The PodKaz: USCHO Women's Hockey

The final weekly edition of the PodKaz for the 2025-26 season has hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski from USCHO.com reflecting on the Frozen Four.Wisconsin took home its second straight NCAA championship by beating Ohio State 3-2 in Sunday's championship game. Is having the Badgers and the Buckeyes play for the title four years in a row a good sign, though?Friday's semifinal attendance of 5,176 set a Frozen Four record, with Penn State fans making it a wonderful atmosphere for the Nittany Lions' first Frozen Four appearance.Then we look back on more of what we saw in State College, including a packed crowd for the Patty Kazmaier Award ceremony.We finish with thoughts on the coaching change at Minnesota, where Brad Frost is out after 19 seasons and four NCAA titles. Greg May is the new leader of the Gophers. And Merrimack made a big splash by hiring Courtney Kennedy as its new coach.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

The March 17, 2026, edition of the PodKaz from USCHO.com features hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski getting ready for the Frozen Four, which starts Friday in State College, Pa.Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State and Northeastern won regional finals on Saturday, and the host NIttany Lions are in the Frozen Four for the first time after beating UConn 3-0. How much will home ice help?Wisconsin will set a record with its 17th Frozen Four appearance and its fourth in a row. The Badgers got there by beating Quinnipiac 6-0.Northeastern was the only road team to win last weekend. The Huskies beat Minnesota 4-2 to earn their third Frozen Four bid and first since 2023.And Ohio State claimed a spot in its sixth straight Frozen Four with a 6-1 win over Yale. The Buckeyes have been looking to avenge last season’s overtime loss to Wisconsin in the championship game.We take a closer look at the semifinal matchups: Ohio State vs. Northeastern and Wisconsin vs. Penn State.And we close with some thoughts on things to do in State College if you’re going.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

On the PodKaz from USCHO.com for March 10, 2026, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski are wrapped up in the NCAA National Collegiate women's hockey tournament that starts Thursday and how we got there.First, a look back at the five conference championship games. Penn State, Quinnipiac, UConn, Franklin Pierce and Ohio State came away with titles, but only Franklin Pierce of the NEWHA wasn't already going to make the NCAA field. The lack of upsets opened the door for Minnesota Duluth, which lost in the WCHA quarterfinals, to earn the last at-large bid.Our second segment is a preview of all four NCAA regionals, hosted by Ohio State, Wisconsin, Penn State and Minnesota. The three first-round games Thursday have Yale playing Minnesota Duluth, UConn playing Princeton and Quinnipiac facing Franklin Pierce. The winners play Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin, respectively Saturday. Minnesota and Northeastern also play Saturday for a spot in the Frozen Four.And we wrap up with a look at the 10 finalists for the Patty Kazmaier Award and the three finalists for the women's hockey goalie of the year award.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

On the March 3, 2026, edition of the PodKaz, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski from USCHO.com dig into the five days of play ahead leading to conference playoff championships.First, however, we take a look back at how we got here. There were only two teams advancing via upsets last week: Minnesota State over Minnesota Duluth in the WCHA and Vermont over Boston College in Hockey East.Minnesota, Quinnipiac, Princeton and Assumption also needed to win Game 3 on Sunday to make it to the final week.Four leagues have their semifinals on a day to themselves this week, with Hockey East going first Tuesday, NEWHA following Wednesday, the WCHA going Thursday and ECAC Hockey wrapping things up Friday. Then all five leagues have their playoff championship games Saturday.We wrap up by checking in with the NCAA Power Index, which determines selection and seeding for the NCAA tournament after Saturday’s games.If you’re new to the NPI, check out Nicole’s story from 2023 on how it works. And here’s our story laying out who’s locked into the field and who’s still trying to earn a bid. The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

On the Feb. 24, 2026, edition of the PodKaz, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski from USCHO.com talk about the first weekend of the NCAA women’s hockey playoffs in two conferences and the final week of the regular season in three others.Union generated the first upset, and it was a big one: The Garnet Chargers are the 12th seed in ECAC Hockey but they knocked off fifth seed Clarkson on the road last Friday.In Atlantic Hockey, Syracuse went on the road to eliminate RIT in the first double-overtime game of the 2026 postseason.Minnesota Duluth also had success on the road in the final weekend of the WCHA regular season, beating Minnesota in overtime twice behind goals from Tova Henderson. Wisconsin secured the WCHA title with a victory over St. Cloud State on the final day.Northeastern beat UConn in overtime in a potential Hockey East playoff preview. Also, here’s the between-the-legs overtime winner by Vermont’s Oona Havana against New Hampshire on Saturday.Franklin Pierce emerged on top of the NEWHA standings after a victory over Saint Anselm on Friday and an Assumption overtime loss to Sacred Heart.Our second segment looks back at the Olympic women’s hockey tournament and the gold medal won by the U.S. in a 2-1 overtime victory over Canada. Switzerland took the bronze by beating Sweden in overtime.And we finish with a look ahead to the second weekend of the playoffs for ECAC Hockey and Atlantic Hockey and the opening round for the WCHA, Hockey East and NEWHA.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

In the PodKaz for Feb. 17, 2026, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski from USCHO.com open with a look back on a wild finish to the ECAC Hockey regular season. Yale and Princeton tied for the championship after Saturday games that both involved extra-attacker goals.No. 2 Ohio State solidified a top-two spot in the WCHA with a home sweep of No. 3 Minnesota, and the Buckeyes still have hope of passing No. 1 Wisconsin on the final weekend.The race for the NEWHA championship is going down to the final weekend, with Franklin Pierce, Assumption and Saint Anselm having chances at the title.RIT earned its first win at No. 4 Penn State in 12 years with an overtime triumph last Friday, and Syracuse earned a tie and shootout win over Mercyhurst to add some intrigue to the upcoming playoffs.Minnesota, Penn State and Northeastern didn't lose ground in the NPI despite losses last week.Our second segment includes a discussion of the upcoming Olympic gold-medal game. The U.S. and Canada will play in the final for the seventh time in eight tournaments, and even though the Americans have won each time the countries have played this season, Thursday's game still feels like a toss-up.We wrap up this week's show with a look ahead to the start of the postseason in ECAC Hockey and Atlantic Hockey and other important games around the country.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

The PodKaz for Feb. 20, 2026, has hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski looking back on a series split between No. 1 Wisconsin and No. 2 Ohio State last weekend in Madison. The Buckeyes looked great at the start but the Badgers rebounded like they have so well over the last few seasons.The race for the ECAC Hockey championship is coming down to the final weekend of the regular season. The top six teams are separated by 6½ points, with first-place Princeton leading Yale by two points. The Tigers missed a chance to stretch their lead by losing to Harvard on Saturday.Holy Cross had a rough week in Hockey East, losing to Boston College and New Hampshire to extend its winless skid to four games. Northeastern and UConn needed overtime to get past Vermont and Providence, respectively.The NEWHA chase tightened up with Saint Anselm losing in overtime twice at Long Island, leaving the door open for Franklin Pierce and Assumption to close in.We also look at the Olympics, where the U.S. and Canada are set to meet in preliminary-round play Tuesday.And we finish up with a glance at some of the important clashes ahead in NCAA women's hockey, including meetings between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Minnesota and the ECAC Hockey slate.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

The Olympics women's hockey tournament starts Thursday, and this edition of the PodKaz from USCHO.com starts to break down what to expect from the U.S., Canada and other countries.In NCAA hockey, No. 3 Minnesota overcame the absence of top scorers to beat No. 1 Wisconsin in overtime last Friday but the Badgers did the same a day later for a 6-1 victory in Minneapolis.No. 2 Ohio State started its Olympic absence period by dropping four goals on No. 9 Minnesota Duluth in the first 20 minutes of its series en route to a sweep.ECAC Hockey continued to be unpredictable: No. 5 Quinnipiac entered last weekend on a seven-game winning streak, then lost to No. 11 Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Clarkson couldn't get a much-needed weekend sweep, however, losing to No. 8 Princeton.No. 6 Northeastern got the better of No. 13 Holy Cross in a Hockey East series, and No. 4 Penn State won an outdoor game to launch a sweep of Robert Morris.This week's top series is No. 1 Wisconsin hosting No. 2 Ohio State in a rematch of the last three NCAA championship games.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

On the Jan. 28, 2026, edition of the PodKaz, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski from USCHO.com dig into what it'll mean for some teams to lose players to the Olympics starting this week and reflect on last week's results.It was a big weekend for Northeastern, which moved up three spots to fifth in the NCAA Power Index by sweeping UConn on the road. The Huskies have opened up a 12-point lead in the race for the Hockey East title.Harvard won the Beanpot last Tuesday with a Carla McSweeney penalty shot goal in overtime against Boston University. And Penn State sent a message with a 5-1 win at Cornell.Princeton's winning streak ended at 13 games with a loss to the Big Red, then the Tigers lost in overtime to Colgate despite overcoming a two-goal deficit.St. Thomas put a scare into Ohio State before the Buckeyes won in overtime last Friday. Minnesota Duluth's Ève Gascon stopped all 45 shots she faced in a series against Minnesota State, plus three more in a shootout. And Abbey Murphy scored three more goals in a Minnesota series sweep against St. Cloud State, giving her 36 for the season.But now Murphy and other NCAA stars will be missing for a month for the Olympics. The scaled-back Gophers get a test right away by hosting scaled-back Wisconsin, with a combined nine players off the teams' rosters. We talk about how teams will feel the impact of the absences.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

On the Jan. 20, 2026, edition of the PodKaz from USCHO.com, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski reflect upon this year’s IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship in Nova Scotia, where Nicole saw the U.S. defeat Canada for the gold medal.Nicole shares what it was like in the building for the 2-0 victory Sunday and takes us behind the scenes. We also talked about Finland, which will miss out on next year’s event after being relegated.Our look back at last week in NCAA hockey includes a mention of Yale goalie Samson Frey, who, entering Monday’s game against Providence, was 8-0 with four shutouts, a 0.65 goals-against average and a .971 save percentageNo. 3 Minnesota’s Abbey Murphy is pulling away from the pack in both goals (33) and points (58) after another big weekend. Joy Dunne also had a four-goal game for No. 2 Ohio State.And we look ahead to Tuesday night’s Beanpot final between Boston University and Harvard, plus the rest of this week’s NCAA women’s hockey schedule.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

The Jan. 15, 2026, episode of the PodKaz from USCHO.com has hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski talking about Princeton's 11-game winning streak. The Tigers are one win away from tying a program record, and they've shot to the top of ECAC Hockey.We also look back at the first night of the Beanpot, where Harvard and Boston University won to set up their second game with a trophy on the line in January. They also played for the title of the Friendship Series in Belfast, Northern Ireland.The viral sensation of last weekend was Minnesota's Abbey Murphy juggling the puck through the legs of a Minnesota State defender to set up a goal by Bella Fanale as the Gophers completed a home-and-home sweep. See that video here.We also take a look back at results between Penn State and Mercyhurst and Minnesota Duluth's shootout win against Wisconsin before the Badgers rebounded. The race for the NEWHA title also got tighter with last week's results.Nicole checks in from Nova Scotia with an update from the Under-18 Women's World Championship, which moves into the quarterfinal round Thursday.And we finish with a look ahead at some games to watch around NCAA women's hockey this weekend.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

In the Jan. 8, 2026, edition of the PodKaz, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski look ahead to the IIHF Under-18 Women's World Championship, which starts Jan. 10 in Nova Scotia. The rosters are packed with players committed to play NCAA hockey in the coming seasons, making it an important look at what's to come on campus.We also take a quick look at how many NCAA teams will be sending players to the Olympics and discuss the impact on the college game.Our look back to last week's games includes a home sweep by No. 2 Ohio State against No. 4 Penn State and a tournament championship for Boston University in Belfast. Hat tricks were plentiful in other lopsided nonconference games.And this week brings three series between ranked teams in the WCHA and an important set of ECAC Hockey contests.Here are some links to follow Nicole's coverage of the Under-18s:https://victorypress.org/2026/01/02/2026-iihf-u18-womens-world-championships-rosters-and-college-commitments/https://victorypress.org/2026/01/07/2026-iihf-u18-womens-world-championship-introduction-and-how-to-watch/https://x.com/NicoleHaasehttps://bsky.app/profile/nicolehaase.bsky.socialhttps://www.instagram.com/nicolehaase14https://www.instagram.com/thevictorypressThe PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

On this episode of the PodKaz, USCHO.com’s weekly look at NCAA women’s hockey, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski wrap up the first half of the 2025-26 season with a look at some of the teams that surprised, both positively and negatively.Northeastern and Princeton are both in the top 10 of the USCHO.com rankings after being lower in the preseason poll. Colgate, however, started at No. 5 and is heading to Christmas at No. 14.Then we check out the conference leaders compared to preseason predictions, and the biggest change is in NEWHA.We finish the first segment with a look at players to watch in the second half of the season for the Patty Kazmaier Award chase.The mailbag comes out for the second segment. Nicole and Todd respond to four listener questions.And we wrap things up with a look back at the final two games of the Rivalry Series, where the U.S. wrapped up a four-game sweep of Canada.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

On the Dec. 9, 2025, edition of the PodKaz, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski from USCHO.com look back No. 1 Wisconsin's road sweep of No. 2 Ohio State. The Badgers held the Buckeyes to two goals in the series, with goalie Ava McNaughton stopping 60 shots.No. 11 Princeton had a big weekend, too, earning road wins at No. 14 Colgate and No. 8 Cornell to improve its winning streak to seven games. Cornell, on the other hand, has lost three of four.Northeastern rebounded from its first Hockey East loss of the season to sweep Boston College and open an 11-point lead.Lindenwood bounced back from a 10-1 loss at Mercyhurst for a 5-2 win in the second game of an Atlantic Hockey series.And Franklin Pierce narrowed Saint Anselm's lead in NEWHA to six points with a win and a shootout win in a series between the teams.Our second segment includes a look ahead at this week's brief schedule in college hockey, the Under-18 World Championship scheduled for January and the Rivalry Series games between the U.S. and Canada on Wednesday and Saturday.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

In this week's edition of the PodKaz, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski look back on another week with unexpected results and wonder whether that's just the norm now in NCAA women's hockey.No. 7 Northeastern handed No. 4 Penn State its first loss of the season before the Nittany Lions earned a split of the nonconference series.No. 2 Ohio State ran all over No. 10 Clarkson and No. 12 Colgate at the D1 in DC event, while No. 8 UConn beat No. 9 Quinnipiac and Yale with late goals to win the Nutmeg Classic. No. 1 Wisconsin tied an NCAA record for goals in a 17-2 victory over Stonehill at the Smashville Showcase.That leads into the first meeting this season between the nation's top two teams. The Badgers play at the Buckeyes on Friday and Saturday, and they're the only regular-season meetings between the teams when they have their full rosters available; the return series is during the Olympics.And we conclude with a recap of Nicole's appearance on the Thanksgiving episode of "Jeopardy!"The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

In the PodKaz for Nov. 26, 2025, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski talk about Minnesota State's sweep of then-No. 2 Minnesota in a home-and-home series, fueled by four goals by Mercury Bischoff over the two games.The other WCHA series last week also produced some interesting results, with Ohio State sweeping Minnesota Duluth, Wisconsin needing a late rally to overcome St. Thomas in overtime and Bemidji State emerging on top of a wild game against St. Cloud State.Princeton swept Quinnipiac in ECAC Hockey, while Clarkson earned wins over Brown and Yale. Cornell hit another bump with a 4-3 overtime loss to Union, then had a 2-2 tie at Syracuse on Tuesday.Saint Anselm and Penn State took care of business to extend their leads in the NEWHA and Atlantic Hockey, respectively. And Northeastern and UConn gained series sweeps in Hockey East.Looking ahead to the coming weekend, the D1 in DC tournament features Colgate, St. Cloud State, Clarkson and Ohio State. And there's a big nonconference series between Penn State and Northeastern in Boston.Nicole's appearance on "Jeopardy!" is scheduled to air Thursday but football could force TV schedule changes. See updates for your area here.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

In the PodKaz for Nov. 19, 2025, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski discuss the first loss of the season for Cornell and a needed victory for Colgate. A 3-0 shutout for the Raiders last Friday left only Penn State undefeated in NCAA women's hockey.We also look back at an upset victory for Harvard over Yale and a bounce-back victory for Clarkson after a pair of shutouts.In the WCHA, St. Cloud State overcame third-period deficits to tie No. 1 Wisconsin in the second game of a series and Minnesota Duluth took care of St. Thomas on the road.Delaware gained its first Atlantic Hockey America victory by beating Lindenwood last Friday. And Saint Anselm moved eight points ahead of Assumption atop the NEWHA standings with a sweep of Long Island.Our second segment is about the start of the PWHL season, with new players fresh out of college ready to shine and new rules being put into play.And we wrap up with a look at this week's games, including a series between No. 3 Ohio State and No. 5 Minnesota Duluth.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

On the Nov. 12, 2025, edition of the PodKaz, USCHO.com's weekly look at women's hockey, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski start with a look back at a 0-0 tie between No. 7 Quinnipiac and No. 11 Clarkson. It was the Golden Knights' second shutout of the weekend; they lost in overtime to Princeton on Friday.There were a few upsets to note: RIT beat No. 13 Colgate on the road and Bemidji State exited last place in the WCHA with a 2-1 win over No. 14 St. Thomas.A series between No. 8 UConn and Boston College left each team with a win on the other's home ice, while No. 9 Northeastern stayed at 100% in Hockey East points with two wins over Vermont.We also reflect on the first two games of the Rivalry Series, 4-1 and 6-1 wins for the U.S. against Canada. Minnesota's Abbey Murphy took her NCAA scoring pace to the international game with a hat trick in the opener.Then we had some thoughts on Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Jennifer Botterill of Harvard and Brianna Decker of Wisconsin.A look ahead to this week's games included a home-and-home series between No. 4 Cornell and No. 14 Colgate and two games between rivals Boston College and Boston University.At the end, we look forward to Nicole's upcoming appearance on "Jeopardy!" Check TV schedules for the Thanksgiving episode.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

In this week's edition of the PodKaz, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski look back on the first loss by No. 1 Wisconsin in nearly a year. Minnesota moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 after scoring four times in the third period for a 5-1 win in Madison last Friday, but the Badgers gained a series split a day later.We also look back on Ohio State needing to rally for an overtime win at St. Thomas before Joy Dunne's four-goal, six-point game led a rout in the second game. Minnesota Duluth also got a road sweep against St. Cloud State in another series between WCHA teams in the top 15.Cornell and Penn State kept their undefeated starts to the season, with the Big Red beating Yale and Brown.After the break, we preview the Rivalry Series games between the U.S. and Canada in Cleveland on Thursday and Buffalo, N.Y., on Saturday.A Saturday game between No. 11 Clarkson and No. 7 Quinnipiac is a highlight of the upcoming week's NCAA schedule.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.

In this week's edition of the PodKaz from USCHO.com, hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski reflect on the opening weekend of conference play in ECAC Hockey, where Clarkson, Cornell and St. Lawrence all opened with 2-0 records.Quinnipiac fell to Brown on Saturday after starting the season 9-0, and part of the discussion goes to how the ECAC title might come down to limiting the loss of points to teams who aren't expected to be in the upper third of the league.Then we look back on sweeps by No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Minnesota in the WCHA and the grand opening of Lee and Penny Anderson Arena at St. Thomas, which suffered an overtime loss to Providence thanks to the fourth goal of the game by Reichen Kirchmair.Looking ahead to this week, there are five games matching teams ranked in the USCHO top 15 on both Friday and Saturday. No. 3 Minnesota plays a series at No. 1 Wisconsin to lead that group.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email todd.milewski@uscho.com.