Ohio State overtakes Wisconsin in women's hockey Power 5 for week 9

Badgers do bleed! After appearing completely invulnerable for nearly two months to start the 2023-24 season, Wisconsin finally suffered their first setback in a weekend sweep on the road at Ohio State. 

With Wisconsin losing their top spot for the first time all season, here are Jordan Menard's Power 5 rankings after some big-time shuffling atop the sport:

𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍'𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 𝟓 🏒

After week 9️⃣, Jordan Menard shares her top five Women's teams. #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/UN0LKLTNNX

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) November 21, 2023

1. Ohio State (Previous: 2)

Strutting into the OSU ice rink with beautiful cream-colored jerseys imagined by Buckeye coach Nadine Muzerall, a fashion statement was hardly Muzz's biggest of the weekend, defanging Wisconsin's transcendent offense and extending her squad's home winning streak to six games over then-No. 1 Wisconsin. 

An opportunistic Jennifer Gardner scored a pair of power play goals to help build a decisive 3-0 lead while Wisconsin's dynamic offense crumbled into historic ineptitude, finishing with fewer than 20 shots for just the second time in the last six seasons — you guessed it, the other occasion was in Columbus last year. The Buckeyes needed OT to top the Badgers Saturday, but Hannah Bilka finished a fast-break wrist shot into the right corner, securing a deserved Ohio State win — the Buckeyes outshot UW by 11 Saturday. 

The Buckeyes take a step away from the Big Ten grind, instead playing a triad of non-conference series' before breaking for the New Year — St. Lawrence is up next for the holiday weekend. 

2. Colgate (Previous: 3)

Ever since splitting their season-opening series with Ohio State, Colgate, just like the Buckeyes, has been perfect through the first third of its season, also benefitting from Wisconsin's slip up to slide into second. A recent step up in competition for the Raiders has only seen Colgate become more dominant, beginning with a 7-1 drubbing of No. 14 Princeton Friday. 

Danielle Serdachny managed two goals and a primary assist in the first period alone, contributing to a 4-0 Raider advantage after the opening frame. Kas Bentinol completed her brace late in the second period, quickly answering Princeton's only goal of the match and capping the scoring at seven. Colgate offered another rude welcome to visiting Quinnipiac, as Kristýna Kaltounková tallied a goal and two assists to put the ninth-ranked Bobcats behind 3-1 in the first period. Emma Pais fired into an empty net to complete a stout 4-1 victory. 

Colgate breaks an eight-game stretch of ECAC conference play this weekend, heading west to take on Minnesota-Duluth. 

3. Wisconsin (Previous: 1)

The Columbus curse strikes again for Wisconsin, as the Badgers lose their sixth-straight at the OSU Ice Rink and watched their seemingly infallible offense managed just one goal in 120 minutes this past weekend. Crucially, there are a number of key Badger cogs temporarily out of the rotation, and Wisconsin's elite depth was on display even in a losing effort as freshman Cassie Hall forced overtime with a third-period equalizer Saturday. 

Entering the Ohio State match, however, Wisconsin had averaged nearly seven goals per contest and should expect to return to its very lofty mean as Big Ten play continues. Wisconsin will take the holiday weekend off before returning to play Minnesota and Minnesota State in the coming weeks. 

4. Minnesota (Previous: 4)

Stuck in fourth-place purgatory for a number of weeks, Minnesota stasis is hardly an indictment on their performance as the Gophers remain one of the hottest clubs in college hockey. Save for two gut-wrenching losses to new top-dogs Ohio State in late October, the Gophers have been perfect on the young season, extending their winning streak to four this past weekend with a pair of 3-1 victories over local rivals Minnesota State. 

A third period equalizer from Minnesota-Duluth induced a nervy finish for the Gophers upstate, but Taylor Stewart quickly reclaimed UM's lead and Peyton Hemp clinched the win 30 seconds from time with an empty net finish. Hemp would close out another Minnesota victory the following afternoon, scoring the Gophers' second short-handed goal of the match to quickly restore her squad's two-goal lead in the third period. 

The Gophers will spend the weekend headlining the D1 in DC event from Arlington, Virginia, facing Harvard on Friday before battling Cornell Saturday.

5. Clarkson (Previous: 5)

Leading all of America with 14 wins thus far, Clarkson suffered an unfamiliar setback Friday as the Black Knights drew Brown 3-3. Clarkson's undefeated mark appeared entirely doomed against the Bears, entering the final minute of play facing a daunting 3-1 deficit, but the Black Knights managed a stunning comeback with two power play goals in just 17 seconds to force overtime. This torrid momentum didn't carry over into the extra period, however, and neither side managed to break the deadlock after regulation. 

Clarkson made amends early Saturday, as Darcie Lappan scored within the first period and the Black Knights held Yale at bay to secure a 1-0 win. Clarkson heads south to Syracuse for a rare mid-week matchup Wednesday before welcoming the Orange to Potsdam this weekend.