COMPLETE KWIK TRIP FINAL FACEOFF INFOMATION:
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Complete WCHA Notebook (PDF Format)
KWIK TRIP FINAL FACEOFF: It’s that time of year again as the 2024 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff will be held at Ridder Arena in Minneapolis on March 8-9. The tournament will open with #1 seed facing off against #4 Minnesota Duluth in game one at 1:00 p.m. on March 8. Game two will feature a postseason border battle as #2 seed Wisconsin will play #3 seed Minnesota at 4:30 p.m. The winners of both games will then play in the tournament title game at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 9 at Ridder Arena. All three games of the Kwik Trip Final Faceoff will air on FOX9+ out of the Twin Cities and fans can also watch the live stream via B1G+.
POLL POSITION: In the latest Division I national polls released on Feb. Match 4-5, Ohio State held on to the number one spot in both polls while Wisconsin stayed at #2 in both polls. Minnesota ranked #5 in both polls and Minnesota Duluth stayed at #8 in the polls. St. Cloud State was ranked #11 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 RESULTS: In the first round of the WCHA playoffs, Ohio State punched its ticket to Minneapolis with a 10-1 and 8-0 home sweep against Bemidi State. on March 1-2. In Madison, Wisconsin scored a 4-2 and 9-1 series sweep against St. Thomas. Minnesota State opened its series against host Minnesota with a 5-4 win in game one, before the Gophers rallied to win the series by scores of 7-1 and 3-0. In Duluth, the Bulldogs gained a two-game sweep over St. Cloud State by scores of 5-0 and 2-0.
FFO FACTS: Minnesota won the 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 (25), Wisconsin (24), Minnesota Duluth (22), Ohio State (16), 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.
WCHA AWARDS: A complete list of WCHA award winners for 2023-24 is available on page 5-7 of the WCHA weekly notebook. This includes All-WCHA teams, All-Rookie team, Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Student-Athlete of the Year, Forward of the Year, Defender of the Year, Goaltender of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Scoring Champion and Goaltending Champion.
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 FINALISTS: OSU’s Raygan Kirk has been named as a top 3 finalist for the 2024 HCA National Goaltender of the Year Award. The award will be announced during the NCAA Frozen Four in Durham, N.H.
PATTY KAZ TOP 10: WCHA players Caroline Harvey (UW), Abbey Murphy (UM), Casey O’Brien (UW) and Kirsten Simms (UW) have all been selected as Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top 10 finalists for the 2023-24 season.
WCHA FACTS: Final Faceoff top seed Ohio State is 4-0-0 this season against Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota and 3-1-0 against Wisconsin...the Badgers are 3-1-0 this season against both Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth, while Minnesota is 3-0-1 in play against UMD this season...at last year’s FFO, Ohio State defeated UMD 2-1 and Minnesota defeated UW 4-2 in the semi’s before Minnesota won the tourney with a 3-1 decision over Ohio State. UM’s Abbey Murphy was named the FFO MVP last year...almost 5, 000 fans attended last year’s Final Faceoff....Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy leads the nation in goal scoring with 33, while UW’s Kirsten Simms leads the nation in scoring with 67 points...UW’s Casey O’Brien is top among NCAA players with 42 assists this year...Ohio State’s Raygan Kirk owns the nation’s top GAA at 1.02 and Hailey MacLeod tops the NCAA charts with a stellar .960 save rate this winter...Wisconsin’s 31 wins are ninth best in team history...Ohio State’s 31 wins this season ranks third in the program recordbook.
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.