The 2025-26 NCAA women’s hockey season is here. Before the puck drops, let’s dive into the biggest questions facing NC women’s hockey entering the season.
HISTORY: The NC women’s hockey teams with the most national championships
1. Can anyone dethrone Wisconsin?
Coming off its best season in program history, Wisconsin looks poised for another championship run. To no surprise, the defending national champs enter 2025-26 as preseason No. 1 in the USCHO poll. The Badgers lost the nation’s top scorer and Patty Kazmaier award winner Casey O’Brien to the PWHL draft, where she was picked third overall. But they return several key veterans in Kirsten Simms, Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey, who finished second, third and fifth in NCAA scoring last season, respectively.
The Badgers also bring in a talented young scorer in Czech freshman forward Adéla Šapovalivová, the first European-born player in Wisconsin women’s hockey history. Šapovalivová was honored as WCHA preseason freshman of the year, so Wisconsin certainly isn’t hurting for firepower.
2025 CHAMPS: WIsconsin wins the 2025 NC women’s hockey championship
2. Can Ohio State continue its hot streak?
The Buckeyes have burst onto the scene in the last few years, going toe-to-toe with powerhouse Wisconsin in the previous three national championship games. But several key departures leave some holes in the roster as six Buckeyes were picked in the PWHL draft this summer, including captain Jenna Buglioni.
The Buckeyes bring back two key pieces in F Joy Dunne and D Emma Peschel, both named to the preseason All-WCHA team. Dunne is entering her junior season after setting a program record for points in a season (62), finishing sixth in the nation. Peschel returns as the cornerstone of a stout Buckeyes defense that held opponents to under 20 shots and 2.08 goals per game last year, and she was named captain alongside F Jocelyn Amos for 2025-26.
Ohio State also brings in several talented freshmen, headlined by Swedish F Hilda Svensson, and it added Colgate transfer Kaia Malachino (19 goals, 14 assists in 35 games) to fill in some of the offensive production it lost to the draft.
3. Can Minnesota’s offseason additions help the Gophers break through?
After losing to Wisconsin in the Frozen Four last year, Minnesota comes in at No. 3 in the USCHO preseason poll. The Gophers will lean on their returning leading scorer and All-WCHA preseason forward Abbey Murphy to lead the charge in a crowded WCHA. Murphy finished second in the nation in goals last season (33). With Ella Huber, Natalie Mlynkova and Peyton Hemp departing in the PWHL draft, Murphy will need to continue her high-scoring ways this season.
Luckily for her, the Gophers added three top-tier playmakers from the portal this summer. D Molly Jordan comes in from Boston College, where she led the Eagles’ blue line in points (24), goals (8) and assists (16). F Jamie Nelson comes over from Minnesota State-Mankato, where she led the Mavericks in points (30) and assists (22) in 37 games last year. F Sarah Paul transfers in from Princeton after tallying 36 points 31 games and leading the nation in goals per game last year (.90).
Add in Czech freshman F Tereza Plosova, and the Gophers’ offense looks very dangerous this season.
4. Who will emerge from the ECAC?
Okay, let’s look beyond the WCHA for a moment. There are three standouts from the ECAC: Cornell, Colgate and Clarkson, coming in at No. 4, No. 5 and No. 7 in the USCHO preseason rankings, respectively.
After a slow start to the 2024-25 season, the Big Red finished last year on a heater, going 23-1 and claiming its first ECAC regular season title since 2019-20. Cornell brings in a talented crop of freshmen forwards to complement an already stingy defense, and G Annelies Bergmann was the only unanimous pick to the ECAC preseason team after leading the nation in shutouts last season (10). With a strong returning roster, look for Cornell to make another run to the Frozen Four.
After a quarterfinals appearance last spring, Colgate looks to get back to the Frozen Four this season. Led by senior F Elyssa Biederman, the Raiders’ offense should remain strong, but the loss of F Kaia Malachino in the portal could slow production. A strong freshman class and the addition sophomore F Chloe Goofers from Merrimack should be enough to keep the Raiders in playoff contention, though.
Clarkson lost eight players in the transfer portal, but it brings in a major addition in senior D Megan McKay from Mercyhurst. After getting looks from some WCHA programs, McKay instead joins Clarkson and instantly becomes a top defender on an already solid blue line. The Golden Knights also bring in freshman standout F Sara Manness, who had two goals and seven assists in six games with Canada’s U18 World Junior team in 2024-25. With lots of offseason roster moves, there will be tough competition for playing time at Clarkson, but the roster remains strong.
5. How will the Olympics shake things up?
With some of the nation’s top players missing time this season for Olympic training camps, international exhibitions and, of course, the Olympics in February, this season brings lots of roster uncertainty for perennial Frozen Four contenders, particularly in the WCHA. Top scorers will be missing from powerplay units, shutdown defenders will be absent from the blue line and stalwart goaltenders won’t be between the pipes.
Adaptability and resilience will be the keys to this season. As star players shuffle in and out of lineups, newcomers will have a chance to step up and make a name for themselves, and playoff hopefuls could steal some games from the nation’s top teams down the stretch.
