2024 NCAA Women's Hockey Tournament bracket: Gophers No. 5

Originally posted on Athlon Sports Nation All Gophers | Last updated 3/10/24

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Women's Ice Hockey Tournament.

The top four seeds in the field are Ohio State, Wisconsin, Colgate and Clarkson. That's two teams from the WCHA and two teams from the ECAC.

Wisconsin defeated Ohio State in the WCHA Tournament championship while Colgate took down Clarkson in the ECAC Tournament final. Minnesota was ranked fifth in the March 4 USCHO.com poll before bowing out in an overtime loss to Wisconsin in the WCHA Tournament semifinals.

As the No. 5 seed, Minnesota will face No. 4 Clarkson at 2 p.m. CT on March 16 in the tournament quarterfinals. The two college hockey powers did not meet in the regular season.

If the Gophers win, there's a strong chance they'll run into No. 1 Ohio State in the Frozen Four. Ohio State won the Big Ten regular season title and went 3-0-1 against Minnesota.

Minnesota-Duluth is in the tourney as the No. 6 overall seed and will face Connecticut in the first round at 6 p.m. CT on March 14. UConn enters the tournament for the first time ever as the Hockey East champion. The winner will advance to face Ohio State in the quarterfinals.

The Regionals will be played March 14-17, followed by the Frozen Four March 22-24 and the national championship game on March 24.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports Nation All Gophers and was syndicated with permission.

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