Michigan State Men's Hockey Back to No. 1

Michigan State has regained the top spot in both the USCHO.com and USAHockey.com NCAA Division I men's college hockey polls this week after splitting with archrival Michigan, the former No. 1, last weekend. 

MSU garnered 30 of 50 first-place votes in the Feb. 9 USCHO.com poll, and 18 of 34 first-place votes in the corresponding USA Hockey poll. Rounding out the top five in both rankings were Michigan, North Dakota, Western Michigan and Quinnipiac.

MSU fell, 4-3 in overtime, at Michigan last Friday, but rebounded to earn its third consecutive "Duel in the D" trophy with a 6-2 victory the next night in Detroit. The Spartans (22-6-0 overall) return to Big Ten action this weekend against Notre Dame.

Princeton Ranked 20th in Nation

The Princeton University men's hockey team has cracked the USCHO.com Top 20 for the first time in seven seasons.

The Tigers (10-4-0 overall, 6-2-0 ECAC Hockey) have won five consecutive games overall, and have won all eight games at home so far this season at Hobey Baker Rink, Princeton's longest home-opening win streak since the arena opened in 1923. The Tigers are also currently in first place in ECAC Hockey, and were last ranked among the national top 20 NCAA Division I men's teams during the 2018-19 campaign.

In addition, two Tigers were honored by the conference after last weekend's home sweep of Ivy League opponents Harvard and Dartmouth. Senior defenseman Tyler Rubin was named ADAPT Nutrition Defender of the Week award for the second consecutive week after recording three assists in those two outings, while junior goaltender Arthur Smith was tabbed as MAC Goaltending Goalie of the Week after stopping 58 of 64 shots and picking up two wins in his first action since November.

Princeton closes out a five-game homestand this weekend with conference contests against Rensselaer and Union. 

Michigan Takes Over No. 1 National Spot

Michigan took over the top spot in the USCHO.com NCAA Men's Division I hockey poll this week. 

The Wolverines garnered 42 out of a possible 50 first-place votes to move up from No. 2, after sweeping Ohio State over the weekend. Michigan (13-3-0 overall, 6-2-0 Big Ten) has also scored 83 goals over 16 games, and is averaging a nation-high 5.19 goals per outing.

Former No. 1 Michigan State, which had held the top spot the previous five weeks, dropped to third place after being swept by Wisconsin, which itself ascended from No. 7 to No. 2.

Rounding out the top ten were Denver, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota, Western Michigan, Quinnipiac, Penn State and Maine.

MSU Hockey Tops Both Polls Again

Michigan State University remained atop the major NCAA Division I men's hockey polls for a fourth straight week. The Spartans earned all 50 first-place votes in this week's USCHO.com poll, and also again topped the USA Hockey poll while garnering all 34 of those first-place ballots.

No. 1 MSU is coming off a two-step sweep of visiting Big Ten rival Penn State over the weekend, winning by 2-1 and 5-0 scores at Munn Ice Arena. Tiernan Shoudy notched the game-winning goal in overtime in the opener, before Charlie Stramel scored two goals and set up two others in the clincher. Spartan netminder Trey Augustine stopped 60 out of 61 shots against on the weekend, including 36 saves for the shutout in the second contest.

MSU (7-1-0 overall, 2-0-0 Big Ten) returns to conference action on Nov. 14-15 with two games at Notre Dame.

MSU Remains First in Men's Hockey

Michigan State remained in the top spot in the USCHO.com poll for NCAA Division I men's hockey for the second straight week.

The Spartans received 45 out of 50 first-place votes this week after sweeping host Northern Michigan last weekend. Rounding out the top five spots in the poll were Michigan, Western Michigan, Penn State and Boston University.

MSU is now 5-1-0 overall on the 2025-26 season, and returns to action next weekend (Nov. 7-8) with two conference home games at Munn Ice Arena against Big Ten opponent Penn State.

WMU Tops 2025-26 Preseason Polls

Defending national champion Western Michigan University tops the 2025-26 preseason NCAA Division I men's hockey polls at both USCHO.com and collegehockeynews.com. 

USCHO's top ten is rounded out by Boston University, Michigan State, Denver, Penn State, Boston College, Maine, Minnesota, Providence and UConn, all of whom made the NCAA tournament last spring. As for CHN, it's top 10 behind WMU is comprised of Michigan State, BU, Penn State, Maine, Michigan, North Dakota, Quinnipiac, Denver and Arizona State.

WMU, which is seeking to become the first repeat NCAA Division I men's hockey national champion since Minnesota-Duluth did so in 2018 and 2019, officially opens its 2025-26 slate on Oct. 9-10 with a home-and-home series against in-state rival Ferris State.

MSU Retakes No. 1 Spot in Men's Poll

Michigan State University is back atop the NCAA Division I men's hockey poll at USCHO.com. The Spartans, who were idle this past weekend, took over the top spot from Boston College, which lost two of its last three games.

MSU received 23 first-place votes, while BC garnered 11 first-place votes and third-place Western Michigan earned 16 such ballots. Rounding out the top ten were Maine, Minnesota, defending NCAA champion Denver, Ohio State, Beanpot champion Boston University, and Michigan. Meanwhile, Wisconsin held on to the top spot in USCHO's Division I women's poll, while Hobart headlined the Division III men's poll, and Wisconsin-River Falls was first in the Division III women's poll.

MSU, which last held the top spot on Jan. 13, returns to action this weekend with two Big Ten home games against Penn State. 

Denver, Wisconsin Top USCHO Polls

Defending national champion Denver remains atop this week's men's NCAA Division I hockey poll at USCHO.com, followed by Boston College, Boston University, Michigan State and North Dakota in the top five. DU, BU and UND are all undefeated at this point, while BC and MSU split a two-game series in Michigan last weekend.

In USCHO's women's Division I poll, Wisconsin remains in the top slot with a perfect 6-0-0 record, followed by defending national champion Ohio State (5-2-1), Minnesota, Clarkson and Minnesota-Duluth. Clarkson is also 6-0-0 at this point of the season.

Denver Remains Atop National Poll

Defending national champion Denver remained atop this week's USCHO.com NCAA Division I men's hockey poll. The Pioneers opened their 2024-25 campaign with a two-game sweep at former WCHA opponent Alaska Anchorage over the weekend.

Rounding out the top five were Boston College, Boston University, Michigan State and Minnesota. BC opens its season this weekend at MSU, while BU topped Holy Cross in a single game and MSU swept a pair of outings at Lake Superior State. North Dakota, Cornell, Quinnipiac, Wisconsin and Michigan make up the rest of this week's top 10, with only Michigan having played this past weekend in a split with visiting Minnesota State.

Boston College Back to No. 1

For the second time in three weeks, and the fourth time overall during the 2023-24 season, Boston College has been voted the top team in NCAA Division I men's hockey.

The Eagles garnered 34 first-place votes in the USCHO.com poll for Dec. 11 to reclaim the top spot from North Dakota (12-5-1 overall), which was swept at home last weekend by Colorado College. BC (13-3-1) defeated Providence, 5-4, on Dec. 9 in its only game last week, which dropped the opposing Friars (9-5-2) to 10th in the nation.

In second place in this week's poll is Boston University (11-4-1), which picked up eight first-place votes, followed by Quinnipiac, North Dakota and Denver to round out the top five. According to USCHO.com, it is the first time ever that BC and BU have held the top two spots in any national college hockey poll at the same time. BC is now off until Jan. 12, while BU will next play on Dec. 29. 

The poll stands to remain largely unchanged in the next week or so, as most Division I teams are now on break until after Christmas, when annual holiday tournaments will be contested.

Michigan State Sweeps Wisconsin Out of No. 1 Spot

North Dakota is the new No. 1 team in the most recent USCHO.com NCAA Division I men's ice hockey national poll, thanks to Michigan State. 

The Spartans took down last week's No. 1 team, Wisconsin, by 4-2 and 3-2 scores in Big Ten play at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, Mich. last weekend, and became the first team in the nation to reach double digits in wins. MSU is now 10-3-1 overall, and in first place in the Big Ten at 5-0-1, with a two-game trip to conference opponent Minnesota coming up. Wisconsin fell to sixth in the poll, while MSU ascended to seventh.

North Dakota (9-2-1 overall) took over the top spot in the poll after sweeping NCHC rival Miami last week, while Boston College moved up into the second spot after sweeping Hockey East foe UConn. Defending national champion Quinnipiac (9-3-1) is third overall, but may tumble from that position in next week's poll after a 3-2 loss at No. 5 Boston University (9-3-1) tonight.

Wisconsin No. 1 in Men's Hockey Polls

Despite not playing this past weekend, Wisconsin is the new number one team in this week's USCHO.com NCAA Division I men's hockey poll. The Badgers are also first overall in the most recent USA Hockey/The Rink Live Poll. 

Wisconsin, who is 9-1-0 overall under new head coach Mike Hastings, and previously swept former No. 1 Minnesota this season, garnered 32 out of 50 first-place votes in the Nov. 13 USCHO poll to move up from third place the week before. The Badgers also earned 28 of 34 first-place votes in this week's USA Hockey/The Rink Live Poll, and it's the first time since the fall of 2006, when it was the defending NCAA champion, that Wisconsin has been ranked first overall in either poll.

Rounding out the USCHO.com top five this week are North Dakota (7-2-1), Denver (7-2-1), Boston College (7-2-1) and Providence (8-1-2), while the USA/Rink poll listed Denver, BC, North Dakota and Providence sequentially. BC fell from the top spot in both polls after two weeks, following a loss and a tie at Hockey East rival Maine last weekend.

Wisconsin returns to action this weekend with two games at No. 11 Michigan State in Big Ten play.

Boston College No. 1 in the Nation

Following a two-step sweep of eighth-ranked Michigan State, Boston College is the new top team in the USCHO.com poll for NCAA Division I men's hockey.

The Eagles garnered 36 first-place votes in raising their overall record this season to 5-1-0, after former No. 1 school Minnesota was swept by No. 14 Wisconsin last weekend. It is the first time that BC has been ranked first overall since March 15, 2021. Denver, North Dakota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Providence, Quinnipiac, Boston University and Cornell round out this week's top ten.

BC opens Hockey East conference play this weekend in a home-and-home series against UMass Lowell.

ADDENDUM: The Eagles improved to 6-1-0 with a 3-2 win over UML on Friday night at Kelley Rink. Freshman defenseman Aram Minnetian notched the game-winning goal for BC, which added a second 3-2 victory Saturday night in Lowell as freshman forward Gabe Perreault recorded three assists. 

Viccisitudes of NCAA's Top 10 Teams

Most of the top-rated teams in men's Division I college hockey experienced highs and lows over the weekend.

Top-ranked Minnesota split a two-game series at No. 5 North Dakota, while No. 4 Quinnipiac, the defending NCAA champion, did likewise at New Hampshire. No. 2 Denver fell at Providence on Friday before edging No. 3 Boston College, which had beaten Rensselaer the previous night, on Saturday. 

No. 6 Boston University split at Notre Dame, and No. 7 Michigan defeated and tied visiting No. 13 Ohio State. No. 8 Michigan State swept visiting Canisius, while Western Michigan doubled up Bowling Green in a home-and-home series, and No. 10 Providence finished up its home victory over Denver with another over Rensselaer.

Scout Truman (UMass Lowell) and Chad Hillebrand (Western Michigan) led all scorers over the weekend, with six points on six assists apiece, while 6-foot-7 netminder Michael Hrabel (UMass) went 2-0-0 with a .952 save percentage and a shutout in the host Minutemen's two-step sweep of No. 19 Minnesota State.

Minnesota is No. 1 in this week's USCHO.com poll, followed in order by Denver, BC, North Dakota, Quinnipiac, Michigan, Providence, Michigan State, BU and WMU. Rutger McGroarty (Michigan) leads all Division I scorers with 11 points in six games, while Kyle McClellan (Wisconsin) has fashioned a 5-1-0 record in net to go with a .935 save percentage.

SCSU No. 1 in USCHO Poll for 01/23/23

St. Cloud State has taken over the top spot in the most recent USCHO Division I Men's NCAA Hockey Poll, dated Jan. 23. The Huskies, who stand at 18-6-0 overall, garnered 33 first-place votes, and moved up from fourth place after sweeping NCHC foe Denver the prior week.

Second place stayed with Minnesota, which split with Big Ten rival Michigan over the weekend. The Golden Gophers, who gained 13 first-place votes, are 18-7-1 overall.

Quinnipiac (18-3-3) fell from first place to third after suffering ECAC Hockey losses to Cornell and Colgate, its first losses in conference play for the 2022-23 campaign. The Bobcats still earned a pair of first-place votes.

Up from fifth place to fourth is Boston University (17-6-0), which picked up two first-place votes after sweeping Hockey East opponent Maine. The Terriers have won four straight games, and seven of their last eight outings.

Rounding out the top 10 were Denver, Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, Western Michigan and Harvard. Places 11-20 went to Cornell, UConn, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, Michigan State, Merrimack, Providence, UMass Lowell, RIT and northeastern.

The next USCHO.com poll drops on Jan. 30.

Denver Regains Top Spot in DCU/USCHO.com National Poll

 

The DCU/USCHO.com Division I Men's Hockey Poll from Nov. 14, 2022 (place, number of first-place votes, team record):

1 Denver     (44) 9-3-0

2 Minnesota    (5) 8-4-0

3 Michigan 9-3-0

4 St. Cloud 9-3-0

5 Quinnipiac 7-1-2

6 Penn State    (1) 10-2-0

7 Connecticut 9-1-3

8 Minnesota State         7-3-0

9 Providence 6-2-3

10 Harvard         6-0-0

11 Boston University 6-3-0

12 Ohio State 7-4-1

13 UMass Lowell         7-3-0

14 Western Michigan 8-5-0

15 Merrimack 8-3-0

16 Massachusetts         5-5-1

17 Michigan State         8-3-1

18 Northeastern         6-3-3

19 North Dakota         4-5-2

20 Notre Dame 5-5-2

Defending NCAA champion Denver returns to the top spot it occupied earlier this year, while Michigan State has cracked the top 20 for the first time in several years.

Shortridge Signs with San Jose Sharks

Andrew Shortridge (Quinnipiac) will not be returning to an NCAA net. The junior goaltender, who backstopped the Bobcats to the ECAC Hockey regular-season title and the NCAA Tournament this year, has passed on his final season of college eligibility to sign an entry-level contract with the NHL's San Jose Sharks, according to USCHO.com. He is expected to report to the AHL's San Jose Barracuda.

The Anchorage, Alaska native, who started the 2018-19 season as a backup but later emerged as Quinnipiac's No.1 netminder, went 18-7-2 with four shutouts in 27 games this past season, and was
among the national leaders with a 1.51 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage. In three campaigns in Hamden, Conn., he finished 42-26-4 with 10 shutouts in 78 appearances (1.97, .923).

Shortridge, 23, who prepped with Vernon (BCHL) prior to enrolling at Quinnipiac, finished his collegiate career this past weekend at the 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional in Allentown,
Pa. The 6-foot-4 goaltender made 20 saves in a 2-1 semifinal win over Arizona State, and then posted 23 stops (one empty-net goal against) in a 3-1 regional final loss to defending NCAA champion Minnesota Duluth in his Quinnipiac finale.

Eagles Still Winless Headed into November

Boston College men's hockey is off to an 0-4-0 start for the first time in almost 80 years.

The Eagles dropped their fourth straight contest of the nascent 2017-18 NCAA campaign to St. Cloud State, 7-0, in BC's home opener at Conte Forum on Oct. 26. Prior to that, BC recorded losses at Wisconsin (0-3, 5-7) on Oct. 12-13, and at Quinnipiac (0-1) on Oct. 19. An 8-1 exhibition victory against visiting Canadian university New Brunswick on Oct. 6 will not count in the Eagles' official record and statistics.

It is the Eagles' worst start to a hockey season since the 1937-38 squad lost its first five games. BC has also not recorded an out-of-conference victory in NCAA play since besting visiting Arizona State, 3-1, in Nov. 2016.

Junior forward David Cotton leads the Eagles to date with three goals and one assist for four points, with all three of his goals coming in the 7-5 setback at Wisconsin. Junior goaltender Joseph Woll has gone 0-4-0 in net with a 3.71 goals-against average and an .867 save percentage in stopping 85 of 98 shots over 210 minutes played. As a whole, BC currently ranks 56th overall in NCAA Division I scoring (1.25 goals per game), 53rd in team defense (4.50 goals against per game), 42nd on the power play (2-of-13, 15.4 percent) and 21st on the penalty kill (11-of-13, 84.6 percent), according to USCHO.com.

BC will try to get on track this weekend with its first Hockey East conference games this year, a home-and-home series with Merrimack on Nov. 2-3.

Largen Takes Over Hometown Nanooks

My latest USCHO feature story, on new Alaska (Fairbanks) head coach and Nanook alumnus Erik Largen, is now online here. Fairbanks native Largen, a former UAF goaltender and assistant coach, is the ninth head coach in modern Nanook Hockey history.

Spotlighting NHL's Anders Lee

My latest feature story for USCHO.com, on former Notre Dame scoring star and current New York Islanders left wing Anders Lee, is now online and can be found here.

A native of Minnesota, Lee scored 61 goals in three NCAA campaigns with the Fighting Irish before turning pro in 2013. He has led the Islanders in goals the last two seasons, and hit the 40-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career in New York's season finale on April 7 in Detroit.

Lee will next play for Team USA at the 2018 IIHF World Championship in Denmark starting Friday.