3 Series This Week That Could Hugely Impact College Hockey Season: Puck Drop
It’s an interesting weekend in men’s college hockey in that there isn’t that marquee matchup that makes you pause and take notice like they have on the women’s side with No. 3 Ohio State at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth. It wasn’t planned that way, of course, as Penn State at Minnesota will be shown on FS1 on Friday night, but to say that the Gophers haven’t lived up to expectations would be a huge understatement.
So what’s the best matchup this weekend? If you go by this week’s poll, there’s two in which the teams are ranked right next to each other: No. 20 Union, which is ranked for the first time since 2019, is at No. 19 Cornell on Friday, and No. 17 Massachusetts and No. 16 Providence are doing a home-and-home on Thursday and Saturday.
However, between the Big Ten, Hockey East and NCHC conferences there’s only one series that doesn’t include at least one ranked team (St. Cloud State at Miami). The Big Ten has been getting most of the attention this season, but every Hockey East series except one is between two ranked teams, and every NCHC team is at least listed among those receiving votes for the rankings.
With all that in mind, here are the three biggest series on the ice this week:
1. No. 7 Wisconsin at No. 1 Michigan State
If there’s a surprise about the Spartans it’s that last weekend’s 4-1 and 3-1 wins against Notre Dame made up first Michigan State’s first six-point sweep in conference play this season. Granted, it was only MSU’s second Big Ten opponent, but it needed overtime to in the first game against Penn State — and it also needed an overtime in one of the games against then-No. 1 Boston University. The Spartans have still won nine straight, including four against top-three opponents. Meanwhile, are the Badgers serious contenders in the Big Ten, can they keep up with the three teams currently ranked in the top five? We might find out this weekend.
2. No. 10 Maine at No. 15 Boston College
It’s always a huge series, regardless of the rankings. Both teams are 4-2 in league play and a sweep could position one of them to soon take over the top of the standings (from UConn). Maine got a big sweep against Boston University only to turn around and split two series, against UMass and Vermont — teams that Boston College just swept. The Black Bears are also just 1-2-1 on the road. The Eagles have played better since getting swept by Northeastern in a home-and-home, but have they turned the corner?
3. No. 12 Northeastern vs. No. 18 Boston University
The Terriers have won just three their last 10 games, two of which were against Merrimack and the other against now-No. 11 UConn, while falling to 5-6-1 on the season. It also only played one game last weekend, which was a dud at No. 9 Quinnipiac, a 6-2 loss that one has to think was a bit of a wakeup call. Boston University has only three games remaining in November, and three in December, half of which are against Northeastern beginning with this home-and-home. The Huskies could be its toughest opponent until they play a final time in the regular season on Feb. 2 in the 2026 Beanpot . Meanwhile, Northeastern saw its five-game winning streak snapped during a sweep against Connecticut last weekend. Similarly, BU may be the toughest opponent Northeastern will face until February. Will one of these teams relaunch itself into the upper echelon of Hockey East, or will they pull each other down into the bottom of the standings?
SEE ALSO: 5 Biggest Surprises in College Hockey This Season and Latest Rankings
Puck Drop: Tuesday, November 18, 2025
• Former Michigan defenseman Ethan Edwards was recalled from Utica (AHL) by the New Jersey Devils when Cody Glass (upper body) was placed on injured reserve.
• Speaking of the Wolverines, check out Kent Johnson's shootout goal against Montreal, a 4-3 victory for Columbus:
FILTHY WORK BY KENT JOHNSON 🤮
— BET99 Ontario (@BET99ON) November 18, 2025
pic.twitter.com/o9ld5wbYTO
• Former Boston University captain Shane Lachance made his NHL debut with the Devils on Saturday, on the same week that his grandfather, former Terriers head coach Jack Parker was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
• PuckPreps reported that forward Masun Fleece has de-committed from Penn State, and has re-opened his recruitment. Fleece has 14 goals and 23 points in 18 games for Dubuque (USHL) this season.
• Former Michigan State defenseman Jeff Petry became the sixth Spartan to play in 1,000 NHL games when the Florida Panthers defeated the Vancouver Canucks 8-5.
A milestone made even better 🥹
— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) November 18, 2025
Tonight's lineup read brought to you by the Petry kids! pic.twitter.com/5zCvio5uFv
Monday's Scores
No Games Scheduled
Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.
Tuesday's Schedule
MEN
AHA
RIT at Niagara, 7 p.m. ET
Non-Conference
Alaska-Anchorage at Stonehill, 7 p.m. ET
WOMEN
NEWHA
Sacred Heart at Post, 1 p.m. ET
This Date in Hockey History:
November 18, 1911: Roger Jenkins, who during the 1934 Stanley Cup championship victory parade carted Blackhawks goaltender Charlie Gardiner around the Chicago Loop in a wheelbarrow due to a pre-playoff bet, was born in Appleton, Wisc.
November 18, 1926: The Detroit Cougars, who became the Red Wings in 1932, made their NHL debut with a 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins. For the first season the team played their home games at Border Cities Arena in Windsor, Ontario.
November 18, 1965: Merrimack defenseman Bob Jay was born in Burlington, Mass.
November 18, 1970: Groundbreaking ceremony took place for St. Paul Civic Center in downtown St. Paul. The $14.5 million facility was built just west of the St. Paul Auditorium.
November 18, 1978: Former University of Minnesota coach Glen Sonmor took over as the Minnesota North Stars' head coach, replacing Harry Howell.
November 18, 1980: Hall of Fame owner Conn Smythe, who won eight Stanley Cups, died of heart failure in Toronto. He was 85.
November 18, 1986: Former UMD defenseman Tom Kurvers was traded from Montreal to Buffalo in exchanged for a 1988 second-round draft pick.
November 18, 1997: Providence defenseman Jacob Bryson was born in London, Ontario.
November 18, 1997: Former Wisconsin defenseman Sean Hill was traded by the Ottawa Senators to Carolina in exchange for right wing Chris Murray.
November 18, 1999: The Minnesota Wild unveiled its new logo and jersey.
November 18, 2000: Former Boston College defenseman Brian Leetch had a goal and two assists during a 5-4 victory over Calgary. The assists gave him 616, surpassing Rob Gilbert for the most in New York Rangers history.
November 18, 2005, Phoenix traded former Wisconsin defenseman David Tanabe to Boston for center Dave Scatchard.
November 18, 2021: Former UMD defenseman Justin Faulk played in his 700th career NHL game as St. Louis defeated San Jose 4-1.
November 18, 2021: Former Boston University forward Clayton Keller scored his 200th point in just 309 games, becoming the fastest to do so since former Terriers forward Keith Tkachuk in 238 games in 1995-96.
Hockey Quote of the Day
"In the big games, in our games against Minnesota and the hard games we had against Duluth, she was always at her best because her competitiveness at both sides of the rink were really high and that's when she shined."Mark Johnson on Brianna Decker
We'll Leave You With This ...
We're not the only ones excited for Jeff Petry's 1,000th game 🥹
— NHL (@NHL) November 17, 2025
(🎥: IG/petryjules) pic.twitter.com/E1Z1h6kCj8
Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of Alabama Crimson Tide On SI, which first published as BamaCentral in 2018, and is also the publisher of the Boston College, Missouri and Vanderbilt sites . He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004 and is the author of 27 books including “100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die” and “Nick Saban vs. College Football.” He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.
Follow BamaCentral