Just like their PWHL counterparts, college hockey's Olympic stars will return to the ice on Friday night, when seven members of Team USA will rejoin their NCAA teams to battle through conference tournaments ahead of the national bracket's Selection Sunday on March 8th.
Hoping to kick off their 2025 NCAA title defense with a conference trophy is No. 1 Wisconsin and their four Team USA gold medalists: goaltender Ava McNaughton, forward Kirsten Simms, and defensemen Laila Edwards and Caroline Harvey — the 2026 Olympic tournament MVP.
"It's just more so getting the whole group back on the same page," Harvey said of Wisconsin's post-Olympic mindset. "There's a lot of excitement around playoffs now, so this is a time especially when we all naturally come together and we're united for a common goal, and we know that's winning a couple championships."
The Badgers, however, have other Olympic teammates standing in their way, with USA forwards Joy Dunne's No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes and Abbey Murphy's No. 4 Minnesota Golden Gophers also vying for the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) crown.
Meanwhile, the seventh collegiate reigning Olympic gold medalist will be skating toward the 2026 Atlantic Hockey America (AHA) trophy, as forward Tessa Janecke helps her No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions hunt a fourth straight conference tournament title.
College hockey's five Division I conference tournaments — which also include the New England Hockey Alliance, Hockey East Association, and ECAC Hockey — run through next week, with the puck dropping on all five championship games on Friday, March 7th, before the NCAA tournament kicks off on March 12th.
How to watch US Olympic stars on this weekend's NCAA hockey ice
WCHA's best-of-three quarterfinals take center stage this weekend, with No. 2 Ohio State taking on St. Thomas starting at 6 PM ET on Friday before No. 1 Wisconsin faces Bemidji State and No. 4 Minnesota plays St. Cloud State at 7 PM ET.
Elsewhere, after earning a bye through to the best-of-three AHA semifinals, top-seeded No. 3 Penn State will take on Syracuse for this weekend's series, which also begins at 6 PM ET on Friday.
All games featuring the Top 4 teams will air live on B1G+.
