Come back each week for a preview of interesting NCAA games coming up and some thoughts on what happened in the previous week's action. Check out Thursday's How to Watch for links to all the weekend's games.
(1) Wisconsin at (2) Ohio State
Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM Eastern
This is the third consecutive regular season matchup between the teams as the top two ranked programs in the national polls and they have combined to win the last five national championships - UW in 2019, 2021 and 2023 , OSU in 2022 and 2024. Due to ties, there are 12 women in the top ten in scoring in the nation - nine of them play on one of these two teams.
Ohio State has had the edge in Columbus, winning the last six games on home ice. Both teams enter the weekend off a bye week, though several Badgers and Ohio State's Joy Dunne played in the Rivalry Series with USA Hockey.
Wisconsin is undefeated at 12-0 and boasts the nation's top goaltender in Ava McNaughton. Laila Edwards leads the country with 13 goals and Casey O'Brien has a nations-best 26 points and 19 assists. They had a less robust early-season schedule, but helped prove they were legit with a come-from-behind win over Minnesota in mid-October. The Badgers have a deep offense that has received reliable scoring from all four lines and their blueliners. They have shown great adaptability this season, reacting to opponents and switching up line pairs comfortably.
Ohio State started the season being swept by Minnesota Duluth, but have found their rhythm as time has gone on. Ties with Minnesota (with a shootout win) and St. Cloud State (with a shootout loss) are the only blemishes on their record since that first series. All four goalies on their roster have seen playing time, with Amanda Thiele and Hailey MacLeod taking the bulk of the starts. Jenna Buglioni, Joy Dunne and Jocelyn Amos are tied for the team lead with 11 goals each. Amos is having a breakout sophomore season while freshman Jordyn Petrie is the highest-scoring rookie in the country with 15 points.
When the Buckeyes have been good in years' past, they've been fully dominant. This team isn't (yet) quite that juggernaut and I think they've needed time to adjust and figure out their identity outside of that. It's a pretty good problem to have, but I think OSU had to learn that it's ok to tie or lose games. It's not the end of the world or the season and they have to be able to learn those lessons, apply them and move on.
These will be fast-paced games with high shot counts. They'll be physical and how the officials choose to call that will likely make a big impact on the outcome. Both teams will want to hold possession as much as they can and limit odd-player rushes.
(3) Minnesota at (4) Minnesota Duluth
Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 3:00 PM Central
The Gophers have had the better of the Bulldogs in this rivalry, particularly recently. UMD beat the Gophers just once in their last 10 meetings – the NCAA Regional Final in March 2022. Both teams are coming off a bye week and should be well-rested for the series.
Minnesota Duluth will relish being at home - they've been road warriors to start the season and these are just their third and fourth home games so far this season. The Bulldogs started the season with a sweep of then-no. 1 Ohio State before splitting a series with Colgate and being swept by Wisconsin. Since then, they've been undefeated, but settled for a 3-3 tie and shootout win against Minnesota State in their last game. Freshman Caitlin Kraemer has been even better than expected, earning WCHA Rookie of the Month in September and Rookie of the Week twice, including last week. There has been no transition needed for the smart, physical rookie with a wicked shot.
Minnesota is in need of as many conference points as they can pull out of this weekend. They currently sit fourth in the WCHA, five points behind UMD in third and with half the conference points Wisconsin has in the same amount of games played. They're won four straight since being swept at home by the Badgers.
Abbey Murphy continues to be a standout for them, leading the team with nine goals and 16 points. Transfer Natálie Mlýnková is second with six goals and 13 points. The offense has been more spread out than last season, but the Gophers could still use a bit more contribution from their second and third lines if they're going to seriously contend for any titles this season.
Expect a really physical game where Minnesota looks to plant themselves in the zone and move the puck around looking for lanes - something UMD is very good at closing off. Minnesota Duluth will be most successful if they can wrestle away possession. If they spend the game reacting to Minnesota and just looking for breakout chances, it will be a really long weekend.
(11) Boston College vs. (14) Boston University (home and home)
Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 4:30 PM Eastern
Saturday's game will be televised on NESN.
BC and BU were picked third and sixth, respectively in the Hockey East coaches preseason poll. The Terriers currently sit atop Hockey East standings while the Eagles are eight points back, but with three games in hand.
Boston College started the season with a win over Stonehill before dropping a series to Wisconsin in which they were outscored 14-1 and losing 4-1 to Holy Cross. It would have been difficult to imagine they'd be nationally ranked and pushing for a league title at that points. But since then, they've gone on seven game win streak, including a sweep of then-no. 3 Clarkson.
The Eagles have had a really balanced offensive attack - there's no one standout, making them more difficult to defend and, I think, giving the team more confidence. They aren't looking to someone else to lead the team, but feeling more like each of them is capable of being the playmaker.
Boston University had a similar start in that they had an early win followed by a three-game losing streak. But while they lost two games to then-no. 2 Minnesota, the games seem to have a served as a signal that this Terriers are for real - the Gophers needed a last-season, power play goal to earn a 1-0 win in the first game. The Terriers responded to their 4-0 loss to Northeastern the next weekend with a 4-0 win of their own the next day and have rattled off seven wins before trying Merrimack last Saturday.
BU have nothing but confidence and the knowledge that they're far outplaying expectations, If BC's run was difficult to imagine, BU's wasn't something anyone had even bothered to think up, but no one told the Terriers. Callie Shanahan has been stellar in net, which has given the skaters the confidence and permission to be more offensive. Rookie Lola Reid leads the team with seven goals and 13 points. The 6'0 freshman uses her size and reach to control the puck, earn space in front of the net and move around defenders.
(Photo: Nicole Haase)
