2026 WCHA women's ice hockey tournament

2026 WCHA Women's ice hockey tournament
2026 WCHA Women's ice hockey tournament
	2026 WCHA Final Faceoff logo
Dates	February 27 – March 7, 2025
Teams	8
Finals site	Lee & Penny Anderson Arena; Saint Paul, Minnesota
Champions	Ohio State Buckeyes (3rd title)
Winning coach	Nadine Muzerall (3rd title)
MVP	Jordan Baxter (Ohio State)
	WCHA Women's Ice Hockey Tournaments ← 2025 2027 →

The 2026 WCHA Ice Hockey Tournament was the 27th edition of the WCHA Tournament. It was played between February 27 and March 7, 2026. The final two rounds were hosted by University of St. Thomas at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena, after the first round was played at the home ice of the top four seeds.^[1]

Wisconsin entered the tournament as defending champions. Ohio State defeated Wisconsin and earned the conference's automatic bid to the 2026 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey tournament.^[2]

Format

The tournament includes all eight teams in the conference. Teams were ranked according to their finish in the conference standings. All quarterfinal games are best two of three and are played at the highest seed's home sites, and starting with the semifinals, single-elimination played at Lee & Penny Anderson Arena. The tournament champion will receive an automatic bid into the 2026 NCAA Division I women's ice hockey tournament.^[3]^[4]

Standings

2025–26 Western Collegiate Hockey Association standings
	Conference										Overall
	GP	W	L	T	OTW	OTL	SOW	PTS	GF	GA	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA
#2 Wisconsin †	28	23	3	2	1	1	1	72	138	45	41	35	4	2	213	60
#1 Ohio State *	28	24	4	0	2	0	0	70	117	50	41	36	5	0	181	66
#4 Minnesota	28	18	9	1	1	2	1	57	115	70	39	26	12	1	173	86
#10 Minnesota Duluth	28	15	10	3	2	0	2	48	69	59	38	20	15	3	93	76
#13 Minnesota State	28	9	17	2	2	1	1	29	55	95	38	17	19	2	86	113
St. Cloud State	28	7	19	2	1	4	1	27	74	103	37	12	23	2	83	120
St. Thomas	28	7	20	1	3	5	0	24	49	95	36	12	23	1	81	117
Bemidji State	28	3	24	1	1	0	0	9	38	138	36	6	27	3	58	161
Championship: March 7, 2026 † indicates conference regular season champion; * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com; updated March 22, 2026

Bracket

Quarterfinals February 27 – March 1					Semifinals March 5			Championship March 7

8	Bemidji State	0	2	—

1	Wisconsin	7	3*	—
					1	Wisconsin	7

					5	Minnesota State	2
5	Minnesota State	0	2**	2

4	Minnesota Duluth	2	1	1
								2	Ohio State	2

								1	Wisconsin	1
7	St. Thomas	1	1	—

2	Ohio State	5	4	—
					2	Ohio State	4

					3	Minnesota	0
6	St. Cloud State	1*	1	1

3	Minnesota	0	4	6

Note: each * denotes one overtime period

Results

Quarterfinals

(8) Bemidji State at (1) Wisconsin

February 27, 2026
6:00 PM

Bemidji State

0–7
(0–3, 0–4, 0–0)

Wisconsin

LaBahn Arena, Madison, Wisconsin
Attendance: 2,273

^{[Game reference 1]}

Kaitlin Groess

Goalies

Ava McNaughton

Referees:
Craig Hedlund
Tony Hoyles
Linesmen:
Brenda Reinen
Brian Jansen

	0–1	7:04 – pp – Potter (Harvey, McNaughton)
	0–2	8:54 – Hall (Eden, Jones)
	0–3	15:42 – pp – Šapovalivová (Simms, Harvey)
	0–4	21:22 – Simms
	0–5	22:42 – Scannell (Picard, Murphy)
	0–6	27:39 – Šapovalivová (Edwards)
	0–7	39:53.3 – Edwards (Hall, Harvey)

4 min

Penalties

6 min

20

Shots

51

February 28, 2026
3:00 PM

Bemidji State

2–3 OT
(0–0, 1–2, 1–0)
OT: (0–1)

Wisconsin

LaBahn Arena, Madison, Wisconsin
Attendance: 2,273

^{[Game reference 2]}

Ava Hills

Goalies

Ava McNaughton

Referees:
Craig Hedlund
Tony Hoyles
Linesmen:
Brenda Reinen
Brian Jansen

Armstrong (Smith) – 33:25	1–0
	1–1	35:37 – Scannell (Murphy, Picard)
	1–2	39:29 – pp – Šapovalivová (Harvey, Eden)
Smith (Goettl, Bray) – 59:34	2–2
	2–3	61:14 – Edwards (Simms, Enright)

6 min

Penalties

0 min

12

Shots

47

(7) St. Thomas at (2) Ohio State

February 27, 2026
6:00 PM

St. Thomas

1–5
(0–1, 0–2, 1–2)

Ohio State

Ohio State University Ice Rink, Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 674

^{[Game reference 3]}

Julia Minotti

Goalies

Hailey MacLeod

Referees:
Sarma Pone
Gui Bradshaw
Linesmen:
Tyler Iffland
Tim Katrinak

	0–1	14:50 – Swiderski (Peschel, Matthews)
	0–2	35:48 – Swiderski (Dunne, Vanhanen)
	0–3	36:23 – Dunne (Vanhanen, Svensson)
Horton – 43:55	1–3
	1–4	47:18 – Petrie (Swiderski, Disher)
	1–5	59:24.1 – pp – Svensson (Swiderski, Jungåker)

4 min

Penalties

4 min

8

Shots

44

February 28, 2026
3:00 PM

St. Thomas

1–4
(0–2, 1–1, 0–1)

Ohio State

Ohio State University Ice Rink, Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 678

^{[Game reference 4]}

Julia Minotti
Maggie Malecha

Goalies

Hailey MacLeod

Referees:
Sarma Pone
Gui Bradshaw
Linesmen:
Tyler Iffland
Tim Katrinak

	0–1	13:27 – Svensson (Peschel, Swiderski)
	0–2	18:11 – Jungåker (Dunne)
	0–3	26:43 – Vanhanen (Jungåker, Svensson)
Brown (Lindsay, Boerger) – 27:18	1–3
	1–4	41:04 – Vanhanen (Jungåker, Svensson)

4 min

Penalties

6 min

20

Shots

31

(6) St. Cloud State at (3) Minnesota

February 27, 2026
6:00 PM

St. Cloud State

1–0 OT
(0–0, 0–0, 0–0)
OT: (1–0)

Minnesota

Ridder Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 1,353

^{[Game reference 5]}

Emilia Kyrkkö

Goalies

Hannah Clark

Referees:
Duncan Rhyorchuk
Jordan Lee
Linesmen:
Sam Jerome
Douglas Durgin

Wolfe (Zimmermann) – 64:50

1–0

8 min

Penalties

6 min

20

Shots

42

February 28, 2026
2:00 PM

St. Cloud State

1–4
(0–1, 0–2, 1–1)

Minnesota

Ridder Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 1,408

^{[Game reference 6]}

Emilia Kyrkkö

Goalies

Hannah Clark

Referees:
Duncan Rhyorchuk
Jordan Lee
Linesmen:
Sam Jerome
Douglas Durgin

	0–1	8:15 – Plosová Primerano, Morrow)
	0–2	23:20 – Murphy (Primerano)
	0–3	37:54 – pp – Primerano (Morrow, Nelson)
Mikaelyan (Farrell) – 44:50	1–3
	1–4	59:00 – en – Murphy (Morrow)

10 min

Penalties

8 min

18

Shots

50

March 1, 2026
3:00 PM

St. Cloud State

1–6
(0–2, 1–3, 0–1)

Minnesota

Ridder Arena, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Attendance: 1,313

^{[Game reference 7]}

Emilia Kyrkkö

Goalies

Hannah Clark

Referees:
Duncan Rhyorchuk
Jordan Lee
Linesmen:
Sam Jerome
Douglas Durgin

	0–1	2:46 – Fanale (Lindsay, Morrow)
	0–2	6:13 – Nelson (Bouveng)
Zimmermann (Jackel) – 21:05	1–2
	1–3	28:26 – Graham Nelson, Laitinen)
	1–4	35:31 – Bouveng (Morrow, Primerano)
	1–5	38:19 – sh – Fanale (Primerano)
	1–6	53:49 – en – Bouveng (Murphy)

6 min

Penalties

8 min

18

Shots

42

(5) Minnesota State at (4) Minnesota Duluth

February 27, 2026
2:00 PM

Minnesota State

0–2
(0–0, 0–1, 0–1)

Minnesota Duluth

AMSOIL Arena, Duluth, Minnesota
Attendance: 408

^{[Game reference 8]}

Hailey Hansen

Goalies

Ève Gascon

Referees:
Scott Roth
Mike Kaehler
Linesmen:
Glendon Seal
Aaron Neville

	0–1	27:11 – Burr
	0–2	47:50 – Cole (Krock, Natt och Dag)

4 min

Penalties

4 min

23

Shots

45

February 28, 2026
1:00 PM

Minnesota State

2–1 2OT
(1–0, 0–1, 0–0)
OT: (0–0, 1–0)

Minnesota Duluth

AMSOIL Arena, Duluth, Minnesota
Attendance: 548

^{[Game reference 9]}

Hailey Hansen

Goalies

Ève Gascon

Referees:
Scott Roth
Mike Kaehler
Linesmen:
Glendon Seal
Aaron Neville

Tuttle (Stramel) – 03:05	1–0
	1–1	24:35 – Johansson
Tuttle (Zawoyski, Cichosz) – 95:56	2–1

8 min

Penalties

2 min

29

Shots

58

March 1, 2026
1:00 PM

Minnesota State

2–1
(1–1, 1–0, 0–0)

Minnesota Duluth

AMSOIL Arena, Duluth, Minnesota
Attendance: 428

^{[Game reference 10]}

Hailey Hansen

Goalies

Ève Gascon

Referees:
Scott Roth
Mike Kaehler
Linesmen:
Glendon Seal
Aaron Neville

Roske (Goldsworthy, Moran) – 03:41	1–0
	1–1	19:21 – Johansson (Kraemer, Burgen)
Guillemette (Moran, Lopez) – 28:28	2–1

2 min

Penalties

2 min

29

Shots

42

Semifinals

(5) Minnesota State at (1) Wisconsin

March 5, 2026
4:02 PM

Minnesota State

2–7
(0–1, 1–4, 1–2)

Wisconsin

Lee & Penny Anderson Arena, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 1449

^{[Game reference 11]}

Hailey Hansen

Goalies

Ava McNaughton

Referees:
Sarma Pone
Craig Hedlund
Linesmen:
Sam Jerome
Doug Durgin

	0–1	18:41 – Harvey (Eden, Gorbatenko)
	0–2	24:15 – Simms (Edwards, Hall)
	0–3	25:57 – Gorbatenko (Harvey)
	0–4	28:44 – Šapovalivová (Simms, Harvey)
Stramel (Puppe, Tuttle) – 32:33	1–4
	1–5	34:52 – Simms (Šapovalivová, Enright)
	1–6	40:38 – Gorbatenko (Hall, Eden)
	1–7	46:04 – Scannell (Pieckenhagen)
Goldsworthy (Lopez, Shipley) – 54:10	2–7

0 min

Penalties

0 min

27

Shots

51

(3) Minnesota at (2) Ohio State

March 5, 2026
4:02 PM

Minnesota

0–4
(0–1, 0–1, 0–2)

Ohio State

Lee & Penny Anderson Arena, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 1687

^{[Game reference 12]}

Clark

Goalies

MacLeod

Referees:
Scott Roth
Mike Kaehler
Linesmen:
Brenda Reinen
Brian Jansen

	0–1	7:06 – pp – Matthews (Cimoroni, Peschel)
	0–2	30:58 – Malachino (Amos, Peschel)
	0–3	46:51 – Amos (Cimoroni)
	0–4	59:43 – pp – Matthews (Peschel, Amos)

8 min

Penalties

6 min

22

Shots

33

Finals

(2) Ohio State at (1) Wisconsin

March 7, 2026
2:00 PM

Ohio State

2–1
(0–0, 0–0, 2–1)

Wisconsin

Lee & Penny Anderson Arena, Saint Paul, Minnesota
Attendance: 2,302

^{[Game reference 13]}

Hailey MacLeod

Goalies

Ava McNaughton

Referees:
Duncan Ryhorchuk
Jordan Lee
Linesmen:
Glendon Seal
Aaron Neville

	0–1	49:58 – Eden (Gorbatenko, Edwards)
Svensson (Peschel, Amos) – 54:30	1–1
Baxter (Peschel) – 56:33	2–1

6 min

Penalties

4 min

40

Shots

29

Tournament Awards

All-Tournament Team

F: Hilda Svensson (Ohio State)^[2]
F: Sloane Matthews (Ohio State)
F: Kirsten Simms (Wisconsin)
D: Caroline Harvey (Wisconsin)
D: Emma Peschel (Ohio State)
G: Hailey MacLeod (Ohio State)

References

^ "St. Thomas To Host 2026 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff". wcha.com. June 5, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
^ ^a ^b "Ohio State Defeats Wisconsin 2-1 to Win 2026 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff Title". WCHA.com. March 6, 2026. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
^ "2026 WCHA First Round Pairings Set". wcha.com. February 21, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
^ "2026 WCHA First Round – Western Collegiate Hockey Association". wcha.com. Retrieved February 23, 2026.

Game references

^ "Bemidji State at Wisconsin". uwbadgers.com. University of Wisconsin. February 27, 2026. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
^ "Bemidji State at Wisconsin". uwbadgers.com. University of Wisconsin. February 28, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
^ "St. Thomas at Ohio State". ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Ohio State University. February 27, 2026. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
^ "St. Thomas at Ohio State". ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Ohio State University. February 28, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
^ "St. Cloud State at Minnesota". scsuhuskies.com. St. Cloud State University. February 27, 2026. Retrieved February 28, 2026.
^ "St. Cloud St. vs Minnesota". GopherSports.com. University of Minnesota Athletics. February 28, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
^ "St. Cloud St. vs Minnesota". GopherSports.com. University of Minnesota Athletics. March 1, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
^ "Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth". umdbulldogs.com. University of Minnesota Duluth. February 27, 2026. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
^ "Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth". umdbulldogs.com. University of Minnesota Duluth. February 28, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
^ "Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth". umdbulldogs.com. University of Minnesota Duluth. March 1, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.
^ "Minnesota St. vs Wisconsin". UWBadgers.com. University of Wisconsin–Madison. March 5, 2026. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
^ "Minnesota vs Ohio St". OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Ohio State University. March 5, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
^ "Ohio St. vs Wisconsin".

[1] "St. Thomas To Host 2026 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff". wcha.com. June 5, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2026.

[2026_Final_Faceoff-2] "Ohio State Defeats Wisconsin 2-1 to Win 2026 Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff Title". WCHA.com. March 6, 2026. Retrieved March 6, 2026.

[3] "2026 WCHA First Round Pairings Set". wcha.com. February 21, 2026. Retrieved February 23, 2026.

[4] "2026 WCHA First Round – Western Collegiate Hockey Association". wcha.com. Retrieved February 23, 2026.

[5] "Bemidji State at Wisconsin". uwbadgers.com. University of Wisconsin. February 27, 2026. Retrieved February 28, 2026.

[6] "Bemidji State at Wisconsin". uwbadgers.com. University of Wisconsin. February 28, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.

[7] "St. Thomas at Ohio State". ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Ohio State University. February 27, 2026. Retrieved February 28, 2026.

[8] "St. Thomas at Ohio State". ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Ohio State University. February 28, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.

[9] "St. Cloud State at Minnesota". scsuhuskies.com. St. Cloud State University. February 27, 2026. Retrieved February 28, 2026.

[10] "St. Cloud St. vs Minnesota". GopherSports.com. University of Minnesota Athletics. February 28, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.

[11] "St. Cloud St. vs Minnesota". GopherSports.com. University of Minnesota Athletics. March 1, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.

[12] "Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth". umdbulldogs.com. University of Minnesota Duluth. February 27, 2026. Retrieved February 27, 2026.

[13] "Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth". umdbulldogs.com. University of Minnesota Duluth. February 28, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.

[14] "Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth". umdbulldogs.com. University of Minnesota Duluth. March 1, 2026. Retrieved March 1, 2026.

[15] "Minnesota St. vs Wisconsin". UWBadgers.com. University of Wisconsin–Madison. March 5, 2026. Retrieved March 6, 2026.

[16] "Minnesota vs Ohio St". OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Ohio State University. March 5, 2025. Retrieved March 6, 2026.

[17] "Ohio St. vs Wisconsin".

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Western Collegiate Hockey Association women's ice hockey
Teams	Bemidji State Beavers Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs Minnesota State Mavericks Ohio State Buckeyes St. Cloud State Huskies St. Thomas Tommies Wisconsin Badgers
Venues	Sanford Center (Bemidji State) Ridder Arena (Minnesota) AMSOIL Arena (Minnesota Duluth) Mayo Clinic Health System Event Center (Minnesota State) Ohio State University Ice Rink (Ohio State) Herb Brooks National Hockey Center (St. Cloud State) Lee & Penny Anderson Arena (St. Thomas) LaBahn Arena (Wisconsin)
Championships & awards	Awards & honors Champions
Seasons	1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
Tournaments	2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026