Defense wins championships, the saying goes. But first, goaltending wins regions.
With an NCAA tournament field featuring some of the top goaltenders in the country, we knew we were in for a treat this year, and these four goalies delivered to send their teams to the Frozen Four.
👉 Frozen Four: 2026 NC women's ice hockey championship: Bracket, schedule, scores
Wisconsin's Ava McNaughton shuts out Quinnipiac, 6-0
The defending national champion Badgers stumbled in the WCHA final against Ohio State, but they got back to their usual dominance in the Madison Regional final, dispatching the Bobcats in a 6-0 rout.
Goaltender Ava McNaughton has been lights-out all season, leading the NCAA with a 1.27 GAA in 30 starts. Her performance in the regional final against Quinnipiac was more of the same, as she stopped 17 Bobcat shots in her 26th win and eighth shutout of the season. Of course, the Badgers' elite defense was to thank for holding the Bobcats to just 17 shots, but McNaughton stood tall when tested.
Penn State's Katie DeSa blanks UConn, 3-0
Last year, the Penn State men's team beat UConn to advance to its first Frozen Four. This year, the Nittany Lion women took down the Huskies to secure their first Frozen Four appearance. Goaltender Katie DeSa stopped 36 shots in her NCAA-best 11th shutout of the season.
DeSa withstood a 17-shot flurry by the Huskies in the third period, including a six-on-four UConn powerplay late in the period, before the Nittany Lions added an empty netter to seal the win.
🎙️ THE PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY, ARE GOING TO THE FROZEN FOUR x 🎥 ESPN+ /
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey)
Northeastern's Lisa Jönsson stifles Minnesota, 4-2
Goaltending and Northeastern go together like PB and J, and Lisa Jönsson is just the latest in a long line of superstar goaltenders to don the black and red. The Huskies had a tough task in facing the nation's second-highest scoring team in Minnesota, but Jönsson stopped 45 shots and posted a .957 SV% in her 21st win of the season to advance Northeastern to the Frozen Four.
LISA AND ELLA OH MY GOD 🤯
— Northeastern Women’s Hockey (@GoNUwhockey)
📺
Jönsson held the Gophers scoreless through 42:10 of play before Abbey Murphy finally got Minnesota on the board in the third. Murphy added another late goal as the Gophers made a late push, peppering Jönsson with 19 shots in the final frame, but she stood tall to send the Huskies to their fourth Frozen Four.
Ohio State's Hailey MacLeod stands strong in 6-1 win over Yale
The Buckeyes' offense dominated this one from the jump, and the defense held Yale to just 23 shots, leaving goaltender Hailey MacLeod with little to do in net. But she was solid when tested, stopping 22/23 shots she faced in her 25th win of the season. A few Yale flurries in the third period tested Macleod after a mostly quiet night, but she stood tall, holding the Bulldogs' fifth-ranked offense to just one goal.
