Happy Friday! I’m Reid Lemker from The Ice Garden, and for this week’s Hockey Friday, I’ve got three college hockey series you should watch this weekend.
The college hockey season began for most teams last weekend, and we’ve got several fantastic series in the second full weekend of NCAA action. Make sure to check out The Ice Garden‘s NCAA season previews linked below!
Here are three series that you should watch this weekend:
No. 12 Connecticut vs. No. 9 Clarkson
Friday Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. ET, Saturday Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. ET on ESPN+
It’s a fantastic early-season showdown in Storrs, Conn., this weekend between one of the best teams in the ECAC (Clarkson) and one of the best in Hockey East (Connecticut).
Clarkson started their season strong last weekend. The Golden Knights picked up two blowout wins over the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). Clarkson followed up a 6-3 win on Friday night with an 8-1 drubbing on Saturday. Junior forward Raedyn Spademan and senior forward Shelby Laidlaw led the Golden Knights offensively. Spademan picked up five points over the weekend, including a hat trick in Saturday afternoon’s win. Laidlaw also had a five-point weekend, tallying two assists on Friday and a goal and two more assists on Saturday. Providence transfer Jessie Pellerin also scored a hat trick for the Golden Knights in Saturday’s game.
Things didn’t go quite as well for the UConn Huskies. The Huskies were swept last weekend in their season-opening series by St. Cloud State. UConn dropped a pair of 4-2 games in St. Cloud, and the schedule doesn’t get any easier with Clarkson coming to town this weekend. UConn lost several key players from last year’s NCAA tournament team, and the new-look Huskies will hope to get back on the right track this weekend. Look for UConn to rebound and get into the win column against Clarkson.
Mercyhurst vs. Syracuse
Friday Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. ET, Saturday Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. ET on FloSports
Picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Hockey America Conference (AHA) by the coaches in preseason, Syracuse began the Brian Idalski era by sweeping Stonehill last weekend at home. Sophomore goaltender Ava Drabyk made 17 saves on Friday night to shut out Stonehill. On Saturday, Drabyk made 19 more saves in a 4-1 Syracuse win. Offensively, Syracuse got contributions from up and down their lineup; nine different players recorded a point during the weekend. The scoring was led by sophomore forward Jordan Blouin. Blouin had points in both games, including a goal and an assist on Friday night.
The level of competition will increase dramatically this weekend when Syracuse travels to Erie, Pennsylvania, to take on Mercyhurst, one of the few teams in college hockey that has already played four games.
Rep The IX Sports at your next game!
Shop the logo collection or special “Women’s Sports are Front Page News” collection now on Shopify.
Mercyhurst opened their season by sweeping RPI at home, but the Lakers stumbled last weekend. Mercyhurst traveled to Duluth, where they were shut out by Ève Gascon and the Bulldogs in back-to-back games. On Friday, Junior goaltender Magdalena Luggin made 43 saves and allowed only one goal. Her play kept Mercyhurst in the game until a late empty-net goal sealed the win for the Bulldogs. Luggin made 31 more saves on Saturday, but she didn’t get much help from her offense in either game. The Lakers were outshot 35-18 on Saturday, and across the two-game series, Minnesota Duluth outshot Mercyhurst 80-44.
Mercyhurst was picked to finish second behind Penn State in the preseason AHA coaches poll and will look to get back on track at home against Syracuse this weekend. A win in either game for Syracuse could be an early sign that the team will compete with the AHA’s best this season.
No. 15 Minnesota State vs. No. 13 St. Cloud State
Friday Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. CT, Saturday Oct. 3 at 3 p.m. CT on BigTen+
The best series in the WCHA this weekend is happening in Mankato, Minn., between Minnesota State and St. Cloud State. Both teams are ranked, and both teams have started the season 2-0.
The St. Cloud State Huskies are coming off the more impressive opening weekend, sweeping No. 12 Connecticut at home. St. Cloud entered the season unranked, but they picked up two wins over one of the top teams in Hockey East.
Alice Sauriol and Sofianna Sundelin powered the offense for St. Cloud State. Sauriol scored three goals and six points across the two games, and she was named Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) Forward of the Week for her efforts. Sundelin finished the weekend with two goals and four points. The Huskies will be tested again this weekend with their second top-15 opponent in as many weekends.
Last weekend, Minnesota State picked up a home sweep over RPI. On Friday night, the Mavericks went down early before scoring four unanswered goals to beat RPI 4-1. Saturday was a similar story. RPI started fast, scoring twice in the first five minutes of the game. Mankato responded with a goal in the first period, two in the second, and two more in the third to win 5-3. Mankato was led offensively by Sophomore forward Mercury Bischoff. Bischoff scored four points across the two games, including a two-goal game on Saturday.
Though it’s only week two, WCHA wins are always hard to come by. Both teams will be looking to start conference play strong and prove they belong near the top of the WCHA.
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
More from the world of women’s hockey, conference by conference
Conference previews are ready from your favorite reporters here at The Ice Garden. Check those out, plus a post from The Victory Press.
2026-2027 NCAA preview: ECAC, by LJ Bachenheimer
2026-2027 NCAA preview: WCHA, by Giselle Velazquez
2026-2027 NCAA preview: AHA, by Kacey Ferber
2026-2027 NCAA preview: Hockey East, by Emma Sullivan
2026-2027 NCAA preview: NEWHA, by Amelia Ballingall
Stick Taps and Snark – Sept. 29, 2026, by Nicole Haase
Soccer: Annie Peterson, @AnnieMPeterson, AP Women’s Soccer
Tennis: Joey Dillon, @JoeyDillon, Freelance Tennis Writer
Basketball: Howard Megdal, @HowardMegdal, The IX Sports
Softball: Maren Angus-Coombs, @Maren-Angus, The IX Sports
Golf: Marin Dremock, @MDremock, The IX Sports
Hockey: @TheIceGarden, The Ice Garden
Gymnastics: Jessica Taylor Price, @jesstaylorprice, Freelance Writer
