| Year: | 2016 |
| Gender: | women's |
| Ncaadiv: | Division I |
| Division: | National Collegiate |
| Teams: | 8 |
| Frozenfourarena: | Whittemore Center Arena |
| Frozenfourcity: | Durham, New Hampshire |
| Champions: | Minnesota Golden Gophers |
| Titlecount: | 6th |
| Champgamecount: | 8th |
| Champffcount: | 12th |
| Runnerup: | Boston College Eagles |
| Gamecount: | 1st |
| Runnerffcount: | 6th |
| Semifinal1: | Clarkson Golden Knights |
| Frozenfourcount: | 2nd |
| Semifinal2: | Wisconsin Badgers |
| Frozenfourcount2: | 9th |
| Coach: | Brad Frost |
| Coachcount: | 4th |
| Mop: | Sarah Potomak |
| Mopteam: | Minnesota |
| Attendance: | 5,378 |
The 2016 NCAA National Collegiate Women's Ice Hockey Tournament involved eight schools in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of women's NCAA Division I college ice hockey. The quarterfinals were contested at the campuses of the seeded teams on March 12, 2016. The Frozen Four was played on March 18 and 20, 2016 at Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, New Hampshire with the University of New Hampshire as the host.[1]
In the second year under this qualification format, the winners of all four Division I conference tournaments received automatic berths to the NCAA tournament. The other four teams were selected at-large. The top four teams were then seeded and received home ice for the quarterfinals.[2]
| Seed | School | Conference | Record | Berth type | Appearance | Last bid | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Boston College | Hockey East | 38–0–0 | Tournament champion | 8th | 2015 | |
| 2 | Wisconsin | WCHA | 34–3–1 | Tournament champion | 10th | 2015 | |
| 3 | Minnesota | WCHA | 32–4–1 | At-large bid | 14th | 2015 | |
| 4 | Quinnipiac | ECAC | 30–2–5 | Tournament champion | 2nd | 2015 | |
| Clarkson | ECAC | 29–4–5 | At-large bid | 5th | 2015 | ||
| Princeton | ECAC | 22–8–2 | At-large bid | 2nd | 2006 | ||
| Mercyhurst | CHA | 19–10–5 | Tournament champion | 11th | 2014 | ||
| Northeastern | Hockey East | 28–8–1 | At-large bid | 1st | Never |
Quarterfinals held at home sites of seeded teamsNote: * denotes overtime period(s)