The 2026-2027 NCAA hockey season is almost upon us. After a long offseason with so many changes and additions to teams, everyone is ready to hit the ice. Today, I am here to kick off year three of my coverage of the WCHA for The Ice Garden. Here I’ll give you a storyline to keep an eye on, break down everything that’s happened with every team in the conference, and give you players to watch.
Let’s get started!
A storyline for this season:
The WCHA announced its preseason poll results earlier this month. The process works like this: the eight head coaches in the WCHA vote in the poll and are barred from voting for their own team.
The end result was Ohio State topping the poll with reigning national champion Wisconsin finishing in second place. The Buckeyes received six first-place votes! That means that only one other coach gave a different team a first-place vote.
This is interesting because it shows the coaches think of Ohio State so highly. Wisconsin still exists in the conference, and though they lost a lot of their top players to graduation, nothing says they will falter this season. Plus, they’re the reigning champs.
Ohio State also lost players to graduation but still has talented players coming back, including Jocelyn Amos, and WCHA Rookie of the Year Hilda Svensson are back. Nadine Muzerall is still at the helm — she guided the team to a WCHA Final Faceoff win and yet another appearance in the championship game. Sure, the Buckeyes can’t get over losing in the title game as of late. They lost in 2023, 2025, and 2026. But they did win two titles already in 2022 and 2024 under Muzerall.
If the WCHA coaches all believe in Ohio State this season, I am curious to see how right they are. I do think they’ll be as successful as last season, but I am not sure if they can overcome Wisconsin just yet.
Around the WCHA:
The national championship game will take place on a Tuesday this season. Minnesota Duluth is hosting the Frozen Four this season and they’ll see the title game take place on a weekday. St. Thomas will once again host the WCHA Final Faceoff this season. Wisconsin and Ohio State will meet for an outdoor game at Lambeau Field in February.
Time for the previews!
Wisconsin Badgers
Last Season: 23-3-2 overall record, finished 1st in WCHA with 72 points. Won Julieanne Bye Cup as regular season champions. Won the national championship for the ninth time in program history.
Notable losses: The Badgers had five players go in the first round of the PWHL draft back in June. Some of the best scorers on the team, like Laila Edwards, Lacey Eden, and Caroline “KK” Harvey, are now gone.
Notable additions: Wisconsin is adding new faces to the roster this season. That includes transfer defender Lauren Johnson out of Union. The most important additions, though, are some of the first years. Rosalie Tremblay, Nela Lopušanová, and Haley Box are some of the most intriguing rookies entering the WCHA. The Badgers could be a team with three players in contention for WCHA Rookie of the Year.
Prediction:
Wisconsin finishes first in the WCHA again. They win the Julianne Bye Cup once again and make the NCAA tournament with no problem. They’ll be ranked first all season long again. They’ll suffer a maximum of four losses but it won’t be anything terrible. The Badgers will make it the national championship game. One of the three rookies mentioned above will be named a finalist for WCHA Rookie of the Year. Ava McNaughton has another great year manning the crease.
Player to watch: Rosalie Tremblay
Ohio State:
Last Season: 24-4-0, finished 2nd with 70 points. Won third WCHA Final Faceoff. Reached the national championship game. Finished runner-up for second year in a row.
Notable losses: Emma Peschel and Sara Swiderski were chosen in the first round of the PWHL draft. Peschel finished last season with 39 points. She finished in the top five in scoring on the team. Swiderski finished with 27 points, while 44-point scorer Sloane Matthews was also selected in the draft. That’s a lot of points to lose and three very important players.
Notable additions: Rylee Bartz and Ellah Hause, both formerly of St. Thomas, transferred to OSU. Bartz scored 30 points last year, the most in the Tommies’ D-I era. She is a great player who has continued to hone her game throughout college. Hause finished last season with 16 points and 68 blocked shots, which led the Tommies. That was also third overall in the WCHA. I don’t think she hits the 68 mark this season, but I do think she makes huge game saving blocks. Ohio State is also adding Ema Tóthová. The 19-year-old has played pro in the SDHL and her native Slovakia. She’s taken part in World Juniors, World Championship D1A, and Olympic qualifiers.
Notable changes: Nadine Muzerall made an addition to the coaching staff, bringing in former NHLer Jack Johnson as an associate head coach. The goaltending is seeing a huge change after Hailey MacLeod went pro. Genny Klein made 10 appearances in net last year. The other two goaltenders are freshmen. It’s a tricky situation for the team.
Prediction:
The Buckeyes finish in second again the WCHA. They’ll finish two points back of Wisconsin again. Joy Dunne and Jocelyn Amos will have huge seasons while Ohio State makes it to the Frozen Four again — but won’t win there, because I don’t feel confident in their goaltending.
Player to watch: Ellah Hause
Minnesota:
Last Season: 18-9-1, finished 3rd with 57 points. Reached NCAA tournament for fifth year in a row. Lost in NCAA quarterfinals.
Notable losses: Captain Abbey Murphy, Nelli Laitinen, Sydney Morrow, and Jaime Nelson. That’s a lot of scoring along with good defense that is now gone. But Minnesota may have the players to help mend those losses.
Notable additions: Adrianna Milani will be making her collegiate debut in a few weeks. She’s entering this season very ready after taking part in the under-18 summer select series between Canada and the USA. Milani put on a show, scoring nine points in three games for Canada. The forward was recently chosen as the WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year.
Julia Schalin will begin her third year on a new team after leaving Mercyhurst. She finished last season with 31 points in 33 games. Of those 31 points, 22 came from assists. Schalin will be a huge difference maker immediately. She’s an Olympian, a two-time World Championship bronze medalist, and appeared in last month’s Women’s Euro Hockey Tour. Her best asset, as mentioned, is her passing ability. That will be a fantastic addition to the talented Gophers squad.
Notable changes: Greg “Boom” May was named the third head coach in the program’s history in March. He was an assistant for the team under Brad Frost since the 23-24 season. This is his first time coaching women in a full-time capacity.
What they said: Defender Chloe Primerano spoke to The Ice Garden recently and had this to say about the upcoming season.
“We’re all excited. We’re all familiar with Boom because a lot of us were coached by him and then the recruits were recruited by him as well. It’s nice to have that familiarity but it feels different with new coaches. We’re excited to kind of turn the page and have a fresh start this year.”
Prediction:
I think the Gophers had an okay season last year. They suffered some losses, including a sweep by Minnesota State. They made it to the NCAA tournament but were easily overpowered by Northeastern. Minnesota just didn’t look like the team they should have been. They had a great season out of Murphy and yet didn’t make it as far in the tournament as they could have. I think this year they take a big next step with a new coach and new players. They will win more games and play better hockey all around. Milani will win WCHA Rookie of the Year.
Player to watch: Adrianna Milani
Minnesota Duluth:
Last season: 15-10-3, finished 4th with 48 points. Lost in first round of WCHA playoffs. Eliminated in first round of NCAA playoffs for the second year in a row.
Notable losses: Like many teams on this list, UMD lost one of their best players to graduation. Thea Johansson was a great addition to the team last season. She was selected in the second round of the PWHL draft. Grace Sadura was a Hockey Humanitarian Award finalist and an alternate captain. She transferred to Northeastern in the offseason. These were two players who provided offense to the team.
Notable additions: UMD will also have a great addition of rookies this season. Renée Lapointe will join the team at 17 years old. She’s described as a mobile defender and a two-way defender which will be great for the Bulldogs. A pair of Finnish players will also be joining. Defender Tuuli Tallinen and forward Pauliina Salonen will make their collegiate debuts. The two Finns have a lot of playing experience in their home country. This time around, Duluth feels much more confident navigating everything new.
What they said: Captain Caitlin Kraemer told The Ice Garden what the team learned after last season and why she’s confident in this season’s team:
“We didn’t reach our full potential and now we have a whole season with a good chunk of the same group. Our incoming freshmen are great, even with practicing. I’m super excited. I feel like we’re in a great spot and especially hosting the Frozen Four this year, it adds that extra bit. We lost a lot of girls last year. We learned a lot of lessons on how to deal with the big freshman class. We have the talent and the culture to turn some heads this season and make a run. I’m really confident in what we have going on here.”
Prediction:
After barely making the NCAA tournament last season, Duluth should be a revitalized team. There’s nothing worse than almost not making a tournament your team has been a mainstay in for years. The season started off odd with the Bulldogs almost losing to Mercyhurst in the opening season series. Yet, the season was still a rollercoaster. Seeing double digit losses in their record is unusual, too. But this is the year UMD settles down and puts together another great season. They’ll be in contention for third place in the conference with Minnesota. Caitlin Kraemer will have a great season and Ève Gascon will, too. The returning players will lead the team in offense. They’ll make the NCAA tournament without having to scoreboard watch this time around.
Player to watch: Caitlin Kraemer
Minnesota State:
Last season: 9-17-2. Finished 5th with 29 points. Made first appearance in second round of WCHA playoffs for the first time since 2009. Eliminated UMD in first round of conference playoffs. Most wins in a season in program history. Ranked in the USCHO poll.
Notable losses: Lauren Goldsworthy entered the transfer portal in March and joined Minnesota. The defender finished last season with 12 points and 48 blocks. Taylor Otremba went pro and was selected by the Ottawa Charge at the PWHL draft in June.
Notable additions: Neely Hawn transferred after one season at Merrimack. She’ll be looking for a fresh start with a new team. Audrey Garton missed the 25-26 season due to injury. The forward will return to the team again this season for her redshirt sophomore year. Rookie Mia Miller joins the collegiate ranks after a 49 point high school season. She also played at the World Juniors. She’s another rookie that can be of use to the Mavs this season.
Prediction:
After recording the most wins in a single season, Mankato hopes to continue that trend. They can do so. They still have some great players on the roster, including Mercury Bischoff, captain Hailey Hansen, and Kamryn Van Batavia. Hansen has continued to grow as a goalie. She even attended the USA Hockey national festival and development camp in August. The captain will look to have a big season this year. I see her finishing with great numbers and being named to the HCA Goalie of the Year watchlist. Bischoff will have another great season as well. The Mavs will finish with more wins than last year.
Player to watch: Mercury Bischoff
St. Cloud State:
Last season: 7-19-2. Finished 6th with 27 points. Won a WCHA playoff game for the first time since 2010. Lost to Minnesota in conference playoffs in the first round.
Notable losses: Seven players entered the transfer portal in the offseason. Sydney Lamb, who was part of the WCHA All-Rookie Team, also left. Lamb was one of the big losses after putting together a great season for the Huskies. Another is Grace Wolfe, who graduated and was drafted by the New York Sirens in the PWHL draft. Goaltender JoJo Chobak also graduated last year.
Notable additions: The sky isn’t falling on St. Cloud though. Tristan Thompson joined the team out of Northeastern in hopes she fills the gap left by Wolfe’s departure. There are new players this year, including eight freshmen. But head coach Mira Jalosuo feels much more confident in navigating that change.
What they said:
“I’m very excited that obviously last year [we won] the first playoff game since 2010. It’s a big step in the right direction, but by any means, we are not happy how the season ended,” Jalosuo said. “We wanted to make it to the NCAA [tournament.] We didn’t meet our goal. But if you look at the roster, we had 14 new players last year. So I expected it to be a roller coaster. This year, we only graduated a couple of players. So we should be much older this year and the ups and downs should be done. Now we should be able to be a little bit more consistent.”
Prediction:
The Huskies are one season removed from a 10 win season. Jalosuo is entering her second season as head coach. The rest of her staff remains the same. Her newly announced leadership group are successful players who developed with this program. There is so much working in the team’s favor. But they need the offense to pick it up a notch. If Emilia Kyrkkö puts together a solid season in net and captain Alice Sauriol, alternate captain Laura Zimmermann, and Sofianna Sundelin can score, the team will be back at double digit wins. I see the Huskies getting to nine at least. I see their team look completely different from last year’s.
Player to watch: Emilia Kyrkkö
St. Thomas:
Last season: 7-20-1. Finished 7th with 24 points. Finished with more WCHA points than ever before. Seven games is the most won in the program’s D-I era. Ranked for the first time ever in USCHO poll.
Notable losses: As mentioned already, the loss of Rylee Bartz and Ellah Hause are big for this team. They also lost Keara Parker and Ilsa Lindaman. Lindaman is another big loss for the Tommies. She played well last season and her game really took a big step. Returning players will have to fill the gaps left by these departing players.
Notable additions: Sydney Bryant transferred to the Tommies out of St. Cloud State. The defender could be a key piece this year. Taylor Porthan is another addition, while forward Ella Pasqua will also be joining the team.
Notable changes: Head coach Bethany Brausen added to her staff this offseason. She brought in Dani Cameranesi Brodzinski, who will be Director of Player Development and Scouting. Brodzinski is a Minnesota alum, an Olympic gold medalist, and an incredibly successful hockey player. She previously worked as a scout for the Minnesota Frost for a season. Brausen had this to say about Brodzinski’s hiring:
“Dani’s hockey resume is second to none, highlighted by six international medals representing the United States, including a gold medal at the 2018 Olympic Games. She will be an incredible resource for our players with her professional knowledge of the PWHL while bringing a wealth of knowledge to our staff. Beyond her accomplishments on the ice Dani is an impactful leader, mentor, and role model within the women’s hockey community. We feel incredibly fortunate that she will be able to share her experience, perspective, and passion for the game with our student athletes.”
Prediction:
The secret to a successful Tommies season will be Chloe Boreen and Ella Boerger. The two veteran players spent the summer with USA Hockey and took part in the summer select series. Boreen’s offense shined in those games and she had a great series. St. Thomas continues to win more games each season, but it’s still slow and steady. Their new arena will play host to the WCHA playoffs again this year. Last season, Brausen was focused on making it to the final round. She wanted her team to play in the playoffs on home ice. That didn’t materialize. I don’t know if it will happen this season, either, but I do think the Tommies win nine games this year. If Boreen, Boerger, and even Whitney Horton can put together good seasons, St. Thomas will finish above seventh place.
Player to watch: Chloe Boreen
Bemidji State:
Last season: 3-24-1. Finished 8th with nine points. Finished last in conference standings for fourth year in a row. Eliminated by Wisconsin in conference playoffs for second year in a row.
Notable losses: Isa Goettl finished third on the team in scoring last season. The 21-year-old moved on to Clarkson after two years with the Beavers. Goettl was a difference maker on a BSU team that only won three games. Her loss will be noticeable. Goaltender Eva Filippova also transferred in the offseason.
Notable additions: Sophia Villanueva joins the Beavers out of UMD. She’s entering her second season. Last year she only appeared in five games but she did well. Even though it’s a small sample size, Villanueva will have a fresh start with Bemidji. This is a chance for her to learn and grow and perhaps get more playing time, too.
Notable changes:
Assistant coach Jess Strack was recently named goaltending coach for Team Hungary. Though her focus isn’t solely on goaltending with BSU, her experience as a goalie herself is still useful for the team. Strack played four years of college, and a year each in the PWHPA and the PHF. Now with her getting the chance to help an international team as well, Bemidji’s players continue to be in good hands.
Prediction:
It’s an uphill battle for the Beavers again this season. I like the returning players on the team this year. Hailey Armstrong and Morgan Smith were the two best players on the team last year. They’ll be back again this season. But I do believe the rest of the team has to get going. They will do it. BSU will win more than three games this season. Their offense will grow. They will play their best hockey in some time.
What they said:
Player to watch: Morgan Smith (She will have a hat trick this season)
The new season can’t start soon enough! Stay tuned to The Ice Garden for everything WCHA and NCAA. Check out the full WCHA schedule here.
