Wisconsin women's hockey is unanimous No. 1, while men's team looks to bounce back

The Badgers have the best women's hockey team in the country.

Wisconsin's Casey O'Brien (26) jumps for joy as Lacey Eden (6) closes in for a hug after O'Brien scored during the third period against Ohio State Saturday February 24, 2024 at La Bahn Arena in Madison, Wisconsin. / Mark Stewart / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Last weekend was the first time this season that Wisconsin's men's and women's hockey teams both played regular season games. The women's team remained dominant with a sweep of Minnesota Dululth, while the men's team split their season-opening series against Lindenwood.

The Badgers women's team entered the week as the No. 1 ranked team in the country, but Minnesota received one No. 1 vote in last week's USCHO.com Poll. After taking down Minnesota Duluth 5-1 and 7-3 over the weekend, Wisconsin was the unanimous No. 1 team in this week's USCHO.com Poll.

This week’s USCHO,com Division I Women’s Poll is here! pic.twitter.com/1OyL4Xc96N

— USCHO.com (@USCHO) October 14, 2024

Head coach Mark Johnson and the Badgers will face their first real test of the season on the road against the No. 3 ranked Gophers this weekend.

It was a different story for the men's team, who began its season with an upset loss at home to unranked Lindenwood. The Badgers responded with an OT win in the second game of the series. They began the season ranked No. 9 in the USCHO.com Poll, but that dropped all the way to No. 16 after the weekend.

This week’s USCHO,com Division I Men’s Poll is here! pic.twitter.com/g72lXXlMQ2

— USCHO.com (@USCHO) October 14, 2024

In the computerized PairWise Rankings, which the NCAA uses to seed teams in the postseason, Wisconsin has fallen all the way down to No. 54. There are only three teams that have played a game ranked below them.

They will get a chance to bounce back this weekend at home against Ohio State, who is unranked in the USCHO.com Poll, but ranked No. 47 in the PairWise.