The top riser in NCAA women’s hockey this week came from the ECAC, where Quinnipiac has emerged as a program that continues to put together consistent performances.
In the WCHA, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota continued to jockey for national positioning ahead of the Olympics, while Minnesota-Duluth finally ended a nearly monthlong winless streak.
Teams now approach their final pre-Olympic weekend before many of the top players in NCAA hockey will head to Italy for a month. The Americans are favorites to win gold in women’s hockey.
Here’s a look at the top 10 NCAA women’s hockey programs this week:
Women’s college hockey power rankings
1. University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
Wisconsin pummeled Bemidji State with Caroline Harvey and Kirsten Simms, two of NCAA hockey’s top PWHL draft prospects, each scoring hat tricks and putting up six-point performances in the opener of the series. Wisconsin’s seniors continue to dominate. When they’re gone for the Olympics, this team may actually get stronger heading to the postseason, giving their depth an opportunity to step up.
2. Ohio State University (WCHA)
After needing overtime to beat St. Thomas 2-1 on Friday despite allowing only 10 shots against, Ohio State responded with a 5-0 win on Saturday. Captain Jocelyn Amos continued to heat up at the right time of year, scoring three goals this weekend. She’s been one of the better players in NCAA hockey this month.
3. University of Minnesota (WCHA)
The strong season of Abbey Murphy continues as she now has 18 goals and 29 points in her last 10 games with the Gophers. She added to her totals this weekend, scoring her 36th goal of the season and 139th career goal, tying her with current Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall as the program’s all-time leader. Minnesota swept St. Cloud State and shows no signs of slowing down.
4. Quinnipiac (ECAC)
It’s taken the bulk of the season to get there, but Quinnipiac now sits as the top program outside the WCHA. They beat Cornell and Colgate this weekend with ease. Felicia Frank may be the best goaltender in NCAA hockey right now. She stopped 69 of 70 shots she faced this weekend, and Kahlen Lamarche became only the second player in the nation, following Murphy, to hit 30 goals this season.
5. Penn State (AHA)
Facing the NCAA’s newest program, Delaware, Penn State handled its business, shutting out the Blue Hens 12-0 over two games. Given Penn State’s strength of schedule, it’s hard to imagine they’ll be ready for top competition at the NCAA tournament, and many PWHL scouts are beginning to discuss the difficulty of assessing their players’ readiness for the next level.
6. Northeastern (Hockey East)
After beating Boston College in the women’s Beanpot consolation game, the Huskies swept Connecticut, which has somehow remained a highly ranked national program. Rookie Stryker Zablocki will be a candidate for national rookie of the year, and she doesn’t look far off from being talked about as one of the best in NCAA hockey. Beating UConn twice this weekend solidified Northeastern’s spot among the top programs.
7. Cornell (ECAC)
Cornell’s 6-1 win over Princeton was impressive. They got four goals from their blueline, which has perennially been one of the best in the nation. Quinnipiac shut them out 4-0 the following day, but between Cornell’s back end that features Piper Gober, Alyssa Regalado and Grace Dwyer, and Annelies Bergmann in net, it can shut down opponents on any given night.
8. Princeton (ECAC)
Princeton would like to forget this weekend. The Tigers have one of the best top lines in college hockey with Issy Wunder and Mackenzie Alexander tormenting teams, but they ran into hot goaltending and a pair of teams that effectively line-matched for 60 minutes to contain the duo. Princeton fell 6-1 to Cornell, and then was upset 3-2 in overtime by Colgate. It’s not the time of year for a slump.
9. Yale (ECAC)
Yale was off this week, buying the team another week in the top 10. Where this program thrives is analytically. They win puck battles, block shots, maintain possession and play as a cohesive unit. Next weekend, Yale plays two unranked teams on the schedule before closing out their year with test after test against Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Princeton and Quinnipiac.
10. University of Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA)
Finally, Minnesota-Duluth snapped a disastrous run that saw it start 2026 with seven games without a win. They plummeted in the national standings because of it. This weekend, they tied Minnesota State before finally beating them in the second game of their series 3-0. It was a welcome performance from Eve Gascon, who made 24 saves in the shutout. Gascon and Bulldogs forward Caitlin Kraemer were clearly affected by being left off Team Canada.