WCHA Monthly Recap: October 2025

We have made it through the first full month of college hockey, so now we must recap everything that happened in the WCHA in the month of October. We touch on a player that stood out, some incredible milestones, and a storyline you may have missed.

Featured Game: Minnesota vs. Wisconsin

Minnesota Leaves a Mark

There are so many games that could be chosen for this section, but then number-three Minnesota’s win over top-ranked Wisconsin was a haunting experience on Halloween for the Badgers. In the first Border Battle of the season, Minnesota’s offense once again propelled them to a victory and handed Wisconsin its first loss in 38 games.

The Gophers entered the third period tied at one but managed four third period goals, the most given up at home since Oct. 25, 2002 when they gave up five against Minnesota Duluth. Abbey Murphy has been red hot and had a goal and an assist in the game while Josefin Bouveng scored two goals and Ava Lindsay collected two helpers. It feels like Minnesota can get offense from anywhere in its lineup and this game showed just that. Having veterans like Lindsay, Bouveng, and Emma Kreisz show up on the scoresheet shows the Gophers can always be dangerous. 

However, it’s not just the point getters that are lights out. In net, Hannah Clark made 40 saves in this game yet she only allowed one goal! ONE! In 12 games so far, the Badgers have a goals scored average of 5.33 and yet Clark didn’t allow another after the first period. This win was also her eighth win of the season.

Rightfully so, Minnesota moved up to the number two spot in the USCHO rankings this week after splitting this series, but it’s starting to look like there is a big three in this conference and both Wisconsin and Ohio State should watch their back.

Awards Season🏆:

Best Player of October - Hilda Svensson

Svensson wasn’t on my radar and that was my mistake. While I said in my season preview that I expected Wisconsin rookie Adéla Šapovalivová to take the conference by storm by mid-October, I was wrong. Svensson adjusted quickly to college play as she recorded 15 points from seven goals and eight assists in October. She played an important part in Ohio State going 8-1-0 in their first month of play. She currently has 18 points in total and leads all rookies in the NCAA. Svensson was named WCHA Forward and Rookie of the Month for October, and Co-Rookie of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners Association.

Best Team of October - Wisconsin Badgers

This was tough. I was also thinking of choosing Minnesota, who handed Wisconsin their first defeat in 38 games, but the Badgers have been playing incredibly well given how rocky their October was. First they were out two huge names with Laila Edwards and Kirsten Simms out two weeks due to injury. Wisconsin didn’t falter as they still played great hockey, with players like Emma Venusio stepping up when needed. Though Edwards and Simms returned the last weekend of the month, the team was still down defenders in their second game against Minnesota on Nov. 1. No sweat – Venusio collected four points this month, including her first goal in that game to help Wisconsin split with Minnesota. Even Adéla Šapovalivová suffered an injury, with Maggie Scannell taking over top line duties in her absence. It may seem a team like the Badgers have it made, but while they have been facing an injury bug, they’ve come out a lot better than most teams would and that’s saying something.

Interesting Storyline:

St. Thomas had themselves an October.

They split with top ten ranked St. Cloud State then took Ohio State into overtime (déjà vu from last season as they did this same thing!) On Oct. 20, the Tommies appeared on the USCHO rankings at number 13 for the first time in the Division I era. It was a momentous occasion for a team that has been steadily causing chaos within the WCHA by sweeping teams, stealing points, and finding ways to earn a split. A few days later, St. Thomas opened the new Lee and Penny Anderson Arena on the school’s campus with an incredible game. Though they lost 7-6, the Tommies managed to come back against Providence after being down by three goals heading into the third period and scoring four unanswered before Providence came back to win. 

Don’t worry, the Tommies earned their first win on home ice the next day. Congratulations to the players, staff, and students of St. Thomas on the opening of the on-campus arena that is sure to see some great games in the coming years!

You can read a feature story on head coach Bethany Brausen and her journey as a player, coach, and mother here.

St. Thomas’ Bethany Brausen on Coaching, Mental Wellbeing, and the Rise of the Tommies.

Bethany Brausen initially said no to joining Minnesota’s coaching staff almost 10 years ago. Now, the St. Thomas head coach is leading the Tommies to new heights.

The Ice GardenGiselle Velazquez

Notable Milestones/Moments from the Month:

• St. Cloud State’s Svenja Voight played in her 100th career game while goaltender Paige Hoogendam made her collegiate debut on Oct. 18.
• Payton Remick scored her first collegiate goal against UMD on Nov. 1.
• Ohio State goaltender Taylor Kressin recorded her first shutout in an 8-0 win over St. Thomas on Nov. 1.
• Some Buckeyes recorded their first career goals this month too!

• The Minnesota State Mavericks had some shutouts themselves. Kaydence Roeske recorded her first shutout while Hailey Hansen added two more shutouts this month to bring her total to three on the season.
• Abbey Murphy had herself a great start to the season. The captain recorded 15 points in October and recorded her second hat trick of the season against Boston University on Oct. 4. On Oct. 25 against UMD, Murphy scored her 116th goal to move her into second all-time in goals in program history.

• There was a fight at the end of the Oct. 19 game between Ohio State and Minnesota after the Gophers dominated the Buckeyes for a 6-3 win. That isn’t the point I want to make necessarily. I wrote about the conference's response to the fight and the suspensions that ensued. As I wrote in my piece, fighting in women’s hockey isn’t detrimental to the sport and acting like it is is sort of patronizing.
• The Badgers took part in this year’s Icebreaker Tournament and the WCHA won the event for the fourth year in a row as Wisconsin won it all, beating Union 4-0. Lacey Eden was recognized as the MVP of the tournament while Ava McNaughton was named goaltender of the tournament.
• McNaughton recorded six shutouts in the month of October - that is pretty cool! No one else came close to that number this month!
• Eden reached a milestone of her own when she reached 100 career assists during the Icebreaker Tournament. She recorded two assists against Vermont and became the 13th Badger in program history to reach that milestone.
• Caroline Harvey became the first Badgers defender to reach 150 points in program history. Harvey currently has 157 points and is 10 points away from tying former Minnesota Gopher Ronda Curtin for the most points by a defender in WCHA history.
• Bemidji State's Hailey Armstrong scored four goals against Robert Morris early in the month - more on that below!

Some Things You May Have Missed:

Bemidji State forward Hailey Armstrong put together a four goal performance to lead the Beavers to a sweep of Robert Morris. Armstrong tied the program record for most goals in a game, last done in 1999 by Kerri McEwen.

The Badgers raised their championship banner on Oct. 3 to celebrate the team’s eighth national title. Wisconsin got off to another great start this season and sit atop the WCHA standings and are ranked number-one overall again this season.

Wisconsin commit and hockey sensation Nela Lopušanová was out to watch the Badgers last weekend which is pretty cool. She probably had fun watching the team in their bounce back win against Minnesota. She will join the team next season.

Looking Ahead:

There are two tournaments happening in November. St. Cloud State will head to the U.S. Capital during Thanksgiving weekend for the DI in D.C. tournament, where they face the likes of Colgate and Clarkson. Wisconsin will take part in the Smashville Women's Collegiate Hockey Showcase, where they will play against Mercyhurst and Stonehill.

In WCHA action, Ohio State and UMD are playing Nov. 21 and Nov. 22. Though Duluth currently sits fourth in conference standings, they can steal at least one game from the Buckeyes and have them chasing Wisconsin and Minnesota after that weekend. Ohio State can also sweep the Bulldogs and have them further behind in conference points too. Anything goes! It could be a series that affects either team come February.

You can check out the full WCHA schedule here.

Thanks for reading!