Previewing the WCHA and NEWHA, plus a look at the season's early weeks

This week's edition of the PodKaz from USCHO.com features the last two segments as hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski look around at each of the five NCAA women's hockey conference at the start of the 2025-26 season.Defending NCAA champion Wisconsin is the coaches' favorite in the WCHA, but how much with absences for the Olympics mean to the Badgers' chase of a repeat?In NEWHA, Sacred Heart was picked to finish first after it won the playoff championship against Long Island and made its first NCAA tournament appearance.Then Nicole and Todd reflect on the first weekend of the season and look ahead to a top-10 nonconference series in the weekend ahead.The PodKaz is a production of USCHO.com. Have a question for us? Reach out to Nicole (@NicoleHaase) or Todd (@ToddMilewski) on social media or email [email protected].