Emma Peschel’s rise continues from Minnesota standout to national team defender

by Robert Brent, Let’s Play Hockey

When USA Hockey recently released its roster for the 2025-26 Rivalry Series between Team USA and Canada, a few names stood out on the roster. The team will feature seven athletes from Minnesota, including Team USA stalwarts such as Grace Zumwinkle, Lee Stecklein, Taylor Heise, and others. 

American fans will be used to seeing a heavy Minnesota contingent, but there is one player from the State of Hockey that is making their rivalry series debut: rising star defender Emma Peschel from Ohio State University.

While this will be her first time taking the ice in the much-anticipated rivalry series games, it won’t be her first time suiting up for the national team. She won Silver at the 2022 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship and also took first place with the USA at the 2024 Six Nations Tournament. 

The defender’s addition to the Rivalry Series roster is just another accomplishment in a career that has seen Peschel make a name for herself by succeeding at every level.

The Edina native first started gaining attention as a high school player at Benilde-St. Margarets. Peschel was a four-year letter player for the Red Knights, but was especially impressive during her senior season. 

Rivalry Series Roster

Peschel led the team in her final season with 37 points (16 goals, 21 assists) while captaining the team. Despite her impressive play, the team fell to Edina in the section finals, bringing Peschel’s high school career to a close. 

Many of the best girls’ players in Minnesota end up in Minnesota schools, but Peschel wanted a different path. Ohio State served as the perfect partner for the defender to do something a bit different while still playing elite hockey. 

When Peschel made her decision to join the Buckeyes, the team was rapidly ascending as a contender in women’s hockey. Nadine Muzzerall had joined the team as head coach in 2016-17. She was coming into a program that couldn’t break out from under the traditional WCHA powerhouses like Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Under Muzzerall, the team quickly became a threat in the conference, making its first NCAA tournament and Frozen Four appearances in the 2017-18 season.

In a recent interview, the standout defender recalled the excitement of joining a team that was establishing itself as a genuine contender.

“I knew from my recruiting process that I didn’t want to stay home and wanted to make my own path. Ohio State, at that time, was getting good,” Peschel said. “I wanted to get on board with a program that was going somewhere, and it’s awesome to see how Muzzy (Muzzerall) and the girls coming in have transformed the team. I’m thrilled I made that decision.”

Ohio State won the national championship in 2021-22, a year before Peschel arrived on campus, and the team has continued to win since. While Peschel chose OSU due to the team’s potential, she’s now a vital part of their success.

Peschel contributed to the Buckeyes from her very first year on campus. She played in 41 games, adding 12 points while playing a strong defensive game. Ohio State returned to the national championship game, this time losing to Wisconsin in a 1-0 thriller in Duluth. 

In her sophomore season, Peschel would take yet another jump. She nearly doubled her point total with 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists) in 36 games and registered a plus 35 +/- rating. Even more importantly, the team once again reached the pinnacle of women’s college hockey in a rematch with Wisconsin. This time, Peschel and the Buckeyes came out the victors in another 1-0 contest to become national champions.

The Buckeyes, a team that had never been a traditional powerhouse, had now made it to three title games in a row and won two of them. With players like Peschel on the team, winning has become an expectation. Peschel reflected on that goal and how it shapes the team’s mindset.

“If we don’t make it now, it feels like we’ve done a disservice to the program. It’s our expectation and Muzzies to make the National Championship and to win every year, and that’s just how it is,” Peschel said. “That’s our driving force. She has expectations for us that are through the roof, and I think that is what makes us so good because she pushes us past our limit, past even what we think is possible.”

OSU continued to meet that expectation the following season, once again reaching the National Championship game, with Peschel taking another step as a player with 34 points (eight goals, 26 assists) on the season. They met Wisconsin for the third year in a row and lost a heartbreaking overtime game.

Now, Peschel is in her senior season and is part of the team’s leadership group. She’s a team captain again, and her job is just as much to mentor the next generation of Buckeyes as it is to win games. Their head coach has praised Peschel and the rest of the team’s veterans for their ability to lead and create a team atmosphere this season.

“They lead by example,” Nadine Muzzeral recently said. “Our players gravitate to them because they’re so welcoming. Badass on the ice, but very welcoming and sister-like off of it.”

Only time will tell if Peschel and the Buckeyes reach their goal of contending for a National Championship again this season, but they’re off to a strong start. The team is currently ranked #2 in the nation and is once again looking like a strong contender to take the throne. 

As she helps usher in the next generation at Ohio State, Peschel’s own future continues to grow brighter. The PWHL will be an option soon, and she’ll get more experience with the national team at the Rivalry Series. Wherever that journey leads next, she looks ready to leave just as significant an impact.