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Defending national champion Wisconsin earned the No. 1 ranking in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live women's hockey preseason poll on Tuesday.

The Badgers earned 284 points including 18 first-place votes. Last year's runner-up, Ohio State, was a close second with 267 points and one first-place vote.

The Rink Live's Sydney Wolf breaks down the poll:

It makes sense to put reigning national champion Wisconsin at the top, considering that its top three scorers in Casey O'Brien, Britta Curl, and Lacey Eden are all returning, alongside freshman phenom defender, Caroline Harvey, who potted almost a point-per-game in her rookie season.

Starting goaltender Cami Kronish is out of eligibility though, so it seems likely that Jane Gervais (redshirt-Junior) will snag the starting netminder position this upcoming year for the Badgers.

Ohio State is a solid pick at No. 2 if you take a look at all of the talent it is bringing in through the transfer portal. The Buckeyes won the national championship in 2022 and were the runner-ups in 2023, and it doesn't look like they are going anywhere anytime soon.

The Buckeyes bring in six star-studded transfers in forwards Kelsey King (Minnesota State), Hannah Bilka (Boston College), Olivia Mobley (Quinnipiac), and Kiara Zanon (Penn State), along with defenders Cayla Barnes (Boston College) and Steph Markowski (Clarkson). It also brings in four very talented freshman, so Ohio State will definitely be a force to be reckoned with in 2023.

Minnesota and Colgate are both placed correctly in the top-five in this first poll. Although the Golden Gophers lose players like Taylor Heise and Grace Zumwinkle, among others, it also brings in a very good freshman class that could keep Minnesota as a top team if they adapt to the college game quickly. They also retain starting goaltender Skylar Vetter in net, who had a .926 save percentage in '22-23.

Don't underestimate Colgate, because they return dangerous forward Danielle Serdachny for her fifth year and they also keep almost every top skater and goaltender in their lineup for 2023-24.

Northeastern rounds out the top-five in the poll as the only non-WCHA team to make the Frozen Four in 2023. It's a bit of a bold prediction though, since the top-three point producers of Alina Müller, Chloé Aurard, and Maureen Murphy have all departed the program. It still has talented goaltender Gwyneth Phillips for the upcoming year though, and she will definitely give the Huskies a chance to be at the top.

USA Hockey/The Rink Live women's hockey preseason poll

1. Wisconsin, 284 (18)

2. Ohio State, 267 (1)

3. Minnesota, 237

4. Colgate, 229

5. Northeastern, 199

6. Yale, 186

7. Minnesota Duluth, 178

8. Quinnipiac, 153

9. Clarkson, 118

10. Cornell, 104

11. Penn State, 89

12. Vermont, 69

13. St. Cloud State, 59

14. Providence, 48

15. Princeton, 21

Others receiving votes: Boston College, 10; UConn, 8; Mercyhurst, 8; St. Lawrence, 6; Minnesota State, 6; Long Island University, 1.