We’re two weekends into the 2026-27 season, and that means we’ve reached the end of September in the NCAA. At least a few teams from every conference have played games to this point, so we’ve got enough to look around at all five conferences. Think of this as a journal, or a check-in of some kind. We’re going over storylines, outstanding performances, history makers, and more. There’s plenty to talk about, that’s for sure.
Special thank you to all four of my fellow NCAA writers who gave me some insight into their respective conferences. If you want to read more about the AHA, ECAC, Hockey East, NEWHA, or WCHA, you can find it all on The IX Sports.
AHA: Lindenwood starts the year hot, thanks in part to their youngest offensive contributors
Last season, it took until Nov. 8 for Lindenwood to record their third win of the season. The Lions were 3-11-0 at that point in the year, and were struggling to put it all together.
This season, they’re off to a hot September start under new head coach Max Gavin, winning three of their first four games. Sure, none of them are against the conference opponents they struggled against at the beginning of last season. Still, the Lions were dominant in their games against Post and solid in their win over Merrimack in September.
It’s the best start in program history in their NCAA era. And part of the success has been the performances of a trio of rookie forwards: current leading scorer Krisztina Weiler, Norwegian forward Tilde Simensen, and her linemate Raquel McCormack, who’s slotted in at second-line center.
Weiler holds the narrow lead in points for the Lions thanks to her weekend performance against Post. In two games, the forward assisted on five of Lindenwood’s 12 goals. She’s also been integral on the opposite side of the puck. In four games, she’s tied for the team-lead in blocks with eight.
Then there’s Simensen, who has a goal and three assists in four games thus far. She scored the first goal of the season for Lindenwood, which was also the first game-winner of the year, on Sept. 18. The following week she assisted on two of Lindenwood’s three goals in their win over Merrimack.
Finally is McCormack. In four games the forward is second in total shots, with 15 for the Lions. What stands out in particular is her faceoff winning percentage. The Lions have won 58.3% of their faceoffs so far this season. McCormack herself has won 62.7% of her draws — 42 of a possible 67. She scored her first career goal against Post on Sept. 19, and added a second the following game. She’s been a great addition to Lindenwood so far, as have the other two.
All told, there’s a lot of upward momentum for Lindenwood. It will be interesting to see how that continues when the team opens their AHA slate against Delaware this weekend. If they continue to perform the way they did this weekend, it makes things even more interesting in the conference.
ECAC: Clarkson’s offense is back with a vengeance
In February, when Clarkson was in the midst of their tailspin, their offense went largely quiet. A team that averaged 3.4 goals per game across the season saw that production drop to just 2.0 G/GM in their last six contests.
They lost five of those six games.
In their first two games of the 2026-27 slate, the Golden Knights forgot those offensive woes. Over the series against RIT, Clarkson scored a combined 14 goals, six on Friday and eight the following day. Juniors Raedyn Spademan and Jessie Pellerin each recorded a hat trick in the 8-1 win on Saturday. Ten other Golden Knights have registered at least a point so far, including Shelby Laidlaw, who is tied with Spademan for the team lead in points with five.
Sure, RIT hasn’t been the strongest defensive team in the last few years. However, they’re certainly not an easy opponent — and during their end of season stretch, Clarkson was struggling to score on any opponent. To see them produce at such a high level bodes well for the team as they move forward. It will be interesting to see if that continues throughout the rest of their non-conference slate, especially when they open their conference action against St. Lawrence on Oct. 8 and 9.
Hockey East: Out-of-conference games remain a concern
Six of the 10 Hockey East teams saw regular season action this last weekend. In 12 total games, HEA teams went a combined 4-7-1, with the wins coming against Sacred Heart (NEWHA), Lindenwood (AHA), and Delaware (AHA).
In their two wins against Sacred Heart, Providence performed well. They scored seven goals to SHU’s two, and started their season in a strong way. In the wins over Lindenwood and Delaware, Merrimack and Holy Cross respectively shutout their opponents with 3-0 and 4-0 victories.
But for other teams, like New Hampshire, Maine, and even UConn, it was not a great start to the season.
The Wildcats were outscored 7-2 by St. Thomas (WCHA) in their first game, and followed it up with a 3-1 loss the next. Maine played it close with Quinnipiac (ECAC) on Friday, but eventually ended up being outscored 6-2 in total in their series against the Bobcats.
And the Huskies, one of the stronger HEA teams, did not have a good time with the WCHA Huskies. St. Cloud put up eight goals on UConn in two games. UConn allowed eight goals across their first six games a season ago.
I don’t think it’s a stretch to say Hockey East isn’t the most offensive-minded of the conferences. In fact, it’s not a stretch — it’s true.
Last season, the 10 teams in Hockey East combined for 843 goals, an average of 84.3 goals per team. That’s over seven goals per game less than the next closest conference, the ECAC — a conference that had 1,102 goals combined (91.8 goals per team average). Compared to the WCHA, that discrepancy is even higher. That conference combined for 978 goals, a 122.3 goals/team average.
Of course, those numbers are helped by the offensive standouts like Wisconsin and Ohio State in the WCHA, as well as Quinnipiac and Yale in the ECAC. But it points to a larger problem that has been evident for some time now: Some Hockey East offenses are unable to keep up in non-conference games.
That was again on display opening weekend.
What concerns me is that not only were the teams not super strong offensively, but things weren’t in a fantastic place defensively, either. Sure, four teams have yet to open their seasons. But those who have played so far haven’t truly impressed just yet.
This weekend will be another series of tests. Particularly, UConn playing Clarkson (ECAC), Providence getting their turn with Quinnipiac, and Boston University opening their season against Wisconsin.
I’m not too concerned about the Hockey East programs just yet. But I’ve got my eye on the alarm bells, especially if things continue on this trajectory.
NEWHA: Post wins first-ever out of conference game in heroic fashion
Over the last few seasons, the Post Eagles have been no stranger to making history. In 2024-25 the Eagles set a record for wins in their National Collegiate era with 13. They advanced to the NEWHA tournament semifinals for the first time ever that same year. Last season they performed well again, thanks in large part to Hannah Saunders, one of the best starters the program has ever had.
This year, they’re already making history again, by winning against a non-conference opponent for the very first time.
The win came against Robert Morris in Post’s fourth contest of the season. Eagle Kingston Golding scored the first goal of the game 19 seconds into the matchup. The Colonials clawed their way back into the game by tying it up in the last six minutes. And then, on the one and only shot the Eagles had in overtime, Jodie Rose buried it to lift her team to their first-ever non-conference win.
Post’s real hero of the night was netminder Alex Young. The sophomore made 48 saves on 49 shots over the course of the matchup, the most she’s ever made in a game in her career. The Eagles were outshot 49-6 in the game, including by a 9-0 margin in the second period.
Young kept them in it, however, and it led to an incredible moment for the program. Just watch what it means to them.
WCHA: Ève Gascon continues to impress
Coming into the season, it was well known there was a plethora of goaltending talent across the NCAA.
Ève Gascon is perhaps the best of the many talented goaltenders in that group. Across her three previous seasons, the now-senior had a save percentage above a .940, had been a finalist for the national goaltender of the year twice, and was two shutouts shy of tying the Minnesota Duluth career record of 23.
In her first two starts of the season, she’s tied that record.
Gascon opened her senior season with two clean sheets against Mercyhurst. She made 44 saves across the two games. This includes 26 in Duluth’s 2-0 win over the Lakers in Sept. 25’s season opener. Her next shutout will cement her further in the UMD record books as the new leader in program history. It wouldn’t shock any of us if that happened in the next few weeks.
Where Gascon goes, Duluth goes. While the Bulldog’s offense hasn’t been great compared to other WCHA programs, Gascon’s goaltending has been outstanding. She led the conference in save percentage last season, helping Duluth to another NCAA tournament appearance. If she’s at the top of her game, UMD has the capability to go far again. As long as they get the offense going in front of her too.
