All Eyes on Duluth, Potsdam ahead of Thanksgiving Break: All Things in Women's Hockey

With the majority of teams and conferences set to take a break next week for the Thanksgiving holiday, this weekend provides an opportunity for teams to make a statement that will last until they retake the ice in December. With just a few weeks remaining in the fall semester, Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota are set for yet another top-five ranked matchup in the nation’s premier conference, the WCHA; while in a tightly-packed ECAC, Clarkson hosts a pair of ranked opponents in games that will have repercussions both in the conference and nationally.

Top-Five Battle in Duluth Between Two Top Contenders

Another week, another top ranked showdown in the WCHA as the Buckeyes travel to Duluth to take on the Bulldogs. No. 3 Ohio State enters the showdown ranked third in the nation after winning six straight and ten of its first eleven. Meanwhile, No. 5 Minnesota Duluth rebounded from an in-state sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Golden Gophers with consecutive six point weekends against St. Cloud State and St. Thomas. UMD owns a 64-33-6 advantage in the series history but Ohio State has taken nine of the last 11.

Leading the way as of late for the Bulldogs has been freshman Ray Mayer as Minnesota Duluth’s first Virginia-born player is in the midst of a five-game point streak, all against ranked foes. The Bishop Kearny product has posted 11 points over her first 14 collegiate games, including five goals. Additionally, multiple players on the roster including Catalin Kramer and Ève Gascon continue to make their case to be on Team Canada’s roster in Milan as they settle back in after appearing in the Rivalry Series against the United States. Both players made their first start for the Canadian national team in the matchup earlier this month, while Kramer is also part of the country's olympic training camp and has been making frequent trips between Duluth and her native country.

Gascon's THE Goalie pic.twitter.com/fN9UnGbU9R
— UMD Women's Hockey (@UMDWHockey) November 15, 2025

Ohio State enters the weekend with an eye towards a suddenly vulnerable No. 1 Wisconsin, after the Badgers have dropped points in each of the last two weekends. With a national championship rematch looming, the Buckeyes know they can not fall into a trap when they face a Minnesota Duluth squad looking to prove they belong in the national contender conversation.

Looking to continue the team’s and her own hot streak, Sara Swiderski enters the weekend playing the best hockey of her four year collegiate career. The British Columbia product posted six points last weekend, evenly split over the two games to set a career high in points in a game and weekend. The breakout weekend saw the defender double her point count on the season and become one of 11 Buckeyes with double-digit assists on the season.

A series victory for Ohio State would keep the pressure on Wisconsin, which hold a three-point advantage atop the WCHA. The Buckeyes host the Badgers when conference play resumes in the first weekend of December in a matchup that could decide the top spot in the WCHA and in the national polls.

Minnesota Duluth sits just six points behind No. 2 Minnesota for third and eight points behind Ohio State for second in the WCHA, a six-point weekend would sends a message to the conference that the Bulldogs are more than a dark horse poised to make some noise as the middle part of conference play begins.

Clarkson Aims to Continue Offensive Resurgence

Nine of the twelve schools in the ECAC enter the weekend less than a sweep away from the top spot in the conference. Perennial contender Clarkson finds itself in the thick of things, sitting in a tie for fourth with a resurgent Harvard Crimson squad that has already more than doubled its win total, both in conference play and overall, from a year ago.

With crucial points on the line as No 11 Clarkson hosts No. 12 Brown and No. 14 Yale on back-to-back nights, the Golden Knights need to continue where they left off last game against St. Lawrence following a lethargic stretch for the offense. Before the six goal output last Wednesday against St. Lawrence, Clarkson had been shut out in three consecutive matchups to drop the Golden Knights from the top spot in the ECAC standings. The offense has been extremely inconsistent so far, posting four games with at least five goals but also having seven instances of posting two goals or less.

The Golden Knights will need to rely once again on Sara Manness to move the puck and keep the offense flowing, the freshman has burst onto the scene with 15 assists, good for third in the NCAA. The Winnipeg product has been vital in distributing the puck to an offensive unit that lacks top end production but has succeeded due to depth on all four lines, with 11 players already posting multiple goals on the season.

Brown comes into the matchup flying high with four consecutive wins and one of its best starts in decades. The past twelve months have seen Brown crack the national rankings for the first time in eighteen years and snap a streak that spanned the majority of that length when it took down Clarkson in overtime last season, snapping a 20-game winless streak against the Golden Knights.

If the Bears want to make it two straight in the series, they'll need to rely on a pair of sophomores to follow up their award-winning performances last weekend. Monique Lyons won ECAC player of the week following a four point weekend, including a pair of game winning goals, with the final one coming in overtime to down Harvard. In net, Anya Zupkofska took home goaltender of the week in conference after turning away all 26 shots from Dartmouth on Friday and stopping another 25 the following night to complete the two-win weekend.

Brown takes down Harvard in overtime with a goal from Monique Lyons!#EverTrue pic.twitter.com/KiYy01wksE
— Brown Women's Hockey (@BrownU_WHockey) November 15, 2025

Yale hit the road after splitting a weekend against Harvard and Dartmouth, with the Bulldogs falling to their rivals 4-1 before getting back on track with a 5-0 drubbing of the Big Green on Saturday. Yale hasn’t been able to string together long runs of success, its longest win streak sits at just two, but the Bulldogs have also been able to bounce back with a victory following each defeat this season. Six straight games away from New Haven will test this team, which must rely on junior goaltender Anna Phillips after she seized the number one job. The Ontario-based prospect has turned away 129 of the 138 shots she has faced, good for a .935 save percentage while conceding just a 1.37 goals against average on her way to a 4-3 record despite not getting consistent goal support in front of her.