Looking ahead to the Olympics, another meeting between No. 1 and No. 2

The Olympics women's hockey tournament starts Thursday, and this edition of the PodKaz from USCHO.com starts to break down what to expect from the U.S., Canada and other countries.

In NCAA hockey, No. 3 Minnesota overcame the absence of top scorers to beat No. 1 Wisconsin in overtime last Friday but the Badgers did the same a day later for a 6-1 victory in Minneapolis.

No. 2 Ohio State started its Olympic absence period by dropping four goals on No. 9 Minnesota Duluth in the first 20 minutes of its series en route to a sweep.

ECAC Hockey continued to be unpredictable: No. 5 Quinnipiac entered last weekend on a seven-game winning streak, then lost to No. 11 Clarkson and St. Lawrence. Clarkson couldn't get a much-needed weekend sweep, however, losing to No. 8 Princeton.

No. 6 Northeastern got the better of No. 13 Holy Cross in a Hockey East series, and No. 4 Penn State won an outdoor game to launch a sweep of Robert Morris.

This week's top series is No. 1 Wisconsin hosting No. 2 Ohio State in a rematch of the last three NCAA championship games.

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 [e-mail].