The reigning NCAA Division III back-to-back national champion UW-River Falls women's hockey team is set to open the 2025-26 season during the first week of November, scheduled for a pair of road games at Saint Benedict and Augsburg before hosting St. Scholastica on Saturday, Nov. 8 for the home opener at Hunt Arena.
UWRF, who enters the season ranked No. 1 in the USCHO preseason poll, is coming off a 26-3-2 (11-0-1 WIAC) national title run last season, the program's second national championship in a row after defeating Amherst College 3-1 on March 30, 2025 at Hunt Arena.
The Falcons were also picked first in the WIAC women's hockey preseason poll, winning last year's WIAC regular season championship for the fifth straight year and 11th time overall, as well as the O'Brien Cup for the sixth consecutive year and 10th time overall.
UW-RIVER FALLS (0-0, 0-0 WIAC) AT SAINT BENEDICT (0-0, 0-0 MIAC)
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 4
Time: 6 p.m.
Site: St. Cloud, Minn. // Ritsche Arena
Live Coverage: Watch //
Stats
UW-RIVER FALLS (0-0, 0-0 WIAC) AT AUGSBURG (0-0, 0-0 MIAC)
Date: Friday, Nov. 7
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Minneapolis, Minn. // Hunt Arena
Live Coverage: Watch //
Stats
UW-RIVER FALLS (0-0, 0-0 WIAC) VS. ST. SCHOLASTICA (0-0, 0-0 MIAC)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 8
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Site: River Falls, Wis. // Hunt Arena
Live Coverage: Watch //
Stats //
Tickets
ONLINE TICKETING
- Admission to all UWRF women's hockey home games for the 2025-26 season will be sold exclusively online.
FALCON NOTES
- The Falcons open the season ranked No. 1 by USCHO and No.1 by DIII Hockey News in the opening DIII women's hockey polls.
- UWRF returns 19 letterwinners from last year's national championship roster, including All-Americans MaKenna Aure, Megan Goodreau, and Jordan O'Kane, along with All-WIAC honorees Kylie Jones (2025 WIAC Newcomer of the Year), Madison Kadrlik, and Kaitlyn Ronn.
- Joe Cranston enters his 27th season at the helm of the program. He was last year's WIAC Coach of the Year and the AHCA National Coach of the Year in 2024, and currently ranks third all-time in DIII women's hockey coaching history with 518 career wins.
