As the nation’s top players begin to depart to represent their countries at next month’s Olympic Games, the stakes continue to rise for those still wearing their schools’ colors as the regular season hits its stretch run. Neither conference standings or the NPI consider who is or is not on the ice and with matchups between contenders in both the WCHA and ECAC, coaching staffs will be tested in how to adapt without players they have leaned on all season. Six points available in each Minneapolis and Potsdam could dictate where hardware is headed in the coming weeks.
Depleted No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 3 Minnesota set for Top-Three Matchup
The first Olympics in the NCAA’s “roster cap” era is set to put depth of some of the nation’s top teams to the test. No longer can programs roster additional walk-ons before the season or promote members of their school’s club teams to fill gaps left by scholarship athletes heading overseas for three weeks.
No team will be hit harder than Wisconsin, as the Badgers send five athletes to Milan, with four departing with Team USA on January 29th and Adéla Šapovalivová headed off to represent Czechia. The Badgers will be limited to 21 players for upcoming WCHA matchups, 11 forwards, 7 defensewomen, and a pair of goaltenders and appear to be down another forward after alternate captain Marianne Picard collided with a goal post last weekend against St. Thomas. On Thursday, it was announced the injury would bring an end to both Picard’s season and hockey career after 155 games for the Badgers.
BREAKING: Wisconsin Badger Marianne Picard is retiring.
Her mother announced on Facebook that the 23-year-old athlete injured the same knee for the third time last week. She will miss the rest of the season and retire at the end of it.
Ranked 51st in the latest…
— Pat Laprade (@PatLaprade) January 29, 2026
With the Badgers down to just 16 skaters that have appeared in a game so far this season, Mark Johnson’s squad will need to find untested depth to supplement the remaining regular contributors, including Lacey Eden who ranks second for Wisconsin in all three main offensive categories, with 19 goals, 30 assists, and 49 points.
In net, freshman Rhyah Stewart will be asked to shoulder the load after showing promise in limited action so far. The first year entered the weekend with seven games played, winning her only start, with a 1.26 goals against average and a .929 save percentage over seven appearances.
On the other side, Brad Frost will also be looking down at a shortened bench as four Golden Gophers depart for four different Olympic camps. In addition to a trio of forwards, including the nation’s leading scorer Abbey Murphy, headed to the games, Princeton transfer Sarah Paul has not appeared in a game since suffering an injury against Ohio State in mid-October. Minnesota will be down to just three lines of forwards and need its blueliners to contribute in the points column, including Sydney Morrow who has already reached 20 assists on the year.
Alongside Ohio State, Wisconsin and Minnesota are part of a three-way race in the WCHA, with Badgers four up on Ohio State and five on Minnesota. A six-point weekend would see the Golden Gophers vault the Badgers and be in position to take the top spot if the Buckeyes drop points against Minnesota Duluth.
No. 11 Clarkson Host No.5 Quinnipiac, No. 8 Princeton in ECAC Clashes
Just half of a point separates the Bobcats, Tigers, and Golden Knights atop the ECAC table with six games to play in the regular season. With Clarkson hosting the last two matchups between the three schools, the picture will clear up ahead of the final two weekends of conference play.
Quinnipiac holds the half point lead over both schools, the ECAC shares points evenly if the score is level after overtime, and need a regulation win to control their destiny in the final four games. The Bobcats enter the showdown of the league’s top two scoring offenses riding a seven-game win streak and have not fallen in regulation in their last 11. On top of an offense approaching 100 goals on the season, Felicia Frank has been one of the top netminders in conference play. Starting all 16 ECAC games, Frank boasts a 11-4-1 record with a 1.05 goals against average and .959 save percentage.
Princeton heads to Potsdam on Saturday after a trip to St. Lawrence, hoping for six points from the New York swing. After a pair of defeats at home last weekend, Princeton will look to Issy Wunder and Mackenzie Alexander who have combined for 40 goals this season, over half of the Tigers total as a team. Despite recent struggles, Princeton can look at some positive news as they’ll be the only school of the three that will be at full strength for the remainder of the regular season, as both Clarkson and Quinnipiac will see key contributors depart for the Olympics.
Clarkson has home-ice advantage but will be tested without a pair of Olympians, including Manon le Scodan who ranks fourth on the Golden Knights with 26 points. The Golden Knights have played their best hockey of the season over the last five games, winning all five and posting 22 goals, including 17 in the first three games of the streak. Sara Manness almost single-handedly kept the streak going last weekend, scoring four of the Golden Knights’ five goals and has been the focal point of the offense all season, leading Clarkson with 19 goals, 25 assists, and 44 points.
Laurel Lake Placid Forward of the Week: Sara Manness was unstoppable for Clarkson, exploding for five goals and one assist with two game-winning goals and a +5 rating in a two-win weekend over Dartmouth and Harvard! 🧨💥 @ClarksonWHockey @jrcudas #ECACHockey pic.twitter.com/CZlcfwP0wo
— ECAC Hockey (@ecachockey) January 27, 2026
In addition to ECAC implications, the games will have a lasting impact on the NPI, the NCAA’s tool to decide the national tournament bracket, as the three squads look to build a layer of security should they falter on their paths to Lake Placid in pursuit of an ECAC championship. Quinnipiac feel the most secure in their positioning, currently in the fifth slot, and are not only playing for a spot in the tournament but a chance to advance straight to a regional final if they can hold their spot or even host a regional final if they can move into the top four. Princeton currently finds themselves in the eleven-team field, ranked eighth in NPI, but could be at risk of upsets in other conferences shrinking the bubble should they fall a spot or two. Clarkson enters the weekend as the first team out, sitting eleventh in the NPI and knowing they have work to do. With no schools in the NEWHA within reach of a top-11 spot in the NPI, an at-large team would need a top-ten NPI to have a chance, potentially top-8 or top-9 if upsets in multi-bid conferences steal bids.
