MADISON, Wis. – The Yellowjacket women's hockey team was slated to finish in third place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) preseason poll, the conference revealed in an announcement Thursday.
 
The Falcons of UW-River Falls sit atop the standings with 35 points after securing a 31-0 overall record last season. UW-Eau Claire sits in second with 28 points.
 
UW-Superior returns 16 letterwinners from the 2023-24 season, including All-WIAC honorees in Cora Coz (Elk River, Minn./Elk River), Lucy Drougas (Superior, Wis./Superior), Jenna Hoops (Woodbury, Minn./Visitation School), Darbie Mattson (Atikokan, Ontario/Atikokan) and Ashton Parnell (Cambridge, Minn./Cambridge-Isanti). UW-Superior also welcomes their sixth coach in the program's history in Bre Simon.
 
Coz skated in 26-of-27 games last year, scoring five goals and adding nine assists for 14 points while adding 23 blocks. Drougas saw action in every game in the 2023-24 campaign, scoring a goal and notching five assists for six points from the blue line. Hoops led the team in goals with eight, adding three assists while firing 88 total shots. Mattson sat atop the Yellowjacket backline with 26 blocks while Parnell led the 'Jackets with 16 points, coming off seven goals and nine assists.
 
Rounding out the conference standings in fourth and fifth place are UW-Stevens Point and Northland with 10 and two points, respectively.
 
The Yellowjackets commence the 2024-25 regular season Friday, Nov. 1, taking on Lake Forest. The opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. inside the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse.