For the bulk of the last two seasons, the Wisconsin Badgers have had a nearly start to finish hold on the #1 ranking in NCAA women's hockey.
Week five in the 2026-27 season saw that hold slip as the Ohio State Buckeyes not only swept Wisconsin in their head-to-head series, but also took over as the new #1 ranked team in the nation.
Ohio State beat Wisconsin 2-1 and 5-3 over the weekend.
It was validation for WCHA coaches as well who when polled prior to the 2026-27 season picked Ohio State as the preseason favorite.
Minnesota stayed at #3, with Quinnipiac stepping into the #4 position, their highest ranking of the season. Colgate also stepped into the top 10.
Ohio State played the series without Jocelyn Amos and Hayley McDonald who were at Canada's national team training camp. Wisconsin was also without a group of players including Ava Murphy, Emma Venusio, and Rosalie Tremblay who were skating with Canada. Captain Kelly Gorbatenko was in the lineup, but didn't play.
Ohio State will have another significant test ahead next week with a match up against Minnesota, followed by a series against Colgate the following week.