The opening contests of the 2026 Western Collegiate Hockey Association First Round best-of-three series saw #1Wisconsin, #2 Ohio State, #4 Minnesota Duluth, and #6 St. Cloud State take game one of their respective series.
#4 Minnesota Duluth 2, #5 Minnesota State 0 | BOX SCORE | Minnesota Duluth Recap | Minnesota State Recap
- Another shutout from Ève Gascon helped the fourth-seeded Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs to a 2-0 win in game one of the WCHA First Round best-of-three series against Minnesota State.
- After a scoreless first period, Madi Burr lit the lamp for the Bulldogs just over seven minutes into the second period for the 1-0 lead; Molly Cole then put the Bulldogs up 2-0 at the 7:50 mark of the third for the final goal of the game.
- Gascon earned her 10th shutout of the season as she stopped all 23 shots she faced in the victory.
- The victory marked win number 20 of the season for the Bulldogs, as this is the fifth-straight season that UMD has recorded 20 or more wins.
#2 Ohio State 5, #7 St. Thomas 1 | BOX SCORE | Ohio State Recap | St. Thomas Recap
- The second-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes defeated seventh-seeded St. Thomas 5-1 to take game one of the WCHA First Round best-of-three series.
- Ohio State's Sara Swiderski scored the games first goal 14 minutes into the first frame before following up with another goal at the 15:48 mark of the second period to put the Buckeyes up 2-0; teammate Joy Dunne then added another in the second for the 3-0 lead; Whitney Horton scored early in the third period for St. Thomas but was not enough as the Buckeyes responded with two more goals to close out the game.
- Swiderski had a career-high four points to lead the Buckeyes in the win; the Buckeyes improved to 39-37 all-time in the WCHA postseason with the win
- Julia Minotti tallied 39 saves in net, and the Tommies' defense recorded 25 blocks despite the loss.
#6 St. Cloud State 2, #3 Minnesota 1 OT | BOX SCORE | Minnesota Recap | St. Cloud State Recap
- An overtime goal from Grace Wolfe led sixth-seed St. Cloud State to an upset victory against third-seeded Minnesota as the Huskies won 1-0 in overtime.
- After a scoreless 60 minutes of action, St. Cloud State's Wolfe scored the game-winning goal at the 4:50 mark of the extra period off an assist from Laura Zimmermann.
- Emilia Kyrkkö recorded her fourth shutout of the season, stopping all 42 shots she faced in the win.
- The win marked just the second time in St. Cloud State program history that the Huskies had defeated the Gophers inside Ridder Arena.
#1 Wisconsin 7, #8 Bemidji State 0 | BOX SCORE | Wisconsin Recap | Bemidji State Recap
- Top-seed Wisconsin tallied seven goals in its shutout of eighth-seed Bemidji State as the Badgers took the opening game of the WCHA First Round best-of-three series.
- The Badgers scored three first-period goals courtesy of Laney Potter, Cassie Hall, and Adéla Šapovalivová; Wisconsin then tallied four more in the second period to earn the 7-0 victory.
- Caroline Harvey led all skaters with three points in her first game back since the 2026 Winter Olympics; 12 different Badgers recorded at least a point.
- Ava McNuughton recorded a shutout in her first game back since the 2026 Winter Olympics while stopping all 20 shots she faced.
Saturday, Feb. 28
No. 5 Minnesota State at No. 4 Minnesota Duluth - 1 PM CT
No. 6 St. Cloud State at No. 3 Minnesota - 2 PM CT - FOX9+
No. 7 St. Thomas at No. 2 Ohio State - 3 PM ET
No. 8 Bemidji State at No. 1 Wisconsin - 3 PM CT
Sunday, Mar. 1 (if necessary)
No. 5 Minnesota State at No. 4 Minnesota Duluth - 1 PM CT
No. 8 Bemidji State at No. 1 Wisconsin - 2 PM CT
No. 7 St. Thomas at No. 2 Ohio State - 3 PM ET
No. 6 St. Cloud State at No. 3 Minnesota - 3 PM CT - FOX9+
For more information on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, follow the league on X and Instagram @WCHA_WHockey, and online at wcha.com.