Wisconsin, Ohio State end up where they started; Olympics near knockout round

The PodKaz for Feb. 20, 2026, has hosts Nicole Haase and Todd Milewski looking back on a series split between No. 1 Wisconsin and No. 2 Ohio State last weekend in Madison. The Buckeyes looked great at the start but the Badgers rebounded like they have so well over the last few seasons.

The race for the ECAC Hockey championship is coming down to the final weekend of the regular season. The top six teams are separated by 6½ points, with first-place Princeton leading Yale by two points. The Tigers missed a chance to stretch their lead by losing to Harvard on Saturday.

Holy Cross had a rough week in Hockey East, losing to Boston College and New Hampshire to extend its winless skid to four games. Northeastern and UConn needed overtime to get past Vermont and Providence, respectively.

The NEWHA chase tightened up with Saint Anselm losing in overtime twice at Long Island, leaving the door open for Franklin Pierce and Assumption to close in.

We also look at the Olympics, where the U.S. and Canada are set to meet in preliminary-round play Tuesday.

And we finish up with a glance at some of the important clashes ahead in NCAA women's hockey, including meetings between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Minnesota and the ECAC Hockey slate.

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].