College Women's Hockey

2026-27 WCHA Women’s Hockey Preview: The Conference’s Powerhouses Face New Challenges

Posted on by Rob Brent

2026-27 WCHA Women’s Hockey Preview: The Conference’s Powerhouses Face New Challenges

The WCHA remains the dominant conference in women’s college hockey, but a changing of the guard could be coming as Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota enter the 2026-27 season with plenty to prove.

By Robert Brent

The NCAA women’s college hockey season is on the horizon, with puck drop set for September 18, 2026. The campaign will feature several strong clubs battling it out for a spot in the Frozen Four at the Amsoil Arena in Duluth. One of the more intriguing storylines of the season will be how the top of the WCHA shakes out.

Since the first women’s NCAA tournaments occurred in 2001, the WCHA has been the country’s premier conference. WCHA clubs Wisconsin (nine), Minnesota (six), Minnesota Duluth (five) and Ohio State (two) have won 22 of the 25 contested national championships.

The conference is poised to dominate the nation again, but there are some questions facing some of the top teams.

The Front-Runners

The 2026-27 season is shaping up to be a strong one for the traditional powerhouses in the conference. According to the WCHA preseason poll, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth once again represent the top of the league. The Buckeyes sit atop the poll with six first-place votes. Defending champions Wisconsin received two first-place votes.

Wisconsin

While the teams remain familiar, the top teams should see major overhauls. Starting with Wisconsin, the Badgers will feature a much different lineup this season than they have for several years. Wisconsin will be without former stars Laila Edwards, Caroline Harvey and Kirsten Simms who have all moved on to the Professional Women’s Hockey League.

The Badgers have reloaded through strong recruiting and will welcome top first-year players like Maddy Kimbrel and Nela Lopuลกanovรก. The Badgers may have lost a lot from their roster, but they’ve done plenty to replace that talent and will be excellently coached as always. Head Coach Mark Johnson spoke during the WCHA preseason media availability about his excitement for the team’s youth movement.

“It’s a fun time of year. Expectations are quite high as they are every year. For us, we lost a lot of really good players that did a lot for our program and were successful on and off the ice.” Johnson said. “This year, similar to other years, we bring in new players and we start the journey and process of connecting and becoming a team.”

The Badgers will look a lot different coming into this season, but they have the pedigree and young players to still compete for the conference title. They will also have the advantage of being backstopped by goaltender Ava McNaughton. McNaughton has been a standout for the Badgers and shows no signs of slowing down.

Minnesota

The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers will similarly undergo a major transformation. Abbey Murphy, one of the top scorers in school history, is now in the PWHL. The even bigger change will come behind the bench. Greg “Boom” May takes the helm for the Gophers after the team’s illustrious run under Brad Frost. May has added some high-end recruits for future years, and first-year Adrianna Milani was recently named WCHA Preseason Player of the Year.

When speaking to media before the season, it’s clear that coach May is focused on the status of women’s hockey at the University of Minnesota. The team is one of the country’s blue bloods and his staff is committed to upholding that standard.

“The pressure is real here at Minnesota. We don’t shy away from it, we don’t hide from it. I would say we embrace it. The players we recruit to come here want it. The staff I surround myself with are people who want it as well,” May said. “Trust me, we’re dying to get a national championship back here.”

Veteran defender Chloe Primerano will be a key to the Gophers’ success this season. LPH Photo – Robert Brent

While the Gophers will feature several young players, there’s also veteran talent on the team that knows what it takes to win in the conference. The team hopes to contend, but will certainly face tough competition at the top. That reality is something Preseason All-WCHA Defender Chloe Primerano is well aware of.

“The WCHA is really tough and you have to come prepared every single night. These past few years we haven’t had the most success. We know that. We know we haven’t won anything in a long time and we’re trying to turn the page.”

Ohio State

The Ohio State Buckeyes enter the season as the favorite in the conference, according to WCHA coaches. The team earned six first-place votes, and it’s easy to see why, given the body of work they’ve built in the current era. OSU has emerged a significant threat to the conference and national title over the last decade.

This year’s Buckeyes team features a blend of elite veterans and exciting prospects. If that squad gels, it could be tough to beat. Head Coach Nadine Muzerall spoke about her team’s strong makeup and how it shapes their aspirations for this season.

“We have a lot of experience coming back. Over the past couple of years, we’ve been a young team. We have a lot of veterans in roles where they’re very hungry.” Muzerall said. “I give a lot of credit to my coaching staff for bringing in the finest group in our first-year class. I look forward to people like Joy (Dunne) and (Jocelyn) Amos being their leaders and guiding us to the victory we’re prepping for at the end of the year.”

OSU is led by a trio of players who all earned Preseason All-WCHA honors. Joy Dunne and Jocelyn Amos represent the Buckeyes at forward while Mira Jungรฅker is a standout on the blueline. Dunne also earned the honor of WCHA Preseason Player of the Year.

There’s a lot of competition at the top of the WCHA, but Ohio State is poised to end up at the top of that heap.

The Contenders

While the top names garner most of the headlines, the WCHA is a deep conference with several competitive teams. Minnesota Duluth looks to be the cream of the contenders’ crop.

The Bulldogs are led by a strong overall team composition headlined by two standout players. Senior goaltender รˆve Gascon was voted as the Preseason All-WCHA goaltender. Junior forward Caitlin Kraemer was the only player to receive Preseason Player of the Year votes besides winner Joy Dunne. That duo will power UMD to a strong season where they can compete against anyone.

Minnesota State has a similar makeup with veterans at the top of their lineup. Senior defender Lauren Zawoyski and senior goaltender Hailey Hansen are particularly notable. The stalwart defender and netminder give Mankato a chance to play lockdown defense and win low-scoring games.

The trio of St. Cloud State, St. Thomas and Bemidji round out the conference and look to be in building years. St. Cloud had the best 2025-26 of that group and look ready to do so again. They return their top two scorers Alice Sauriol and Sofianna Sundelin.

With the Frozen Four coming to Duluth in April, the stakes are even higher, and it seems like a lot of different options are on the table. The most interesting question may be which WCHA team will be standing at the end.