best 26-2-0 WCHA record this season...Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy leads the nation with 31 goals this season and the UW duo of Kirsten Simms (61) and Casey O’Brien (56) lead the nation in scoring...Wisconsin leads the nation in scoring as a team with 175 points, while Ohio State is third at 161...on defense, Ohio State ranks second among DI teams with 43 goals allowed...UMD’s Hailey MacLeod leads the nation with a .958 save percentage this season.

WISE GUYS:  A total of 125 WCHA student-athletes received 2023-24 WCHA All-Academic honors this week and another 85 WCHA players were honored as 2023-24 WCHA Scholar-Athlete award recipients.  The 2023-24 WCHA Outstanding Student-Athlete of the Year will be announced on March 7.