The first slate of games in 2026 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association was highlighted by non-conference victories from No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Minnesota.
No. 2 Ohio State 5, No. 4 Penn State 1 | BOX SCORE | Ohio State Recap
- A four-goal second period propelled No. 2 Ohio State to a top-four win over No. 4 Penn State; the Buckeyes improved to 16-3-0 overall on the season with the 5-1 win and remain undefeated in non-conference action.
- Sloane Matthews put the Buckeyes on the board four minutes into play; the Buckeyes exploded for three straight goals in the second frame courtesy of Joy Dunne, Maxine Cimoroni, and Hilda Svensson; Penn State scored its lone goal at the 11:04 mark before Ohio State's Cimoroni scored her second of the period at the 14:50 mark.
- Cimoroni recorded the first multi-goal game of her career; Hailey MacLeod made her 12th start of the season for Ohio State and finished the game with 23 saves for the win.
No. 3 Minnesota 4, Sacred Heart 0 | Minnesota Recap
- The third-ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers shut out Sacred Heart 4-0 to remain undefeated in non-conference action on the season and improve to 15-4-0 overall.
- Kendra Distad opened the scoring at the 5:40 mark of the first period before Abbey Murphy netted a short handed goal to make it 2-0 at the end of the frame; Nelli Laitinen scored just over eight minutes into the second period for the lone goal of the frame while Chloe Primerano netted the Gophers' fourth goal at the 14:04 mark of the third period.
- Josefin Bouveng extended her point streak to 18 games with an assist in the win, while netminder Hannah Clark earned her third shutout of the season, making 15 saves in the victory.
Harvard 3, No. 5 Minnesota Duluth 2 OT | BOX SCORE | Minnesota Duluth Recap
- In the day's first semifinal game of the 2026 Friendship Series in Belfast, Northern Ireland, No. 5 Minnesota Duluth fell just short to Harvard, losing 3-2 in overtime, as UMD will now face No. 8 Quinnipiac tomorrow for the final game of the event.
- Trailing by two with 8:39 left to go in the third, Thea Johansson found the back of the net to bring the Bulldogs within one before Grace Sadura tied the game at the 13:41 mark to send it to overtime, where Harvard's Carla McSweeney scored with less than 30 seconds left to go in the extra period.
- Johansson extended her current scoring streak to five games with her goal in the loss; Ève Gascon recorded 24 saves in the net for the Bulldogs.
*Rankings based on USCHO Division I Women's Poll
Saturday, Jan 3
No. 5 Minnesota Duluth vs No. 8 Quinnipiac - 9 AM CT
Minnesota at Sacred Heart - 12 PM CT
No. 4 Penn State at No. 2 Ohio State - 3:30 PM ET
Bemidji State at Merrimack - 6 PM CT
Saturday, Jan 3
Bemidji State at Merrimack - 6 PM CT
For more information on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, follow the league on X and Instagram @WCHA_WHockey, and online at wcha.com.