St. Thomas' Rylee Bartz and St. Cloud State's Siiri Yrjölä joined the Minnesota State duo of Hailey Hansen and Zoe Lopez in earning the first set of Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) weekly honors presented by OS Hockey.
Bartz earned the WCHA Forward of the Week nod after helping the Tommies to a series sweep of Post University. Yrjölä claimed her first WCHA Defender of the Week honor for her performance in St. Cloud State's series sweep of Lindenwood. Minnesota State's Hansen and Lopez earned the WCHA Goaltender of the Week and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively, after their efforts in the Mavericks' series sweep of RPI.
WCHA Forward of the Week
Rylee Bartz, So., St. Thomas (Fargo, N.D.)
St. Thomas' Rylee Bartz earned her second WCHA Forward of the Week honor for her performance in the Tommies' season-opening series sweep against Post University. Bartz recorded five points in the series with three goals and two assists. In Saturday's 7-0 shutout against the Eagles, Bartz scored the game's opening goal and tallied two assists. The sophomore forward followed up with a two-goal performance in St. Thomas' 6-1 victory on Sunday. Bartz tied her career-high of goals in a game with two.
Other Nominees: Caitlin Kraemer, Minnesota Duluth; Zoe Lopez, Minnesota State; Sofianna Sundelin, St. Cloud State.
WCHA Defender of the Week
Siiri Yrjölä, So., St. Cloud State (Vantaa, Finland)
Siiri Yrjölä was named the WCHA Defender of the Week for the first time in her career as she helped guide the Huskies to a series sweep against Lindenwood in the opening weekend. In the 5-0 season-opening win on Friday against the Lions, Yrjölä assisted on two goals, marking the first multi-assist/multi-point game of her career. The Vantaa, Finland native followed up on Saturday with her first three-point game of her career after recording a goal and two assists. Yrjölä helped Huskies post back-to-back shutouts to open a season for the first time in program history.
Other Nominees: Ida Karlsson, Minnesota Duluth; Lauren Goldsworthy, Minnesota State; Jenessa Gazdik, St. Thomas.
WCHA Goaltender of the Week
Hailey Hansen, Jr., Minnesota State (Blaine, Minn.)
For the fourth time in her career, Minnesota State's Hailey Hansen was named the WCHA Goaltender of the Week after posting an undefeated weekend in the net against RPI. On Friday, Hansen earned a shutout in the 3-0 win while recording 30 saves. In the series, the junior netminder collected 48 saves and posted a .941 save percentage.
Other Nominees: Jojo Chobak, St. Cloud State; Julia Minotti, St. Thomas.
WCHA Rookie of the Week
Zoe Lopez, Forward, Minnesota State (Plymouth, Minn.)
Zoe Lopez claimed the WCHA Rookie of the Week honor after making her debut for Minnesota State in the season-opening series against RPI. Lopez recorded three points in the series with two goals and one assist across both games. The rookie forward recorded one goal in Friday's 3-0 win before following up on Saturday with a multi-point performance of one goal and one assist.
Other Nominees: Molly Cole, Minnesota Duluth; Maria Mikaelyan, St. Cloud State; Josie Skoogman, St. Thomas.
For more information on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, follow the league at WCHA.com and on its social platforms: X, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
2025-26 WCHA Players of the Week:
Sept. 22: Forward: Rylee Bartz, St. Thomas; Defender: Siiri Yrjölä, St. Cloud State; Goaltender: Hailey Hansen, Minnesota State; Rookie: Zoe Lopez, Minnesota State