3 days Ago By Matt Wellens
DULUTH — Minnesota Duluth may not be the favorite in the WCHA this year. That, kind of surprisingly, is the Wisconsin women's hockey team. But the Bulldogs’ goaltender, sophomore Eve Gascon, is the favorite in the crease as she was named to the preseason All-WCHA team on Monday after she posted a UMD-rookie-record seven shutouts as a freshman in 2023-24.
Her seven shutouts were third most in the NCAA as she landed on the WCHA’s all-rookie team a year ago. Preseason All-WCHA Team F: Kirsten Simms, Jr., Wisconsin F: Abbey Murphy, Sr.
, Minnesota F: Joy Dunne, So., Ohio State D: Nelli Laitinen, Jr., Minnesota D: Caroline Harvey, Jr.
, Wisconsin G: Ève Gascon, So., Minnesota Duluth WCHA Preseason Player of the Year: Kirsten Simms, Jr., D, Wisconsin WCHA Preseason Rookie of the Year: Chloe Primerano, D, Minnesota ADVERTISEMENT Minnesota Duluth, under new head coach Laura Schuler, was picked to finish fourth in the WCHA behind No.
3 Minnesota, No. 2 Ohio State and the No. 1 Badgers, who earned five out of eight first-place votes.
UMD has finished fourth in the WCHA in each of the previous three seasons, six of the last seven seasons and 10 of the last 13 years — but outside the top four just once in 25 seasons. 2024-25 WCHA Coaches Poll (Coaches could not vote for their own team. First-place votes are in parentheses) 1.
Wisconsin (5) 2. Ohio State (2) 3. Minnesota (1) 4.
Minnesota Duluth 5. St. Cloud State 6.
St. Thomas 7. Minnesota State 8.
Bemidji State The defending WCHA and NCAA champion Buckeyes garnered just two of eight first-place votes from the league’s head coaches — the Gophers got the other — after picking up 14 of 20 first-place votes in the USCHO poll to come in at No. 1 in the nation during the preseason. UMD, ranked No.
7 nationally, and Ohio State open the 2024-25 season against each other on Saturday and Sunday in Columbus, Ohio — six months after the Buckeyes routed the Bulldogs in an NCAA regional final at the OSU Ice Rink..
