MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin women's hockey team will start the 2017-18 season ranked No. 2 in the USCHO.com Division I Women's Poll, as announced by the web site on Monday.

The Badgers, who received 128 votes in the poll, are coming off a 33-3-4 season which featured UW's sixth WCHA regular-season title and its seventh WCHA tournament crown. Clarkson, the defending NCAA champion, begins the season at No. 1 after receiving 141 votes, including 10 first-place votes.

Fellow WCHA members Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth joined Wisconsin among the top-10 ranked teams in the USCHO.com poll. The Gophers start the season at No. 3, receiving 118 votes and three first-place votes, while the Bulldogs sit at No. 5 in the poll, receiving 87 votes.

UW will also face No. 7 Cornell and No. 8 Northeastern during its non-conference schedule. 

The Badgers were also recently picked to place second behind Minnesota in the WCHA, picking up three first-place votes and 33 overall points in the preseason coaches' poll, just one point behind the Gophers.

UW faces Lindenwood in a two-game series this weekend at LaBahn Arena. Puck drop on Friday is at 7 p.m. while Saturday's game begins at 3 p.m.