Wisconsin Ranked Unanimous No. 1 in Week Five of
USA Hockey Women’s College Hockey Poll
Ohio State, Minnesota, Cornell and Minnesota Duluth round out top five
The Wisconsin Badgers battled UMD this past weekend and swept the Bulldogs to maintain their hold atop the rankings in women’s college hockey. The Gophers, meanwhile, cdl onto the No. 3 spot with a sweep of St. Cloud State, 4-1 and 5-3. The Gophers outshot the Huskies 33-20 on Friday and got a goal and an assist each from Josefin Bouveng and Sarah Paul and two assists from Gracie Graham. On Saturday Abbey Murphy scored twice and Paul had a goal and two assists. Madison Kaiser also notched a pair of helpers in the win. The Gophers are no 6-0-0 overall and will host No. 2 Ohio State this Saturday and Sunday at Ridder Arena.
St. Cloud State remained in the top 10 at No. 10 despite the pair of losses.
USA Hockey
2025-26 Women’s College Hockey Poll – Week Five
(First-place votes in parentheses)
| Rank | School | Last Week’s Ranking | 2025-26 Record | Weeks in Top 15 |
| 1. | University of Wisconsin, 285 (19) | 1 | 6-0-0 | 5 |
| 2. | Ohio State University, 257 | 2 | 4-0-0 | 5 |
| 3. | University of Minnesota, 254 | 3 | 6-0-0 | 5 |
| 4. | Cornell University, 218 | 4 | 0-0-0 | 5 |
| 5. | University of Minnesota Duluth, 213 | 5 | 4-2-0 | 5 |
| 6. | Penn State University, 187 | 6 | 6-0-0 | 5 |
| 7. | Quinnipiac University, 166 | 7 | 6-0-0 | 5 |
| 8. | Colgate University, 158 | 8 | 2-2-0 | 5 |
| 9. | Clarkson University, 125 | 9 | 2-2-0 | 5 |
| 10. | St. Cloud State University, 107 | 10 | 3-3-0 | 5 |
| 11. | University of Connecticut, 95 | 11 | 2-2-0 | 5 |
| 12. | Northeastern University, 70 | 13 | 4-0-0 | 5 |
| T-13. | Boston University, 44 | 14 | 0-4-0 | 5 |
| T-13. | St. Lawrence University, 44 | 12 | 1-4-1 | 5 |
| T-15. | Mercyhurst University, 22 | RV | 3-3-0 | 1 |
| T-15. | Princeton University, 22 | 15 | 0-0-0 | 5 |
Others Receiving Votes: Minnesota State University, 7; University of St. Thomas, 3; Yale University, 3; University of Maine, 1.
Top 15 Matchups
(All times listed in local time zone)
| Date | Matchup | Time | TV/Stream |
| Fri., Oct. 17 | No. T-15 Princeton at No. 11 Connecticut | 2:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+ |
| No. T-15 Mercyhurst at No. 6 Penn State | 3:00 p.m. ET | B1G+ | |
| No. 12 Northeastern at No. 7 Quinnipiac | 3:00 p.m. ET | ESPN+ | |
| Sat., Oct. 18 | No. T-15 Princeton at No. 11 Connecticut | 1:00 p.m. ET | BTN+ |
| No. T-15 Mercyhurst at No. 6 Penn State | 1:00 p.m. ET | B1G+ | |
| No. 12 Northeastern at No. 7 Quinnipiac | 1:00 p.m. ET | BTN+ | |
| No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Minnesota | 2:00 p.m. CT | B1G+ | |
| Sun., Oct. 19 | No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Minnesota | 2:00 p.m. CT | B1G+ |
Notes: ECAC Hockey has six teams in the rankings, while the WCHA has five, Hockey East has three, and Atlantic Hockey America has two… Team records are listed as W-L-T.
About the Poll: The 27th annual USA Hockey Women’s College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the five NCAA women’s hockey conferences who are eligible for the NCAA Women’s National Collegiate Ice Hockey Championships, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey.
WCHA POW week honors
For the first time this season, Wisconsin’s Kirsten Simms and Caroline Harvey, Minnesota’s Hannah Clark, and St. Cloud State’s Maria Mikaelyan earned Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) weekly honors presented by OS Hockey.
WCHA Forward of the Week
Kirsten Simms, Sr., Wisconsin (Plymouth, Mich.)
Wisconsin’s Kirsten Simms was named the WCHA Forward of the Week for the first time this season for her performance in the Badgers’ series sweep of No. 4 Minnesota Duluth. Simms recorded multi-point performances in both games of the series as she scored a goal and added a helper in Saturday’s 4-3 win and followed up in Sunday’s 4-0 win with two assists. Simms led all Badgers with three assists on the weekend and tied for the team lead in points with four.
Other Nominees: Abbey Murphy, Minnesota; Kamryn Van Batavia, Minnesota State; Jocelyn Amos, Ohio State; Maria Mikaelyan, St. Cloud State.
WCHA Defender of the Week
Caroline Harvey, Sr., Wisconsin (Salem, N.H.)
For the first time this season, Wisconsin’s Caroline Harvey was named the WCHA Defender of the Week after recording four points on the weekend in the Badgers’ series sweep of No. 4 Minnesota Duluth. In the series, Harvey tallied two goals and two assists to lead all WCHA defenders with four points on the weekend. On Saturday, Harvey scored the game-tying goal with 20 seconds remaining before teammate Cassie Hall netted the game-winning goal with less than 10 seconds left in regulation. Harvey also scored what would stand as the game-winning goal in Sunday’s 4-0 victory while also tallying two assists.
Other Nominees: Gracie Graham, Minnesota; Lauren Zawoyski, Minnesota State; Mira Jungåker, Ohio State.
WCHA Goaltender of the Week
Hannah Clark, So., Minnesota (Oshawa, Ontario)
Sophomore netminder Hannah Clark earned the WCHA Goaltender of the Week nod after her performance in net in Minnesota’s top-10 series sweep over No. 10 St. Cloud State. In game one of the series, Clark allowed one goal and recorded 19 saves in the Gophers’ 4-1 win. On Saturday in game two, Clark earned the win after entering the game in the third period and collected nine saves. In the series, the sophomore recorded a 2-0-0 record in net, a .964 save percentage, and collected a total of 28 saves.
Other Nominees: Ava Hils, Bemidji State; Ève Gascon, Minnesota Duluth; Hailey Hansen, Minnesota State; Hailey MacLeod, Ohio State.
WCHA Rookie of the Week
Maria Mikaelyan, Forward, St. Cloud State (Moscow, Russia)
St. Cloud State’s Maria Mikaelyan earned her first WCHA Rookie of the Week honor of the season. In the Huskies’ 4-1 loss against No. 3 Minnesota on Friday, Mikaelyan recorded the lone goal for St. Cloud State on her only shot attempt. The rookie forward contributed a goal and an assist in Saturday’s game for her first multi-point game of her career, and she was the only skater for St. Cloud State with multiple points in the loss.
Other Nominees: Tereza Plosova, Minnesota; Zoe Lopez, Minnesota State; Hilda Svensson, Ohio State; Teagan Kulenkamp, St. Thomas; Adéla Šapovalivová, Wisconsin.
For more information on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, follow the league on X and Instagram @WCHA_WHockey, and online at wcha.com.
2025-26 WCHA Players of the Week
Oct. 13: Forward: Kirsten Simms, Wisconsin; Defender: Caroline Harvey, Wisconsin; Goaltender: Hannah Clark, Minnesota; Rookie: Maria Mikaelyan, St. Cloud State
Oct. 6: Forward: Abbey Murphy, Minnesota; Defender: Laila Edwards, Wisconsin; Goaltender: Ava McNaughton, Wisconsin; Rookie: Hilda Svensson, Ohio State
Sept. 29: Forward: Abbey Murphy, Minnesota; Defender: Sydney Morrow, Minnesota; Goaltender: Ève Gascon, Minnesota Duluth; Rookie: Bella Fanale, Minnesota
Sept. 22: Forward: Rylee Bartz, St. Thomas; Defender: Siiri Yrjölä, St. Cloud State; Goaltender: Hailey Hansen, Minnesota State; Rookie: Zoe Lopez, Minnesota State
WCHA Standings
