The University of Wisconsin Badgers women’s hockey team might have the best goaltender, best defender and best offensive depth in the nation right now. They proved it this weekend, sweeping their series against No. 2 Ohio State.

Princeton was the biggest climber in this week’s NCAA women’s hockey power rankings, finding its way into the top 10 after beating a pair of nationally ranked programs, while Cornell dropped both of its games. 

North America’s top players will head to Edmonton, Alberta, this week for the Canadian leg of the Rivalry Series, while NCAA players from Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and Czechia are headed overseas to compete in the Women’s Euro Hockey Tour, their last chance to perform internationally ahead of the 2026 Olympics in February.

Here are the top 10 NCAA women’s hockey programs this week.

Women’s college hockey power rankings

1. University of Wisconsin (WCHA)

After sweeping Ohio State 2-1 and 6-1, Wisconsin entrenched its claim to the top spot in the nation. Ava McNaughton stopped 60 of 62 shots and was perhaps the biggest difference between the teams. Right now, the only thing between Wisconsin and back-to-back titles is their ability to weather the Olympics, where as many as six members of their lineup will be in action. 

2. Ohio State (WCHA)

Ohio State had its chance against No. 1 Wisconsin. The Buckeyes weren’t significantly outshot or outplayed but still got swept. Joy Dunne and Hilda Svensson, November’s WCHA forward and rookie of the month, respectively, were held without a goal. It was Ohio State’s only chance to show it can beat Wisconsin best-on-best, as the next time the teams face off in early February, they will be without their Olympians.

3. University of Minnesota (WCHA)

Whether it was Abbey Murphy, Josefin Bouveng, Sydney Morrow or Jamie Nelson, Minnesota’s seniors made the difference in a pair of conference wins over St. Thomas. Bouveng is tied with Wisconsin’s Caroline Harvey for the longest point streak in the nation, hitting the scoresheet in 17 consecutive games, while Murphy set a program record, scoring her 26th career game-winning goal.

4. University of Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA)

Eve Gascon stopped 50 of 51 shots she faced for the Bulldogs, which beat Bemidji State 4-1 and 4-0. Gascon’s 20-save shutout was her fourth of the season. She had something to prove after being left off Canada’s Rivalry Series roster for December. Offensively, Minnesota-Duluth has work to do after being outshot by Bemidji State in the first game of their series, but they looked much stronger in the second.

5. Penn State (Atlantic Hockey America)

Penn State doesn’t play again until Dec. 30, but their next three games will define their season, playing Cornell and a series against Ohio State. The Nittany Lions don’t face the same skill level in Atlantic Hockey America, so these upcoming games will be an important test ahead of the national tournament, which they’ll host at Pegula Ice Arena from March 20 to 22.

6. Northeastern (Hockey East)

It was an emotional weekend as Northeastern played its final game at the historic Matthews Arena. Captain Lily Shannon was Hockey East’s player of the month in November. Jules Constantinople was the top defender and forward Stryker Zablocki was the top rookie in November as well. They carried a hot streak over into this weekend’s series sweep of Boston College, helping lead the way for the Huskies.

7. Quinnipiac (ECAC)

After shutting out Cornell 3-0, the Bobcats lost 2-1 in overtime to Colgate in an upset. The Bobcats can find their way out of the ECAC logjam if they can consistently produce secondary offense. The team relies too heavily on Kahlen Lamarche as the primary goal-scorer. Right now, their best threats behind Lamarche are often defenders Makayla Watson and Zoe Uens. 

8. Cornell (ECAC)

Cornell fell 3-0 to Quinnipiac and 3-2 to Princeton. Annelies Bergmann looked human in net, allowing three goals on 18 shots in both games. Cornell entered the weekend second in the nation in goals-against average at 1.64. That number rose this weekend, and after Cornell losses to Vermont, Syracuse and Union last month, teams believe they can beat the Big Red on any given night.

9. Connecticut (Hockey East)

UConn continues to quietly put together wins, including going 1-for-2 against Boston University this past weekend. They tied the first game but lost in a shootout. Scoring continues to be their challenge as some of their top players, including Claire Murdoch and Julia Pellerin, have yet to find their way this season. Tia Chan remains Connecticut’s biggest asset in net.

• Former University of Wisconsin women’s basketball players are suing former head coach Marisa Moseley for alleged psychological abuse.
• The defendants, including Moseley and the UW Board of Regents, have filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

MADISON – In August, a group of former University of Wisconsin women’s basketball players sued former head coach Marisa Moseley, alleging psychological abuse.

The civil case, which also lists the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents and former UW senior associate athletic director Justin Doherty as defendants, seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

Monday, Dec. 8, the attorney representing the defendants filed a motion in the District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin to dismiss the complaint entirely.

In an 86-page brief, attorney Anne Bensky writes that her clients deny the allegations but that even if they’re taken as true do not contain facts that show a violation of the Constitution or federal laws.

“The Plaintiffs want the federal court to award damages to players whose basketball coach yelled at them,” she wrote. “But because these allegations plainly do not violate the Constitution or federal civil rights laws, the relief they request is outside the Court’s authority.”

The complaint was filed by former Badgers Alexis Duckett, Krystyna Ellew, Mary Ferrito, Tara Stauffacher and Tessa Towers on Aug. 15. The amended complaint filed Sept. 25 included another former Badger, Tessa Grady.

Among the allegations in the 55-page document:

*  Moseley “unconstitutionally toyed with the mental health of her players, including Plaintiffs, as a means of exerting control over every facet of their lives, including retaliating against them based on their protected speech and expressive acts and discriminating against them based on their disabilities or perceived disabilities.”

* Moseley interfered with her players’ mental health treatment, something she accomplished by threatening to take away playing time or scholarships.

The complaint alleges Doherty, who was the administrator for women’s basketball and retired in April, knew about the allegations but did nothing to stop them.

Moseley resigned as Wisconsin’s coach March 9 after four seasons as head coach.

After a denial of the allegations, the defendants’ response to the complaint focuses on the legality of the case being heard by the courts. It also argues the case against Doherty should be dismissed because he was not personally involved.

Bensky’s brief for the defendants focuses on six factors as reasons for dismissal of the case. They included a failure to meet the standard for a Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process claim and the idea that First Amendment claims, in the context of college athletics, receive minimal protection. In the case of Duckett and Stauffacher, there was the passing of the statute of limitations to file a complaint.

Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh mentioned the lawsuit at the October athletic board meeting, but said there wasn’t much information he could share.

“Our initial response to the court is due on or before Dec. 8 and we are actively defending against those allegations, many of which lack full context or are simply false,” he told the board.

“The athletic department must adhere to strict federal laws requiring educational institutions to maintain privacy of student records and medical records therefore we cannot provide specifics to the media or general public absent authorizations for release of that information. If the litigation progresses in a manner that requires us to present the full factual record to the court we will be ready and look forward to providing that information.”

A Cinnabon worker in Wisconsin has been fired after a racist outburst directed at two customers went viral, the Georgia-based cinnamon roll chain said.