NCAA women’s hockey tournament — Matchups, players to watch, Frozen Four picks

The NCAA women’s hockey tournament is bigger and better than ever in 2022.

This year the field expands from eight to 11 teams, with play beginning Thursday March 10. The top four seeds will host the regional semifinals and finals, with the Frozen Four being held March 18 and 20 at Penn State.

To get you ready for all the action, ESPN analyst Angela Ruggiero, who played in the Frozen Four with Harvard twice and won a national title in 1999, provides her take on each team and her top players to watch. Additionally, Ruggiero and ESPN analyst A.J. Mleczko make their picks for who will make this year’s Frozen Four and who will win the national championship.

Schedule

Regional semifinals, March 10: No. 11 Syracuse vs. No. 6 Quinnipiac, 6 p.m. ET

Regional semifinals, March 11: No. 10 Clarkson vs. No. 7 Wisconsin, 7 p.m. ET; No. 9 Harvard vs. No. 8 Minnesota Duluth, 7 p.m. ET

Regional finals, March 12: Quinnipiac/Syracuse winner at No. 1 Ohio State, 5 p.m. ET; No. 5 Yale at No. 4 Colgate, time TBD

Regional finals, March 13: Minnesota Duluth/Harvard winner at No. 2 Minnesota, 3 p.m. ET; Wisconsin/Clarkson winner at No. 3 Northeastern, 1 p.m. ET

Frozen Four semifinals, March 18: 3 and 7:30 p.m. ET, at State College, Pennsylvania (ESPN+)

Frozen Four final, March 20: 4 p.m. ET, at State College, Pennsylvania (ESPNU)

Teams at a glance

1. Ohio State (29-6)

How they got in: WCHA tournament champion

Numbers to know: The Buckeyes, who beat Wisconsin and Minnesota en route to the WCHA title, have the top offense in the country with 4.79 goals per game and are No. 3 in scoring defense (1.47 goals allowed per game). Four of Ohio State’s school-record 29 wins have come against Minnesota.

Ruggiero’s take: With Sophie Jaques on defense leading the team with 57 points (including 11 power-play goals) and a plus-48 plus/minus, coach Nadine Muzerall is doing a great job of keeping this team disciplined and focused.

2. Minnesota (29-8-1)

How they got in: At-large berth

Numbers to know: The Gophers have just…