What's new
By:
USCHO Fan Forum

This is a sample guest message. Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

  • The USCHO Fan Forum has migrated to a new plaform, xenForo. Most of the function of the forum should work in familiar ways. Please note that you can switch between light and dark modes by clicking on the gear icon in the upper right of the main menu bar. We are hoping that this new platform will prove to be faster and more reliable. Please feel free to explore its features.

Wisconsin Women's Hockey 2024-2025

BadgerPete said:
. Meh, I don't know why it wouldn't be expected. Only two schools have won a title since 2018. We aren't going to go portal hunting, and quite frankly there was nobody in the portal this year I would have penciled in as a Top 6 (maybe Top 9 depending on if you're as high on McCarthy and Scannell as I am) Forward or Top 4 D for us. Reality is if you're in the portal and you want minutes you ain't getting them in Madison.
Click to expand...

As many have pointed out, this is the last year of the Golden Portal anyway. I think that's why losing that last game really bothers me, because we had a chance to show the golden portal wasn't going to save them, but it did. I think whoever they get this season will not match the quality that they got last season. That being said, we lost a lot, the rodents lost hardly anybody (which nobody's talking about) and they are doing what they do to reload, thought you maybe a lesser extent. I'd sleep a lot better at night knowing O'Brien's coming back.
 
Can (K) Gorbatenko use that big stick on defense? (Again) third goalie options?

A way out of the portal dilemma is for players to form a union. Madison is a good place to start. Hilary Knight is a good role model.
 
Looking at the two-year plan, they're really going to have to look at getting a pair of one-and-dones out of the transfer portal for depth. With Mackenzie Jones and Rachel Gorbatenko coming in, that's 8 D on the roster in 25-26 (even with Harvey likely taking a few weeks off for the Olympics). With Stewart coming in, that's 3 G for 25-26.

As we've mentioned, it's a tepid portal this year. Particularly for the one-and-dones.

At D, honestly the best option would be for Sophie Helgeson to return. Sidney Fess from BC or Bella Parento from Vermont had decent numbers last year. Savannah Popick from St. Anselm could be a dark horse. And Su Yeon Eom would just be fun because she played for the Korean National Team and I like a dash of international flavor.

At G, with the scuttlebutt being that Osborne has withdrawn from the portal (and her being unlikely to transfer to be second fiddle anyway), either Tindra Holm from LIU or Jorden Mattison from Maine would be quality depth behind MacNaughton. Mattison played for the same juniors program that produced incoming Badger Emma Venusio

That said, going into a season hoping to find a 6th/7th D and a backup goalie is a heck of a problem to have.
 
BadgerPete said:
Looking at the two-year plan, they're really going to have to look at getting a pair of one-and-dones out of the transfer portal for depth. With Mackenzie Jones and Rachel Gorbatenko coming in, that's 8 D on the roster in 25-26 (even with Harvey likely taking a few weeks off for the Olympics). With Stewart coming in, that's 3 G for 25-26.

As we've mentioned, it's a tepid portal this year. Particularly for the one-and-dones.

At D, honestly the best option would be for Sophie Helgeson to return. Sidney Fess from BC or Bella Parento from Vermont had decent numbers last year. Savannah Popick from St. Anselm could be a dark horse. And Su Yeon Eom would just be fun because she played for the Korean National Team and I like a dash of international flavor.

At G, with the scuttlebutt being that Osborne has withdrawn from the portal (and her being unlikely to transfer to be second fiddle anyway), either Tindra Holm from LIU or Jorden Mattison from Maine would be quality depth behind MacNaughton. Mattison played for the same juniors program that produced incoming Badger Emma Venusio

That said, going into a season hoping to find a 6th/7th D and a backup goalie is a heck of a problem to have.
Click to expand...

US and Canadian players don't "take a few weeks off" for the Olympics; they take the entire year to be "centralized" with the national team. Count on Harvey (and probably Simms and Edwards and Eden) being gone for the entire 2025-26 season.
 
robertearle said:
US and Canadian players don't "take a few weeks off" for the Olympics; they take the entire year to be "centralized" with the national team. Count on Harvey (and probably Simms and Edwards and Eden) being gone for the entire 2025-26 season.
Click to expand...

The PWHL and US Hockey have both said there will be no big centralization this coming Olympic year. The PWHL isn't losing all those players for the entire season.

"But there will also be changes, including a centralization for Olympic years, including the upcoming 2026 Games in Italy that will not span months. As Hefford says, she expects federations around the globe to begin working around the PWHL.

"For the Olympic year, there won't be a traditional centralization like we've seen in the past," she said. "My expectation is that federations around the world will work around the PHWL's season with the exception of the international breaks that we do not schedule games during, centralization will certainly look different than it's looked in the past.""
 
Last edited:
BadgerPete said:
The PWHL and US Hockey have both said there will be no big centralization this coming Olympic year. The PWHL isn't losing all those players for the entire season.

"But there will also be changes, including a centralization for Olympic years, including the upcoming 2026 Games in Italy that will not span months. As Hefford says, she expects federations around the globe to begin working around the PWHL.

"For the Olympic year, there won't be a traditional centralization like we've seen in the past," she said. "My expectation is that federations around the world will work around the PHWL's season with the exception of the international breaks that we do not schedule games during, centralization will certainly look different than it's looked in the past.""
Click to expand...

Well, that will be "interesting".

What do you supposed the NCAA will do? The number of teams affected will be minimal, but the teams that are affected, like Wisconsin, may well be greatly affected. The Olympics themselves take the better part of three weeks, any sort of "centralization" goes on top of that; an additional three weeks? More? Is Wisconsin forced to play six weeks handicapped? Does Wisconsin choose to play six weeks handicapped. Does a player choose to lose six weeks out of a season that will count against their eligibility? Or take the year off anyway?

As I said, interesting...
 
robertearle said:
Well, that will be "interesting".

What do you supposed the NCAA will do? The number of teams affected will be minimal, but the teams that are affected, like Wisconsin, may well be greatly affected. The Olympics themselves take the better part of three weeks, any sort of "centralization" goes on top of that; an additional three weeks? More? Is Wisconsin forced to play six weeks handicapped? Does Wisconsin choose to play six weeks handicapped. Does a player choose to lose six weeks out of a season that will count against their eligibility? Or take the year off anyway?

As I said, interesting...
Click to expand...

I don't see the NCAA doing anything. 14 schools lost a player for three weeks for the 2022 Olympics, 7 of those lost more than one. It's only going to increase with the influx of international players over the last four years. Wisconsin could/will lose five (Sapovalivova, Eden, Harvey, Simms, and Edwards) and Minnesota will lose a couple (definitely Bouveng and Murphy) and Ohio State could lose a couple (Dunne and Jungaker) but the NCAA isn't going to take an international break in a niche sport over something that affects maybe 50 of the ~775 Division I women's college hockey players for a couple of weeks. If anything it's more if the WCHA would tweak something in their schedule.

Looking at Wisconsin, taking out the probable Olympians, we'd have the following lineup for the Olympic weeks:
F - Picard, Enright, Vasseur, Hall, K. Gorbatenko, McCarthy, Scannell, Halverson, Pieckenhagen, N. Gorbatenko
D - Jungels, Potter, Murphy, Venusio, Bickett, Jones, R. Gorbatenko
G - MacNaughton, Stewart, Baker

The rest of the NCAA are getting out the tiny violins for us having to play 6 games with that lineup.

The early scuttle butt is that they will use the "off-weeks" in November and December that were usually used for the Rivalry Series for a pair of camps before the Olympics. The players would then go to the Olympics which would affect the weekends of Feb 6/7, Feb 13/14, Feb 20/21.

I don't see players taking the year off if its only those three weeks because what else would they do? The vast majority of other potential players will be playing in the PWHL, and I can't see USA Hockey being happy with the players not having anything close to meaningful game reps for an entire season prior to the Olympics. (The insane speed of the USA-Canada game on Monday night showed how much of a difference the ability for the players to stay in game shape meant.)

This is also going to show the strength of the PWHL as they go into year three. It's quite possible that Lacey Eden (and Murphy for UM) would forgo the COVID year to play in the PWHL, where the league will take a break that coincide with the Olympics and associated activities. I can't see the players who haven't graduated yet going that route unless the league has really found a gear that we haven't seen yet in terms of salaries and infrastructure.
 
BadgerPete said:
Looking at Wisconsin, taking out the probable Olympians, we'd have the following lineup for the Olympic weeks:
F - Picard, Enright, Vasseur, Hall, K. Gorbatenko, McCarthy, Scannell, Halverson, Pieckenhagen, N. Gorbatenko
D - Jungels, Potter, Murphy, Venusio, Bickett, Jones, R. Gorbatenko
G - MacNaughton, Stewart, Baker

The rest of the NCAA are getting out the tiny violins for us having to play 6 games with that lineup.
Click to expand...

Wow this is great. Thanks for posting. The biggest question is if WI losing a bunch of games those 3 weekends will the math knock them out of the ncaa tourney? I wonder what the committee would do in that scenario? Too bad, so sorry, you are out or give them an at large bid.
 
BadgerPete said:
I don't see the NCAA doing anything. 14 schools lost a player for three weeks for the 2022 Olympics, 7 of those lost more than one. It's only going to increase with the influx of international players over the last four years. Wisconsin could/will lose five (Sapovalivova, Eden, Harvey, Simms, and Edwards) and Minnesota will lose a couple (definitely Bouveng and Murphy) and Ohio State could lose a couple (Dunne and Jungaker) but the NCAA isn't going to take an international break in a niche sport over something that affects maybe 50 of the ~775 Division I women's college hockey players for a couple of weeks. If anything it's more if the WCHA would tweak something in their schedule.

Looking at Wisconsin, taking out the probable Olympians, we'd have the following lineup for the Olympic weeks:
F - Picard, Enright, Vasseur, Hall, K. Gorbatenko, McCarthy, Scannell, Halverson, Pieckenhagen, N. Gorbatenko
D - Jungels, Potter, Murphy, Venusio, Bickett, Jones, R. Gorbatenko
G - MacNaughton, Stewart, Baker

The rest of the NCAA are getting out the tiny violins for us having to play 6 games with that lineup.

The early scuttle butt is that they will use the "off-weeks" in November and December that were usually used for the Rivalry Series for a pair of camps before the Olympics. The players would then go to the Olympics which would affect the weekends of Feb 6/7, Feb 13/14, Feb 20/21.

I don't see players taking the year off if its only those three weeks because what else would they do? The vast majority of other potential players will be playing in the PWHL, and I can't see USA Hockey being happy with the players not having anything close to meaningful game reps for an entire season prior to the Olympics. (The insane speed of the USA-Canada game on Monday night showed how much of a difference the ability for the players to stay in game shape meant.)

This is also going to show the strength of the PWHL as they go into year three. It's quite possible that Lacey Eden (and Murphy for UM) would forgo the COVID year to play in the PWHL, where the league will take a break that coincide with the Olympics and associated activities. I can't see the players who haven't graduated yet going that route unless the league has really found a gear that we haven't seen yet in terms of salaries and infrastructure.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't discount the possibility of losing Ava McNaughton to the Olympics as well. She has Team USA experience as a U18, was a 1st team FR All-American, and the 2024 World Championships are evidence that USA hockey isn't afraid to bring college kids into that type of environment. The performance of Edwards, Simms, Harvey etc show the talented youngsters can certainly play on that level.

And don't forget, Maddie Rooney was Team USA's goalie at age 20 for the Olympic Gold Medal winning team in 2018.
 
Last edited:
BadgerPete said:
... the NCAA isn't going to take an international break in a niche sport over something that affects maybe 50 of the ~775 Division I women's college hockey players for a couple of weeks. If anything it's more if the WCHA would tweak something in their schedule.
Click to expand...

Interesting! Also, I agree with the numbers you roughly gave. I think it might be more like ~3% of players, from a higher total of players playing D I, at least if NEWHA is included. But, of course, more would be affected on Wisconsin.

BadgerPete said:
...
The early scuttle butt is that they will use the "off-weeks" in November and December that were usually used for the Rivalry Series for a pair of camps before the Olympics. The players would then go to the Olympics which would affect the weekends of Feb 6/7, Feb 13/14, Feb 20/21.
Click to expand...

Would the WCHA change who its top teams/Olympic-heavy rosters are playing those weekends then, as you mention? Unlike other times of the season, non-conference games may not work unless coordinated across conferences. I think usually those weeks in February include only a bit of weekday, non-conference play like the Beanpot amid conference schedules. If the WCHA were to start conference play a couple weeks early, could it organize some intra-WCHA non-conference/exhibition games in February?
 
robertearle said:
What do you supposed the NCAA will do? The number of teams affected will be minimal, but the teams that are affected, like Wisconsin, may well be greatly affected. The Olympics themselves take the better part of three weeks, any sort of "centralization" goes on top of that; an additional three weeks? More? Is Wisconsin forced to play six weeks handicapped? Does Wisconsin choose to play six weeks handicapped. Does a player choose to lose six weeks out of a season that will count against their eligibility? Or take the year off anyway?
Click to expand...
This isn't a new issue; see UMD 2001-02. International players have been dealing with this for a while now. Minnesota dealt with it in 2009-10, but with less impact in terms of players involved. The Gophers were the best WCHA team until Raty left for the Olympics, but struggled while she was gone. When she returned, she was worn down physically and mentally, and wasn't at the same level. The situation was similar for the Bulldogs who came back after the Olympics. There's a bit of an Olympic hangover.

As for the NCAA, it doesn't change anything. The college season is when it is, and teams have to figure out how to schedule their games.
 
ARM said:
As for the NCAA, it doesn't change anything. The college season is when it is, and teams have to figure out how to schedule their games.
Click to expand...

I'm confident the WCHA will do what they can in the schedule because ultimately they want their teams to make the NCAA tournament so they're going to try and minimize the impact somehow. Maybe the best thing to do is to have the top three teams playing each other during that time period, versus them just playing cupcakes and having the potential to lose is bad for the pairwise.

Somebody mentioned that the possibility of McNaughton being on the team..... As good as she is I think the goaltending is just too deep on team USA currently to have a spot for her. Unless of course she like has 15 shutouts, a sub 1 gaa and a 98 save percent next year.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top