The Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) is celebrating its 25th season of women’s hockey competition in 2023-24 and as part of this year-long salute to the rich history of the league, the WCHA announced its fifth, and final, group of five members of the conference’s 25th Anniversary Top 25 Team on Wednesday, Feb. 21.
This month’s group of Top 25 Team members includes the University of Minnesota’s Hannah Brandt, Taylor Heise and Lee Stecklein along with Ohio State’s Jincy (Dunne) Roese and Sophie Jaques. The complete list of the Top 25 team is included at the end of this release.
The WCHA 25th Anniversary Top 25 Team was chosen by a selection committee comprised of former players, coaches and league officials along with input from a recently conducted WCHA fan poll. The following is a rundown of this month’s five team members’ career highlights and impact on the WCHA.
CELEBRATING 25 SEASONS OF EXCELLENCE ON THE ICE:
Brandt
HANNAH BRANDT
Years Played in the WCHA: 2012-16
School: University of Minnesota
Position: Forward
Career Highlights: In her four seasons at the University of Minnesota, Hannah Brandt scored 115 goals, 170 assists and 285 points for the Gophers from 2012 to 2016. Her plus/minus ranking during that time was +236 and Brandt scored 25 power play goals and 21 game winners during her collegiate career.
A four-time All-WCHA First Team award winner, Brandt was selected the WCHA Rookie of the Year in 2012-13 and was named the WCHA Player of the Year and WCHA Scoring Champion in 2013-14 and 2014-15. A three-time All-America selection at Minnesota, Brandt was selected as a Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award top 10 finalist four times and was named a top three finalist for the award win 2013-14 and 2014-15.
At Minnesota, Brandt helped the Gophers win NCAA championships in 2013, 2015 and 2016. She was part of Minnesota’s record setting 2012-13 squad that charted a perfect 41-0 record and also helped the Gophers claim regular season WCHA titles in 2013, 2014 and 2015 along with WCHA Final Faceoff crowns in 2013 and 2014.
In international play, Brandt was on the roster for Team USA at the 2018 and 2002 Winter Olympics. She has also participated in IIHF World Championships with Team USA in 2012, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2022. A native of Vadnais Height, Minn., Brandt has played professionally with the Minnesota Whitecaps along with the Minnesota and Team Sonnet PWHPA teams. She is currently playing this season with Boston of the PWHL.
(Dunne) Roese
JINCY (DUNNE) ROESE
Years Played in the WCHA: 2016-2020
School: Ohio State University
Position: Defender
Career Highlights: The WCHA Defensive Player of the Year in 2018-19 and 2019-20, Jincy (Dunne) Roese was a conference leader on the blueline during her career at Ohio State University from 2016 to 2020. She gained All-America status three times with the Buckeyes, including two First Team All-America selections during her junior and senior seasons.
A member of the WCHA All-Rookie team in 2016-17, Roese was a four-time All-WCHA award recipient (including three First Team All-WCHA selections). As a team, Ohio State saw marked improvement during Roese’s collegiate career as the Buckeyes placed second in the WCHA and gained an NCAA tournament bid in 2017-18. The Buckeyes also won its first WCHA Final Faceoff title during Roese’s senior season and advanced to the NCAA tournament that season.
In her time in Columbus, Roese scored 17 goals, 82 assists and 99 points in 147 games played. She was a two-time team captain and was selected the Ohio State Female Athlete of the Year in 2020.
A native of O’Fallon, Mo., Roese participated in the Winter Olympics in 2022 and helped the United States claim the silver medal. She has also played in IIHF World Championships with Team USA in 2021 and 2022. After graduation from Ohio State, Roese has played professional hockey with New Hampshire and Team Adidas of the PWHPA. She is currently playing in the PWHL with Ottawa in 2023-24.
Heise
TAYLOR HEISE
Years Played in the WCHA: 2018-23
School: University of Minnesota
Position: Forward
Career Highlights: The first-ever draft pick in the recent PWHL draft pick for the 2023-24 season, Taylor Heise payed in 173 games during her career as a forward at the University of Minnesota. She carded 227 points from 2018 to 2023, which included 97 goals and 130 assists along with 14 power play goals, nine shorthanded goals and 21 game winners.
The 2022 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award recipient, Heise was also selected as a top 10 finalist for the award in 2023. A two-time First Team All-American in 2022 and 2023, Heise was named to the All-WCHA team three times at Minnesota and was picked for the WCHA All-Rookie squad in 2018-19. Heise was the WCHA scoring champion in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year in both those seasons. After the 2021-22 season, Heise was selected as the league’s Player of the Year.
In her time at Minnesota, Heise helped guide the Gophers to four NCAA tournament bids along with regular season WCHA championships in 2019 and 2022 and a Frozen Faceoff crown in 2023.
A part of the inaugural season of play in the PWHL in 2023-24, Heise is currently playing for the league’s franchise in Minnesota. She is a native of Lake City, Minn. and played prep hockey at Red Wing (Minn.) High School.
Jaques
SOPHIE JAQUES
Years Played in the WCHA: 2018-23
School: Ohio State University
Position: Forward
Career Highlights: The 2023 Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award recipient, Sophie Jaques capped a legendary career as a defender at Ohio State University in 2023-23. Jaques helped lead Ohio State to its first-ever NCAA championship in 2022 along with the Buckeyes’ first WCHA Julianne Bye Cup championship in 2023 and OSU’s first Final Faceoff title in 2020 and another WCHA playoff title in 2022.
Jaques completed her career in Columbus with 61 goals, which is a league record for goals by a defender. She also had 95 assists and 156 points, which rank fourth and second respectively in the WCHA records for a defender. A four-time All-WCHA team selection, Jaques was named the league’s Player of the Year in 2022-23 and was named the WCHA”s Defensive Player of the Year in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Jaques was picked as a top three finalist for the Patty Kazmaier Memorial twice during her college career and gained All-America first team accolades in 2022 and 2023.
In her first season of professional hockey during 2023-24, Jaques started the season in the PWHL with Toronto and was recently traded to Minnesota. She is a native of Toronto, Ontario.
Stecklein (right)
LEE STECKLEIN
Years Played in the WCHA: 2012-17
School: University of Minnesota
Position: Defender
Career Highlights: A three-time Olympian for Team USA at the Winter Games in 2014, 2018 and 2022, Lee Stecklein establlshed herself as one of the WCHA’s premier blueliners during her collegiate career at the University of Minnesota from 2012 to 2017.
A native of Roseville, Minn., Stecklein recorded 20 goals, 73 assists and 93 points during her college playing career that also included six power play goals, two shorthanded goals and three game winners for the Gophers. She helped lead the Gophers to an NCAA championship in 2013 along with WCHA regular season and Final Faceoff titles (while posting a perfect 41-0 record). Minnesota went on to win NCAA titles in 2015 and 2016 with Stecklein on the roster along with WCHA regular season titles in 2014 and 2015.
A three-time All-America award winner with the Gophers, Stecklein received Academic All-America honors during her collegiate tenure. On the international stage, Stecklein helped Team USA win a gold medal at the 2018 Winter Olympic games along with silver medals in 2014 and 2022. She also played with Team USA at the IIHF World Championships in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
At the professional level, Stecklein has played hockey with teams in the NWHL and PWHPA and is currently playing in 2023-24 with Minnesota of the PWHL.
ABOUT THE WCHA
Founded in 1999, the women’s league of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association has positioned itself as the top conference in all of women’s collegiate hockey and will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2023-24. The WCHA has won an unprecedented 20 national championships while finishing as the national runner-up nine times since 1999. The league has produced nine Patty Kazmaier Memorial Award winners as well an additional 24 student-athletes who were among the Top-3 finalists for the award. In addition, WCHA student-athletes have been recognized as All-Americans 121 times in league history.
WCHA 25th Anniversary Top 25 Team
October:
Molly Engstrom, Wisconsin (2001-05)
Caroline Ouellette, UMD (2002-05)
Jenny Schmidgall-Potter, UMD (1999-04)
Maria Rooth, UMD (1999-03)
Krissy Wendell, Minnesota (2002-05)
November:
Sara Bauer, Wisconsin (2003-07)
Tessa Bonhomme, OSU (2004-08)
Natalie Darwitz, Minnesota (2002-05)
Kim Martin Hasson, UMD (2006-11)
Jessie Vetter, Wisconsin (2005-09)
December:
Meghan Duggan, Wisconsin (2006-11)
Hilary Knight, Wisconsin (2007-12)
Jocelyne Lamoreux-Davidson, North Dakota & Minnesota (2008-13)
Monique Lamoreux-Morando North Dakota & Minnesota (2008-13)
Natalie Spooner, Ohio State (2008-12)
January:
Brianna Decker, Wisconsin (2009-13)
Ann-Renée Desbiens, Wisconsin (20013-17)
Amanda Kessel, Minnesota (2010-13 & 2016)
Sarah Nurse, Wisconsin (2013-17)
Noora Räty, Minnesota (2009-13)
February:
Hannah Brandt, Minnesota (2012-16)
Jincy Dunne, Ohio State (2016-20)
Taylor Heise, Minnesosta (2018-23)
Sophie Jaques, Ohio State (2018-23)
Lee Stecklein, Minnesota (2012-17)