First Goals, Wins on Opening Day of the 2026-27 College Hockey Season: Puck Drop

Freshman forward Tilde Simensen scored the first goal of the season in women’s hockey off a rebound, as visiting Lindenwood dominated the opening game of the 2026-27 season opener, 5-0 at Post.

Paige Cline, Thea Rustbakken, Elina Zilliox and Silje Gundersen also scored for the Lions (1-0). Junior Madison Bowtell made 15 saves to notch her second career shutout

"We're really proud of the effort we showed for all 60 minutes," former Boston College assistant coach Max Gavin said in a release after notching his first career win as a head coach. "Everyone competed for each other, stayed committed, and were willing to play selflessly. That's the kind of effort and hunt mentality we want to build on moving forward."

Lindenwood couldn’t take advantage of an early 5-on-3 advantage, but still put 17 shots on net in the first period while jumping out to a 2-0 lead. The Lions finished with 51 shots.

Meanwhile, third-period goals by Julia Perjus and Regina Metzler on a power-play propelled No. 15 Mercyhurst to a 3-1 home win over Rensselaer in the first game involving a ranked team in the national polls. Magdalena Luggin made 18 saves to get the win.

A FIRST FOR EVERYTHING 🚨

Tilde Simensen with the first goal of the season AND her first career goal!#NCAAWHockey x 🎥 YouTube / @LU_Hockey pic.twitter.com/Io102jIiKe
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) September 18, 2026

Puck Drop: Saturday, September 19, 2026

Two weeks before the start of the men’s regular season, the Big Ten finally finalized its conference schedule. League play will begin Oct. 30 with Penn State at Minnesota, and Notre Dame at Wisconsin. A third weekend series will begin on Halloween with Michigan at Ohio State.

Gavin McKenna (Penn State), the No. 1-overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft, will make his preseason debut when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Montreal Canadiens at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. The game is being shown on the TSN2 live stream.

Per NHL.com, former Michigan left wing Kyle Connor called the trade demand from goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (Lowell) “heartbreaking.” “As a player, all you can do is kind of deal with what's in front of you. … I can't speak to the reason until we hear from the man. I’m not going to speculate on what it is, but I know that a lot of guys in that room that are heartbroken.” Meanwhile, Dylan Larkin (Michigan) did report to training camp with the Red Wing, and did meet with reporters, but didn’t say much. "I asked for a trade from the Detroit Red Wings as the captain, and actions have consequences, and I understand why that decision was made, and I'm going to be professional about it," Larkin said.

Both Boston College and Boston University have 37 former players in NHL training camps. That’s the most we’ve seen so far, with Michigan having 36.

The preseason USCHO.com men’s rankings will be announced on Monday. The preseason USA Hockey poll will be released a week later, Sept. 28.

College Hockey Scores

WOMEN
Fridays Games
Non-Conference
Lindenwood 5, Post 0
No. 15 Mercyhurst 3, Rensselaer 1

Exhibition
RIT 2, No. 4 Penn State 2
St. Lawrence 3, Concordia (Quebec) 1

FIRST FOR THE LAKERS ‼️

Kate Donegan takes it forehand to backhand and slides one in for the Lakers.#NCAAWHockey x 🎥 IG/ @HurstWHockey pic.twitter.com/OBCsALQNfq
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) September 18, 2026

College Hockey Schedule

WOMEN
Saturday’s Games
Non-Conference
Lindenwood at Post, 11:45 a.m. ET
Rensselaer at No. 15 Mercyhurst, 1 p.m. ET

Exhibition
New Hampshire at Maine, 2 p.m. ET
No. 6 Quinnipiac at No. 7 UConn, 3 p.m. ET
Concordia at Vermont, 3 p.m. ET

Countdown to the 2026-27 Season

Men's college hockey .… 13 days

A word from our Badgers at @usahockey training camp…

Wisconsin alum and former Director of Operations/Equipment Manager Sis Paulsen will be inducted into the UW Athletics Hall of Fame tonight! Congratulations, Sis 🥳 pic.twitter.com/uoMO6OlUPA
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerWHockey) September 18, 2026

This Date in Hockey History

September 19, 1970: Bowling Green right wing (and NHL head coach) Dan Bylsma was born in Grand Haven. Mich.

September 19, 1981: Boston University goaltender, and No. 1-overall selection in the 2000 NHL Draft, Rick DiPietro was born in Winthrop, Mass.

September 19, 1994: North Dakota center Luke Johnson was born in Grand Forks, N.D.

September 19, 1994: Massachusetts Lowell defenseman Michael Kapla was born in Eau Claire, Wisc.

September 19, 1998: The Nashville Predators played their first preseason game, defeating the Florida Panthers, 4-2, in Huntsville, Ala.

September 19, 2000: The Minnesota Wild played their first preseason game, tying the San Jose Sharks 3-3 at Rose Garden Arena in Portland, Oregon.

September 19, 2020: Former Northeastern defenseman Jamie Oleksiak scored in the second period to help the Dallas Stars take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final that was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was played in empty Rogers Place in Edmonton.

50 years of Maine hockey all started with this squad Ⓜ️ #BlackBearNation pic.twitter.com/tascz3tX2e
— Maine Men’s Ice Hockey (@mainemhockey) September 18, 2026

Hockey Quote of the Day

"They flew me up to BC — my first airplane trip — and I fell in love with the place. All that beautiful country out there. ... Back then Boston seemed like country to me."
Joe Mullen (Boston College)

We'll Leave You With This ...

If anyone at the rink finds Nathan Walker's lost teeth, can you please turn them in at the front desk? #stlblues pic.twitter.com/UVcHaDxnHm
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) September 18, 2026

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