By Jake Baskin and Carlos Calo Rodríguez
The stage is set for another thrilling ECAC Hockey women’s tournament, set to begin on Friday. It’s the second iteration of the tournament since the expansion to a 12-team bracket. Cornell enters the fray as the No. 1 seed, clinching its ninth ECAC regular season championship with a 16-2-4 conference record. The Big Red were No. 3 in the preseason poll in September behind No. 1 Clarkson at the and No. 2 Colgate.
The first four teams: Cornell (54 points), Colgate (52 points), St. Lawrence (45.5 points) and Clarkson (40.5 points) clinched first round byes and will host quarterfinal series. No. 5 Quinnipiac, which finished just two points behind Clarkson, is among four teams that will host single-elimination opening round games for a spot in the quarterfinals. The Bobcats will face No. 12 Harvard.
The ECAC Tournament should be one of the best in the past years, with five teams ranked in the top-10 nationally by USCHO.
QU Sports Page’s Jake Baskin and Carlos Calo offer 15 players to watch as the tournament gets underway:
Mackenzie Alexander | Fr. | F | Princeton
Alexander, the leading freshman scorer in the country with 42 points, appears to be a lock for the Julie Chu Women’s National Rookie of the Year Award, and if won, she would be the first ECAC player to take home the honor since Sarah Fillier in 2019. The Toronto native will be a player to watch for years to come.
Annelies Bergmann | So. | G | Cornell
There are many quality goaltenders in the ECAC, but the 6-foot-1-inch Bergmann stands out as one of the best. Bergmann won the Ivy League Rookie of the Year in 2024 and was named to the ECAC All-Rookie Team. Now, as a sophomore, she reached the 20-win mark for a second time and is tied for the national lead with eight shutouts.
Elyssa Biederman | Jr. | F | Colgate
Biederman, a small but speedy winger, has been a tremendous playmaker during her three years at Colgate. She is a player that gets better every season, she has 45 points in 34 games, five games less than the 2023-2024 season. She has been setting up teammates such as Kristyna Kaltounkova and Emma Pais, along with scoring14 goals of her own this year. Her 31 assists are No. 5 in the country behind four Wisconsin Badgers.
Anne Cherkowski | Gr. | F | Clarkson
A graduate student, Cherkowski is a do-everything winger who has scored over 140 points in her NCAA career. She was named to the ECAC Women’s Preseason All-League Team Roster. After helping lead the Golden Knights to the Frozen Four last year, Cherkowski and the experienced Clarkson seniors will try to replicate that performance in 2025.
Kendall Cooper | Gr. | D | Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac is a team that prides itself on defense and goaltending (only Cornell has allowed fewer goals this season among ECAC teams), and Cooper has been the Bobcats’ leader from the blueline all year. Already one of the conference’s best defensemen, she is approaching the 20-assist mark for the third time in her collegiate career.
Kaley Doyle | Gr. | G | Quinnipiac
A graduate transfer from Brown, Doyle leads ECAC starters with a .944 save percentage and has seven shutouts. The Bobcats have a recent history of excellent goaltending, including Corinne Schroeder and Logan Angers and Doyle’s one year in Hamden has been no exception.
Nicole Gosling and Haley Winn | Gr. & Sr. | D | Clarkson
These two defensive partners are listed together because it’s hard to think of one without the other. Winn is second in scoring among defensemen in the country with 42 points, and Gosling is third with 34. The two are strong on both ends of the ice, and have driven the Golden Knights’ offense this year. A First Team All American and the ECAC Defender of the Year in 2024, Gosling has assisted 10 of Winn’s 12 goals this season. Winn is also the only unanimous selection to make the ECAC Women’s Preseason All-League Team this season. Both are expected to be very high picks in this year’s PWHL Draft.
Rory Guilday | Sr. | D | Cornell
Though she’s not the flashiest offensive player, Guilday’s defensive play was essential to the Big Red finishing with the top seed in the ECAC. The senior from Minnesota is a favorite to make next year’s U.S. Olympic team after representing her country in the last three world championships.
Abby Hustler | Sr. | F | St. Lawrence
Hustler finished top-10 in the country in scoring last year and was a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award Top-10 finalist. This season, she is the driver of the offense for the Saints with 14 goals and 34 points in 34 games. Hustler’s emergence as one of the top forwards in the country coincided with St. Lawrence making the NCAA Tournament last year. If they are to do so again in 2025 she will be the reason why.
Kristýna Kaltounková | Gr. | F | Colgate
The Czech international is second in the conference in both goals and points, Kaltounková has been one of the most exciting players in collegiate women’s hockey for her entire five-year run in Hamilton. During this season she became the first player in program history to score 100 goals and reach the 200-point mark. The big center is almost impossible to keep away from the puck or the net and will be in contention for the No. 1 pick in this year’s PWHL Draft.
Hannah Murphy | Sr. | G | Colgate
Murphy split time with Kayle Osborne last year, but now has the starting position at Colgate to herself. She ranks among the top 10 in the country in games played (31), wins (23), and save percentage (.941), and her play in net has given her teammates the confidence to take chances offensively. She has been selected to the national Goalie of the Year Watchlist for three straight seasons.
Emma-Sofie Nordstrom | Jr. | G | St. Lawrence
Nordstrom has posted a save percentage above .930 for the second year in a row, backstopping the Saints to the No. 3 seed in the ECAC Tournament. She was an ECAC Goaltender of the Year Finalist last season. Beyond her exploits in college, Nordstrom is also the starter for the Danish national team.
Vita Poniatovskaia | So. | D | Yale
The Bulldogs under coach Mark Bolding have been a strong defensive team. Yale has allowed the third-fewest goals in the conference, and Poniatovskaia has been a key component of their defensive strength. If Yale is to win the ECAC Tournament, it is going to need a standout performance from its back end, especially from Poniatovskaia.
Issy Wunder | Jr. | F | Princeton
Wunder had a breakout year this season as a junior, elevating her goal total from eight to 24 following Fillier’s graduation. She is the ECAC’s leading scorer with 47 points, and has made the Tigers’ top line one of the scariest in college hockey, one that the higher-ranked teams in the conference will need to contain in order to avoid an upset.