With the second weekend of women’s ice hockey complete, here are Jordan Menard’s Power 5 teams.
1. Wisconsin (Preseason: 1)
The Badgers came out of the gates hot, taking two sizable victories over Lindenwood, with a 6-0 win on Friday and a program single game goal record with a 16-1 win on Saturday. Freshman Cassie Hall was just the seventh Badger to have a 4+ goal game (during Friday’s contest), joining greats like Sarah Nurse, and Hilary Knight. Wisconsin showed depth and offensive dominance to start the season.
.@BadgerWHockey just set a program record with its 15th goal, surpassing the previous record of 14 goals scored against Bemidji State on Nov. 18, 2000. pic.twitter.com/31qrNCZUJL
— AJ Harrison (@ajharrison1) September 29, 2023
2. Colgate (3)
I put Colgate in the two slot. The Raiders faced off against No. 2 Ohio State and were able to split on the weekend during the top-5 match up. Colgate took down the Buckeyes on Friday, 3-2, with a game-winner scored by Emma Pais in the final minute of regulation. On Saturday, the Raiders were able to push the Buckeyes to overtime after posting a lofty third period come back, however, the Buckeyes won the OT battle, 3-2.
3. Ohio State (2)
The Buckeyes showed intense bench depth over the weekend, with Boston College transfer Hannah Bilka making an instant impact with a combined 10 shots and a goal across both games against Colgate. Returning sophomore forward Sloane Matthews netted two goals herself. The Buckeyes fell to No. 4 Colgate, 3-2 on Friday, but Jenna Buglioni’s overtime goal on Saturday was one for the books.
.@jennabuglioni WINS IT IN OT 💪#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/EB1nwx99F6
— Ohio State Women’s Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) September 30, 2023
4. Minnesota (4)
The Gophers stay put at No. 4 with their first regular season game at RIT in Rochester, NY on Friday. Equipped with six first-years and transfers Lucy Morgan (goalkeeper, St. Lawrence University), Solveig Neunzert (defender, Princeton) and Taylor Stewart (defender, Minnesota Duluth), Minnesota will have much to prove this season.
5. Quinnipiac (NR)
My No. 5 team is Quinnipiac — the Bobcats looked sturdy this weekend after sweeping Maine, 3-0 and 5-1. Depth was demonstrated with seven different goal scorers, including Kendall Cooper, who netted two goals and earned an assist against the Black Bears. Quinnipiac goes on the road to play UNH on Friday.
