NCAA Division III women's ice hockey tournament
Collegiate ice hockey tournament
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The annual NCAA Division III women's ice hockey tournament is the college ice hockey tournament which is 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]
| 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 (3) |
| Most championships | Plattsburgh State (7) |
| TV partner | NCAA.com |
| Official website | https://www.ncaa.com/sports/icehockey-women/d3 |
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
| Year | Champion[2] | Coach | Score | Runner-up | Coach | City | Arena |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Elmira | Jamie Wood | 2–1 | Manhattanville | Nicole Kirnan | Elmira, New York | First Arena |
| 2003 | Elmira (2) | Jamie Wood | 5–1 | Manhattanville | Nicole Kirnan | Elmira, New York | First Arena |
| 2004[3] | Middlebury | Bill Mandigo | 2–1 | Wisconsin–Stevens Point | Brian Idalski | Middlebury, Vermont | Chip Kenyon Arena |
| 2005[4] | Middlebury (2) | Bill Mandigo | 4–3 | Elmira | Paul Nemetz-Carlson | Elmira, New York | First Arena |
| 2006[5] | Middlebury (3) | Bill Mandigo | 3–1 | Plattsburgh State | Kevin Houle | Plattsburgh, New York | Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena |
| 2007 | Plattsburgh State | Kevin Houle | 3–1 | Middlebury | Bill Mandigo | Plattsburgh, New York | Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena |
| 2008 | Plattsburgh State (2) | Kevin Houle | 3–2 | Manhattanville | Lauren McAuliffe | Plattsburgh, New York | Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena |
| 2009[6] | Amherst | Jim Plumer | 4–3 (OT) | Elmira | Greg Fargo | Middlebury, Vermont | Chip Kenyon Arena |
| 2010[7] | Amherst (2) | Jim Plumer | 7–2 | Norwich | Mark Bolding | St. Peter, Minnesota | Lund Arena |
| 2011[8] | Norwich | Mark Bolding | 5–2 | RIT | Scott McDonald | Rochester, New York | Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena |
| 2012[9] | RIT | Scott McDonald | 4–1 | Norwich | Mark Bolding | Rochester, New York | Frank Ritter Memorial Ice Arena |
| 2013[10] | Elmira (3) | Dean Jackson | 4–1 | Middlebury | Bill Mandigo | Superior, Wisconsin | Superior Ice Arena |
| 2014[11] | Plattsburgh State (3) | Kevin Houle | 9–2 | Norwich | Mark Bolding | Plattsburgh, New York | Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena |
| 2015[12] | Plattsburgh State (4) | Kevin Houle | 3–2 | Elmira | Dean Jackson | Plattsburgh, New York | Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena |
| 2016[13] | Plattsburgh State (5) | Kevin Houle | 5–1 | Wisconsin–River Falls | Joe Cranston | Plattsburgh, New York | Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena |
| 2017[14] | Plattsburgh State (6) | Kevin Houle | 4–3 (OT) | Adrian | Chad Davis | Adrian, Michigan | Arrington Ice Arena |
| 2018[15] | Norwich (2) | Mark Bolding | 2–1 | Elmira | Tim Crowley | Northfield, Vermont | Kreitzberg Arena |
| 2019[16] | Plattsburgh State (7) | Kevin Houle | 4–0 | Hamline | Natalie Darwitz | Mendota Heights, Minnesota | St. Thomas Ice Arena |
| 2020 | Not held due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| 2021 | |||||||
| 2022[17] | Middlebury (4) | Bill Mandigo | 3–2 (OT) | Gustavus Adolphus | Mike Carroll | Middlebury, Vermont | Chip Kenyon Arena |
| 2023[18] | Gustavus Adolphus | Mike Carroll | 2–1 (3OT) | Amherst | Jeff Matthews | Amherst, Massachusetts | Orr Rink |
| 2024[19] | Wisconsin–River Falls | Joe Cranston | 4–1 | Elmira | Greg Haney | River Falls, Wisconsin | Hunt Arena |
| 2025[20] | Wisconsin–River Falls (2) | Joe Cranston | 3–1 | Amherst | Jeff Matthews | River Falls, Wisconsin | Hunt Arena |
| 2026[21] | Wisconsin–River Falls (3) | Joe Cranston | 4–0 | Nazareth | Chris Baudo | River Falls, Wisconsin | Hunt Arena |
| 2027 | Plattsburgh, New York[22] | Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena | |||||
| 2028 | TBD | ||||||
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 |
| Wisconsin–River Falls | 2024, 2025, 2026 | |
| Amherst | 2 | 2009, 2010 |
| Norwich | 2011, 2018 | |
| 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 |
| Joe Cranston | 3 | 2024, 2025, 2026 |
| Mark Bolding | 2 | 2011, 2018 |
| 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 | ||||
| Wisconsin–River Falls | WIAC | 17 | 16 | 8 | 4 | 3 | F4 | F4 | QF | QF | QF | QF | F4* | F4* | RU | QF | QF | X | QF | QF | CH | CH | CH | |||||||
| Amherst | NESCAC | 11 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 2 | F4 | QF | CH | CH | QF | QF | X | RU | QF | RU | F4 | |||||||||||||
| Norwich | LEC | 13 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | QF | RU | CH | RU | QF | RU | F4 | F4 | CH | FR | X | FR | F4 | |||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||
| Nazareth | UCHC | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | FR | QF | FR | QF | RU | ||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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.