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The moderator posed a harmless question to Ohio State women’s hockey coach Nadine Muzerall on the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s recent Media Day.
Moderator: “Touching on the newcomers, can you give us insight on who are some of the players to look out for this season?”
Muzerall: “Yeah, all of them. They’re all very, very good.”
Muzerall has never lacked confidence. Nor has the 11th year Buckeyes coach tried to hide it from anyone while guiding one of the elite programs in the nation.
In the WCHA’s 2026-27 preseason coaches poll, Ohio State was picked No. 1 ahead of the University of Wisconsin, the back-to-back defending national champions.
In each of the past four years, Wisconsin and Ohio State have played in the NCAA title game, with the Badgers winning three times. The Buckeyes’ lone win came in 2024.
These rivals won’t have a long wait to settle who’s more deserving of that top poll spot this season. On the third weekend, Oct. 9-10, they will collide in Columbus, Ohio.
It will be the last time they see each other on the ice until the final weekend of the regular season, Feb. 19-20, when they meet again in Madison and Green Bay, respectively.
That series will be split between Friday’s game at La Bahn Arena and Saturday’s game at Lambeau Field as part of a double-header with the UW men playing Michigan.
“It’s an iconic football facility,” said UW coach Mark Johnson. “Whether we win or Ohio State wins, it’s a once in a lifetime experience. That’s what I’m most excited about.”
Challenges excite Johnson, who has won an historic 702 games and nine NCAA titles during his 23 seasons at Wisconsin. He celebrated his 69th birthday on Tuesday.
The heavy departures from last season’s team that went 35-4-2 would be enough to age any coach, even one as accomplished and proven and downright poised as Johnson.
Departing veterans
Badgers women’s hockey players Chloe Baker, Kelly Gorbatenko, Laila Edwards, Marianne Picard, Lacey Eden and Caroline Harvey sing during an event at LaBahn Arena last spring to celebrate the team’s ninth NCAA championship trophy. Wisconsin beat Ohio State 3-2. Baker, Edwards, Picard, Eden and Harvey were all seniors who have since departed.
Whereas Muzerall is welcoming back her top three scorers — including Joy Dunne, the WCHA’s preseason player of the year — Johnson is replacing his scoring firepower.
Gone are Lacey Eden, Caroline Harvey and Kirsten Simms. Eden had a team-high 29 goals. Harvey won the Patty Kazmaier award. Simms led the team in power play scores.
Also gone are defenders Vivian Jungels and Laila Edwards, an Olympic gold medalist along with Simms and Harvey, the MVP in the 2026 Milan-Cortina (Italy) Winter Games.
“This year, similar to other years,” Johnson said, “we bring in new players and we start the journey and start the process of connecting and trying to become a team.
“As with any other season, what we do look like at the end hopefully is a lot better than what people see in the early parts of the season.”
The Badgers will begin play Friday and Saturday at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Their first home series will be Oct. 1-2 against Boston University.
During the WCHA’s Media Day, Johnson was asked about having so many first-year players on the roster — eight freshmen — something that was common in the past.
Pondering the numbers, Johnson said, “That sounds scary. Maybe in this environment with the transfer portal, maybe that’s more common than you want it to be.”
Johnson has a plan.
Always a plan.
“The big thing is trying to get them into a space where they’re comfortable,” he said. “Everybody’s freshmen go through that.
“You get on campus and start school, and everything is new. Your teammates are new. How can we connect as a group?”
Johnson is not about rushing development, but he volunteered, “As people will see, I think some of our freshmen can make an immediate impact on the ice.”
Standout freshmen
Wisconsin veteran goaltender Ava McNaughton is expected to be the backbone of a 2026-2027 team that features several freshmen.
One who came to the forefront of his thinking was forward Nela Lopusanova from Zilina, Slovakia, and the Bishop Kearney Selects program in Irondequoit, New York.
At 14, she competed with the Slovak national team in the Under-18 Women’s World Championship and was the leading scorer and MVP of the 2023 tournament.
She was the MVP again in 2025.
Here’s what Slovakia’s U18 coach Michal Kobezda told CBC Sports about Lopusanova: “Nela is the biggest talent we’ve ever had in women’s hockey.
“For us, it’s like (Connor) McDavid for Canada. She made women’s hockey in Slovakia much more popular than it was before. She did that just with her game.”
McDavid is arguably the best player in the National Hockey League with the Edmonton Oilers. It’s a high bar for Lopusanova, who has responded to expectations.
Off the ice, Lopusanova has even excelled in flag football and was nominated for the Girls National Flag Football Player of the Year by the Buffalo Bills.
Per his nature, Johnson cautions, “Like any freshman … how are you going to adjust to college hockey? How are you going to adjust to our league?”
Johnson expects to get the right answers from Lopusanova. As he does from center Rosalie Tremblay from Sherbrooke, Quebec, the lone Canadian in the 2026 signing class.
“Another real talented player,” Johnson said. “I think she’ll get people’s attention real fast. Another dynamic player, real high level of skill, competitive.”
There are many other standouts in this class. Johnson singled out Maddy Kimbrel from Orono, Minnesota, and Haley Box from Cheyenne, Wyoming.
“One thing I’ve learned over time,” he said, “everybody adjusts to college a little differently. Some are going to adjust really fast and do really well.
“Other kids might take them a month, might take them a couple of months. Some of them might take half the season.
“My big job is to get them comfortable, try to inject some confidence and have them play with some confidence early in the season so they can excel in what they’re able to do.”
Until they mature, goalie Ava McNaughton will be the backbone of the team.
“I learned early in my coaching career,” Johnson said, “if you have a good solid goaltender you can trust and rely on, usually that makes you look like a better coach.”
Nobody is better in the college game.
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