Gophers Women's Hockey to Begin Postseason Run Against In-State Rival

While star forward Abbey Murphy was in Milan winning a gold medal for Team USA at the Olympics, the Gophers wrapped up their 2025-26 regular season with a 24-9-1 record after getting swept by Minnesota Duluth at home. Next on the schedule for Minnesota is the WCHA tournament.

The Gophers finished third in the conference standings with an 18-9- 1 record. They were 13 points behind second-place Ohio State and 15 points behind first-place Wisconsin. That means they will host St. Cloud State in the first round this weekend in a best-of-three series.

NEXT UP....POSTSEASON HOCKEY👏

🎟️https://t.co/FPyg3V7c9X pic.twitter.com/xDLFpSPw2e
— WCHA Hockey (@WCHA_WHockey) February 22, 2026

Minnesota was a perfect 4-0 against the Huskies in the regular season. The four wins a total score of 22-6. If things go to plan at Ridder Arena, the Gophers will face the winner of Minnesota Duluth or Minnesota State in the semifinal round.

The Gophers have been firmly viewed as the third-best team in the country throughout the season. Their biggest competition for making a run at the national championship is likely in the WCHA with No. 1 Wisconsin and No. 2 Ohio State.

When Murphy was representing her country at the Olympics, she was passed by Wisconsin's Lacy Eden as the nation's leader in points. Murphy's 36 goals and 25 assists for 61 points in 26 games still put her in second place nationally.

The Gophers are currently fourth in the NCAA Percentage Index (NPI), which is used to seed teams for the NCAA Tournament at the end of the year. They're less than a point behind Penn State for the three seed, but comfortably more than a point ahead of No. 5 Northeastern. A top-four seed gives you the opportunity to host a regional final, so they have an encouraging outlook for that.

Getting Murphy back into the flow of things will obviously be important for Minnesota's postseason outlook. That starts this weekend against the Huskies at Ridder Arena.