Gophers, Tommies get right to business on opening weekend, 2023-24 WCHA composite schedule reveals

MINNEAPOLIS — Next season, women’s college hockey fans in the Twin Cities will not have a long wait to see how the defending conference tournament champion Minnesota Gophers match up versus their neighborhood rivals, the St. Thomas Tommies.

Buoyed by one of the nation’s more renowned recruiting classes, the Tommies will host a pair of games versus the Gophers on Oct. 13-14, which will be the opening weekend of play in the WCHA. On Wednesday, May 10, the league revealed its composite 2023-24 season schedule, which includes 28 games for each of the league’s eight teams.

The action actually begins one day earlier, with Minnesota State Mankato visiting defending national champion Wisconsin on Thursday, Oct. 12 for the opener of a two-game set.

The first head-to-head meetings of the last two NCAA champions — Wisconsin and Ohio State — will happen Nov. 17-18 in Columbus, Ohio, with the Badgers visiting the Buckeyes in a rematch of the 2023 national title game, won 1-0 by Wisconsin in Duluth.

Wesley Dean / University of St. Thomas

Bemidji State’s home-opening conference series is Oct. 27-28 when the Beavers host Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs’ open conference play at home on Oct. 13-14 when they host Ohio State. St. Cloud State opens at home with an in-state rivalry when Bemidji State comes to visit on Oct. 13-14. And Minnesota State Mankato’s home-opening conference series is Oct. 20-21 when Minnesota Duluth visits the Mavericks.

The Gophers, who fell to Wisconsin in overtime in the Frozen Four semifinals, have a rare Tuesday night home opener on Oct. 17 versus St. Cloud State.

This marks the 25th season of WCHA women’s hockey, and the action will culminate in Minneapolis, as it has every March in recent years, with the Kwik Trip WCHA Final Faceoff at Ridder Arena on March 8-9, 2024. The upcoming NCAA Women’s Frozen Four will be played in Durham, N.H., on the campus of the University of New Hampshire on March 22 & 24. Teams from the WCHA have won 19 of the 22 NCAA women’s hockey titles awarded since Minnesota Duluth captured the inaugural crown in 2001.

Full schedules, including non-conference games and specific game times, will be announced at a later date. All eight WCHA teams are expected to open the season Oct. 6-7 with non-conference series.