Wisconsin, already 2-0-0 on the season, headlines a Western Collegiate Hockey Association that has won every women's NCAA championship since the association began sponsoring the sport in 2001. This year, the Badgers expect to be challenged once again by Minnesota-Duluth, the only team to beat Wisconsin in the 2006-'07 season. Also in the USCHO preseason Top 10 are Minnesota and Ohio State, two teams that were on the brink of an NCAA Tournament birth, but were denied by the Badgers in the WCHA Tournament.
Wisconsin
The Badgers begin the season as the top ranked team in the country. Having won two straight NCAA championships, Wisconsin faces somewhat of a rebuilding year, having graduated Sara Bauer, Meaghan Mikkelson, and Bobbi-Jo Slusar, all impact players for Wisconsin in its two title runs. However, the Badgers keep two of their top three scorers from last year in senior forward Jinelle Zaugg and sophomore forward Meghan Duggan, along with the top goaltender in the nation, junior Jessie Vetter. With two dominant wins over Union to start the year, the Badgers seem to have picked up from where they left off, and continue to be the team to beat in the NCAA this season.
St. Cloud State
Senior goalies Kendall Newell and Carmen Lizee will have to continue their solid play from the 2006-'07 season in order for the Huskies to compete in the WCHA this season. Last season's 12-18-7 left much to be desired for St. Cloud, but it has much to be excited about this year. The Huskies top three scorers return from last year, senior forward Laura Fast and sophomore forwards Holly Roberts and Caitlin Hogan. In the first round of the WCHA tournament last year, St. Cloud took Minnesota-Duluth to a third game, eventually losing 5-1, but showing it can compete against the nation's best. Second year head coach Jess Giesen needs his program to win more close games this season to compete on a national level.
Ohio State
Perhaps the best defense in the WCHA is led by seniors Lisa Chesson and Tessa Bonhomme, two defensemen who were near the top of the conference last season in defensive scoring. However, their star player is senior forward Erin Keys. Keys was named USCHO's most improved player in the nation last season, scoring 48 points, and helping lead the Buckeyes to the WCHA Tournament semifinals. With the departure of primary goalie Erika Vanderveer, Ohio State's focus shifts to junior goalie Liana Bonanno, who started seven games last season for the Buckeyes. Senior Jill Mauch should also see playing time in goal for the Buckeyes, who will finish in the top half of the WCHA standings once again this season.
North Dakota
The WCHA's weakest program will try to live up to a fraction of what the men's program at North Dakota has become, as the Fighting Sioux look to improve on a dreadful 3-31-2 season. The 2006-'07 campaign included a winless conference season. North Dakota lost its top two scorers to graduation, but hopes that its young team will be competitive in conference play this season. With no seniors, the Fighting Sioux have one of the youngest teams in college hockey. Junior defenseman Kelsey Fletcher and junior forward Casie Hanson were the third and fourth top scorers for last year's squad, and new head coach Brian Idalski, a 2001 graduate of UW-Stevens Point, will look to turn around this struggling group.
Minnesota State
The Mavericks enter the season with almost every player from last year's squad, which went 16-17-2 overall and 12-14-2 in the conference. The only players who graduated were defenseman Sammy Jo Miller and forward Shera Vis. Minnesota State's top return is junior forward Maggie Fisher who tied for 11th in the conference with 26 points. Fisher has led the Mavericks in points and goal scoring in both of her collegiate seasons. MSU was fourth in the conference in scoring but finished near the bottom of the league in defending the net. With all the experience that Minnesota State brings, it is not unreasonable to see them take a step beyond their loss in the quarterfinals of the WCHA playoffs last season.
Bemidji State
The prospects for the Beavers look rather grim this year. They need to replace the top five point scorers from a team which only had two of the top 48 best scorers in the conference. In goal, they have junior Emily Brookshaw who stopped over 90 percent of the shots she saw last season and averaged 3.03 goals per contest. Bemidji State was seventh in the conference in scoring and seventh in goals allowed in the 2006-7 season. With the exodus of top players from a middling team, the Beavers are in for a long winter.
Minnesota
The team that faced Wisconsin in the WCHA title game last season should be ready to go. The goaltending tandem of juniors Kim Hanlon and Brittony Chartier were decent last season and could bounce back to the sterling level of play they showed as freshmen. Minnesota also gets back 10 of its 11 best scorers from the third best scoring offense in the WCHA. Minnesota won the two national titles that preceded the Badger's current run. The Gophers will be breaking in a new coach, Brad Frost, who is replacing all-time great Laura Halldorson. Minnesota is strong as usual and will make a run at the conference title.
Minn. Duluth
Last year's conference and national runner-up will need to replace several key cogs including Noemie Marin and Jessica Koizumi who finished second and sixth in the conference in points, along with goaltender Riitta Schaublin who was fourth in the conference in GAA and third in save percentage. Sophomore Olympian Kim Martin should have no problem stepping into the primary goal keeper job and sophomore forward Saara Tuominen will look to keep the second best offense in the WCHA running smoothly. The Bulldogs have been contenders throughout Shannon Miller's tenure in which they achieved an unprecedented threepeat in national titles from 2001-2003. Look for the Bulldogs to reload, but not equal, last season's successes.
