Women’s Ice Breaker Tournament
The Ice Breaker Tournament was created by the Hockey Commissioners Association in order to celebrate the start of the season with teams from a variety of NCAA Division I conferences competing in semi-final style play. The event has a legislative exemption from the NCAA which allows the four participants to play two additional games above the normal limit of 34.
The 2025 Ice Breaker Tournament, hosted by the ECAC and Union College in the brand-new M&T Bank Center, featured St. Anselm (NEWHA), Vermont (Hockey East), and Wisconsin (WCHA).
In the opening game, Wisconsin defeated Vermont to advance to the championship, fueled by multi-goal performances from senior forward Caroline Harvey (Salem, N.H.), junior forward Cassie Hall (South Lyon, Mich.), and junior forward Kelly Gorbatenko (Barrington, Ill.).
Union and St. Anselm faced off in the second game, with Union College earning a 7–5 victory to punch their ticket to the championship. The Garnet Chargers had six different goal scorers, surged ahead early by outshooting St. Anselm 53–22, and held off a late comeback attempt to secure the win.
In the championship, Wisconsin captured the 2025 Ice Breaker title with a 4–0 win, despite an outstanding performance from Union’s junior goaltender, Monja Wagner (Romanshorn, Switzerland), who made 50 saves against the top-ranked Badgers. The game also featured a unique sister-versus-sister matchup, with Union assistant coach Courtney Hall facing her sister, Wisconsin forward Cassie Hall.
Women’s Ice Breaker Tournament History
| Year | Host | Site | Participants (Champion in Boldface) |
| 2019 | Mercyhurst | Buffalo Harbor Center (Buffalo, N.Y.) | Colgate, UConn, Mercyhurst, Minnesota Duluth |
| 2020 | Not held because of COVID-19 | ||
| 2021 | Not held because of COVID-19 | ||
| 2022 | Neutral Site | 1980 Rink Herb Brooks Arena (Lake Placid, N.Y.) | Clarkson, Holy Cross, St. Lawrence, Syracuse |
| 2023 | Sacred Heart | Martire Family Arena (Fairfield, Conn.) | Lindenwood, Northeastern, Sacred Heart, St. Cloud State |
| 2024 | Ohio State | Schottenstein Center (Columbus, Ohio) | Cornell, Ohio State, Penn State, Stonehill |
| 2025 | Union | M&T Bank Center (Schenectady, N.Y.) | St. Anselm, Union, Vermont, Wisconsin |