10 College Hockey Teams We Wonder If They're Done or Just Getting Started? Puck Drop

It's February. Young players have developed into veterans. Winning and losing streaks are more noticeable and notable. The postseason looms large, just a few short weeks away.

However, all over college hockey, fans are having a hard time making heads of tails of their team's chances at winning, well, anything. That includes the regular-season league title, the subsequent postseason tournament, or more. Sure, there are a few squads that are essentially locks for the NCAA Tournament, but they're vastly outnumbered by those on the next tier of teams, who's expectations are all over the place.

Are they for real? Did the peak too soon? Is it too little, too late? Do we really have a realistic chance? Is it time to write them off?

Here are 10 of those teams, in alphabetical order, none of which are leading their conference, but all still have the NCAA Tournament within reach, although in a couple of cases just barely. In terms of the the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index they're between eight and 24 except for two that w're going to include as longshots who pretty much need a perfect month. They replace a pair of Huskies: St. Cloud State before it was swept by Miami over the weekend, and Northeastern, which has lost eight out of its last 10.

Arizona State: It wasn’t surprising that North Dakota coach Dane Jackson told his players in the locker room that they went to UND for the hockey to get better, and the Sun Devils wanted things easier and played that way (with some colorful words mixed in). However, it was shocking that the school posted it on social media. How did ASU react? It split games at Colorado College. Barring something extreme it's time to stick a fork in Sun Devils (pun intended).

Boston University: The Terriers have a ridiculous amount of talent with 19 players who have been drafted, the most in college hockey this season, yet they’re 12-13-1 overall, 8-10 in Hockey East. BU has lost three straight, and four out of five, but six of its losses have been by one goal. Could a good showing at Beanpot spark this team into a postseason run? Otherwise, we're at a loss.

Dartmouth: The Big Green went from being the last undefeated team at 11-0 and getting a lot of bounces, to hardly getting any at all while taking six losses since late December. Last weekend appeared to be good tonic for Dartmouth, which won at home against Union and RPI to reclaim the top spot in the ECAC, but only by a point over Cornell and Quinnipiac and they both have an extra game to play. Friday's visit to Harvard could tell us a lot about where this team is at.

Harvard: The Crimson is 12-8-1 this season, 10-5 in ECAC. It endured a stretch of six losses in seven games, but heads into Beanpot having won five of six, with the lone loss 4-1 at then-No. 12 Cornell. Despite the yo-yo season, Harvard is just three points out of first place in the standings, with the huge game against Dartmouth on Friday.

Maine: Well, the Black Bears can’t be called boring at least. Last Saturday, Providence got a last-second goal and then won in overtime at Alfond Arena. In its previous game Maine blew a three-goal lead as Lowell scored five unanswered goals, before the Black Bears came back and won in overtime. Overall, they've had six overtime games, which is probably how their season will eventually come to an end.

Massachusetts: Winning seven straight while climbing out of the Hockey East cellar and all the way to third place in the league standings has been impressive. However, every team the Minutemen have played since Winter Break is below .500 in league play. If anything, UMass is dangerous postseason team because of its goaltending, but we're not ready to say they're for real — yet.

Minnesota: Just when you thought they were toast, the Gophers played Michigan State tough and then swept rival Wisconsin at home. It's a talented young team that might finally be clicking. UM has Ohio State, at Notre Dame, at Michigan and Michigan State to go. If Minnesota (10-16-1 overall, 6-10 Big Ten) can get can get to .500, or even close, it'll be a team that no one wants to face in the Big Ten Tournament.

Minnesota Duluth: Remember the scene in the movie "Bull Durham" in which the emotionally-drained players badly needed a break and one of them essentially wished for a rainout (which Kevin Costner's character provded)? The Bulldogs could probably use one after losing four straight games to Western Michigan and Denver, all by one goal. Next up? North Dakota, of course.

Minnesota State: We all knew that goaltender Alex Tracy would be the key to the season, and with a 2.02 goals-against-average he hasn’t disappointed. The Mavericks (15-8-5 overall, 11-6-3 CCHA) are on an upswing with three straight wins, yet have three teams ahead of them in the standings and only six league games remaining. MSU is off this weekend, and if can't get some help while idle it'll be time to start focussing on the conference tournament.

Wisconsin: The Badgers might be the perfect example of peaked too soon. After climbing all the way to No. 2 in the national rankings they’ve been swept by Michigan State, Penn State and rival Minnesota, and outscored by a combined 29-11. Consequently, UW is firmly on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, and on the wrong side if any surprise teams win their conference tournament (which pretty much always happens). It has Notre Dame and Ohio State up next, but then closes against Michigan and Penn State.

• There's a New Team Atop Power Rankings Heading into 1 vs. 2 Showdown

Puck Drop: Monday, February 2, 2026

• Jack Musa had a four-point game with three goals and an assist as Massachusetts won its seventh straight with 6-4 victory over Lowell at the Tsongas Center. The River Hawks finished with a 31-25 shot advantage, but Michael Hrabal made 27 saves to improve to 13-6 on the season. The teams will play a third straight time on Friday night at Lowell.

• Penn State's successful outdoor hockey games was even more impressive considering it came on the heels of one of the largest Northeast snowstorms in years. For example, Inside the Lions reported that the school utilized snow blowers all day last Sunday to clear the rink, and it closed the upper North area of the stadium and moved people who purchased tickets there to other locations.

• If you missed out on the Bruins-Lightning game, it was definitely one that former Maine goaltender Jeremy Swayman will never forget, and we're not talking about Boston blowing a 5-1 lead:

STADIUM SERIES GOALIE FIGHT 😱 pic.twitter.com/ntCWlmmr25
— ESPN (@espn) February 2, 2026

Men's College Hockey Sunday Score

Hockey East
Massachusetts 6, UMass Lowell 4

Women's College Hockey Sunday Score

Hockey East
Boston College 5, Maine 4 (OT)

• Sammy Taber's Overtime Winner Salvages Weekend for Boston College Women’s Hockey

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.

Men's College Hockey Monday Schedule

Beanpot (at TD Garden, Boston, Mass.)
Boston College vs. Harvard, NESN, 5 p.m. ET
Boston University vs. Northeastern, NESN, p.m. ET

• Beanpot Preview

• Beanpot: How to Watch

Women's College Hockey Monday Schedule

No Games Scheduled

Hockey Quote of the Day

“He was magic to play with … He was, in my opinion, and is the greatest Ranger of all time.”
Mark Messier on Brian Leetch

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We'll Leave You With This ...

Hockey Night in Canada pays tribute to Catherine O'Hara 🕊️❤️ pic.twitter.com/UwrAtrGt3a
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 1, 2026