After sending three teams to the national tournament last season, the WCHA’s seven teams enter 2018-19 with a mixture of high expectations and hopeful progress.

Three WCHA programs sit among the USCHO’s top-10 poll as of September 17, but annual turnover leaves every team with a fresh start. With the season set to begin this week, FloHockey takes a look at the changes each WCHA team went through this summer and what to expect in 2018-19.

Bemidji State Beavers

2017-18: 16-19-3

Departures: Alexis Joyce, Emma Terres, Bailey Wright, Reilly Fawcett, Summer Thibodeau, and Erin Deters

2018-19 Preseason rank: N/A

The Beavers are just two years removed from consecutive 20-win seasons, backed by deep teams and consistent goaltending. Both seasons came under head coach Jim Scanlan, who enters his fifth year with the Beavers and anticipation of a bounce-back.

Scanlan ran an extremely young team last year and enters the new season with a whopping nine sophomores. With four on the blue line, the Beavers’ backend should build on last season and help support netminder Kerigan Dowhy, who went 5-2-1 with a 1.82 goals against average and .936 save percentage in her short stint.

Up front, leading scorers Haley Mack and Emily Bergland—who tied with Terres with 11 goals—both return with hopes to build on their strong seasons and help bring the Beavers back to a winning record.

Minnesota Golden Gophers

2017-18: 24-11-3

Departures: Sydney Baldwin, Caitlin Reilly, Cara Piazza, and Sidney Peters 

2018-19 Preseason rank: No. 3

Despite some losses, the Gophers are primed for a deep run this year. Schammel and Baldwin, who finished tied for second in team scoring with 32 points each, along with Reilly and Piazza, 26 and 22 points, respectively, add to the loss of offense for a team that boasted an extremely deep lineup with four scoring lines.

Then there’s Peters, who went 17-9-1 with a 1.93 GAA and .922 SV%, including four shutouts. But if there’s one thing head coach Brad Frost has learned in his 11 years with the team, it’s that changeover is inevitable and you can’t dwell on what you don’t have.

Down to 1⃣1⃣ days, #Gophers!

In 1⃣1⃣ seasons at the helm of #GWH, Coach @FrostBrad has a career coaching record of 343-64-30. 〽️? pic.twitter.com/yPKaIeM5Gp

— Minnesota W Hockey (@GopherWHockey) September 17, 2018

Frost’s record is a clear indication of his ability to raise his team’s level to whatever standard necessary. The offense will flow through Grace Zumwinkle, who posted 38 points (G, A) in as many games in a fantastic freshman season. With a total of 10 underclassmen last season, the Gophers are young, hungry, and ready to take a step forward.

Minnesota also returns deadly scoring threats in Kelly Pannek, who missed last season to play with Team USA, and Sarah Potomak, who missed last season after nearly making Team Canada (she was cut right before the Olympics). 

Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs

2017-18: 15-16-4

Departures: Kateřina Mrázová, Jessica Healey, Catherine Daoust, and Michelle Löwenhielm

2018-19 Preseason rank: No. 9

A strong, nine-woman freshman class now has those first-year jitters out of the way. With a year of experience under their belts, there’s good reason the Bulldogs are pegged as the No. 9 team heading into the season.

Five of the Bulldogs’ top-six scorers return. Netminder Jessica Convery went 15-14-3 in her senior season — backed by a 2.23 GAA, a .920 SV% and three shutouts — but leaves the crease in very good hands.

Maddie Rooney returns to the team after a redshirt season spent with Team USA, which ended in a gold medal. Rooney went 25-7-5 with a 1.65 GAA, six shutouts, and a .942 SV% as one of the top goalies in the country.

The sky is the limit with Rooney’s return and the next step the sophomore class.

Minnesota State Mavericks

2017-18: 5-28-1

Departures: Lindsey Coleman, Hannah Davidson, Anna Keys, Amanda Conway, Sara Bustad, Emma Wittchow, and Amanda Martin

2018-19 Preseason rank: N/A

After a long season of losing, the Mavericks watched eight seniors graduate and, short of a few Freshman of the Year candidates in 2018-19, they’re in a difficult spot for this season.

Brittyn Fleming led the team with 19 points in 34 games while Jordan McLaughlin led the Mavericks with nine goals. The lack of depth and loss of experience in Mankato could spell a difficult season for the team.

Minnesota State's top three scorers and both goalies return as the Mavericks look to put together its best season in almost a decade.#NCAAWHockeypreview pic.twitter.com/pkdfqCihQd

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) September 14, 2018

The Mavericks have only posted two double-digit-win seasons over the past nine years as they continue to build the program piece by piece.

St. Cloud State Huskies

2017-18: 8-20-5

Departures: Alyssa Erickson, Emma Turbyville, and Brittney Anderson

2018-19 Preseason rank: N/A

The Huskies are trying to rebound after struggling on both sides of the ice in the beginning of last year's campaign. 

Emma Polusny posted a 2.20 GAA, .934 SV%, and four shutouts, but the team in front of her dragged her down to a 6-10-4 record. Janine Adler was in a similar boat with a 2.42 GAA and .935 SV% but a 2-10-1 record.

What is perhaps most encouraging, however, is the way the Huskies ended the year. They played winning hockey after January, notching a 5-4-3 mark. 

Another upside is Laura Kluge, who led the team with 24 points (7 G, 17 A) as a freshman. But until the rest of the team can keep up and support its goalies and Kluge, the Huskies will take a similar path as 2017-18.

Ohio State Buckeyes

2017-18: 24-11-4

Departures: Julianna Iafallo, Dani Sadek, Lauren Spring, and Liv Halvorson

2018-19 Preseason rank: No. 7

With six of the team’s seven leading scorers returning on the heels of a huge season for the Buckeyes, ranking No. 7 might be pegging the team as an underdog. The Buckeyes posted the most wins in program history, first NCAA tournament bid, and rode it to their first Frozen Four, just one win shy of the title game.

Most wins in program history ✅
5 All-@WCHA_WHockey Accolades ✅
WCHA Coach of the Year ✅
All-American honors ✅
First NCAA Tournament berth ✅
First Frozen Four ✅
Thanks for the support all season, we can't wait to show you what we'll do next... #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/obZzqUT8iv

— Ohio State Women's Hockey (@OhioStateWHKY) March 17, 2018

Even with a young team full of underclassmen, 2018-19 seems to be the Buckeyes’ year to make some noise with eight seniors leading the way.

Wisconsin Badgers

2017-18: 31-5-2

Departures: Claudia Kepler, Baylee Wellhausen, and Lauren Williams

2018-19 Preseason rank: No. 2

Last but certainly not least are the Badgers. After starting the season 16-0, the Badgers were introduced to the loss column for the first time on November 24. With nine 20-point players, led by sophomore Abby Roque’s 41 points, the Badgers were among the deepest teams in all of NCAA hockey.

The departures are huge, but head coach Mark Johnson still has a plethora of talent to utilize with unmatched depth weekly at every position. Goaltender Kristen Campbell played in all 38 games last season, leading to the team’s 31-5-2 record. Campbell posted a 1.19 GAA and .939 SV% with an unbelievable 12 shutouts in 2017-18.

The Badgers also have two returning stars: Canadian Olympian Emily Clark and Annie Pankowski (cut from Team Canada before the Olympics). These two offensive threats will plug the losses from last year.

It’s championship or bust for the Badgers this season as Johnson and the team look to build off a fantastic 2017-18 campaign that ended prematurely.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @Jacob_Messing.