A Look at Which College Hockey Teams are on the Ice This Week: Puck Drop
It's an odd week in college hockey. Some teams are off, having already played their final games of 2025. Students are taking finals, and many of the top program have their attention elsewhere as their players and coaches are gearing up for international events like the upcoming IIHF World Junior Championship that will be played in the Twin Cities beginning Dec. 26.
It's even more extreme on the women's side. After two games on Friday, and another two on Saturday, the schedule is empty until Dec. 30. In the meantime, there's the the final two games of the 2025-26 Rivalry Series vs. Canada in Edmonton on Wednesday and Saturday, part of the sport's lead-up to the 2026 Winter Olympics.
So who's playing this week, and weekend? Actually, quite a few teams.
The NCHC will have four weekend series, all including one ranked team. For example, No. 19 Colorado College is visiting Miami, which finally returns home after going from playing in the Friendship Four in Northern Ireland, to getting swept at Denver and falling out of the rankings. It'll be interesting to see how the Redhawks might bounce back.
The CCHA has three weekend series, highlighted by No. 14 Minnesota State at Augustana, and the league's top two goaltenders. Alex Tracy has a 1.811 goals against average for the Mavericks, while Josh Kotai is right behind him at 1.99.
Hockey East will have a smattering of games including the week's lone match up between ranked teams with No. 20 Boston University at No. 11 Northeastern on Saturday. Sunday will feature the annual state championship of New Hampshire when UNH hosts No. 8 Dartmouth, which is still undefeated at 10-0. The Wildcats are coming off a weekend sweep at rival Maine.
Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.
This Week's College Hockey Schedule
MEN
Tuesday's Games
Non-Conference
No. 16 Providence at Brown, 7 p.m. ET
Wednesday's Games
Hockey East
UMass Lowell at No. 15 Maine, 7 p.m. ET
Exhibition
Maryville at Alaska-Anchorage, 7 p.m. AT
Friday's Games
CCHA
Michigan Tech at Ferris State, 7:07 ET
St. Thomas at Northern Michigan, 7:07 ET
No. 14 Minnesota State at Augustana, 7:07 CT
NCHC
Arizona State at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, 7 p.m. CT
No. 6 Denver at St. Cloud State, 7 p.m. CT
No. 19 Colorado College at Miami, 7:05 ET
Omaha at No. 4 North Dakota, 7:07 CT
Non-Conference
Army at No. 8 Dartmouth, 7 p.m. ET
Yale at Merrimack, 7 p.m. ET
Alaska at Union, 7 p.m. ET
Exhibition
US Under-18 at St. Lawrence, 6 p.m. ET
Saturday's Games
CCHA
Michigan Tech at Ferris State, 6 ET
St. Thomas at Northern Michigan, 6 ET
No. 14 Minnesota State at Augustana, 6 CT
Hockey East
No. 20 Boston University at No. 11 Northeastern, NESN, 7 p.m. ET
NCHC
Arizona State at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth, 5 p.m. CT
No. 6 Denver at St. Cloud State, 6 p.m. CT
No. 19 Colorado College at Miami, 6:05 ET
Omaha at No. 4 North Dakota, 6:07 CT
Non-Conference
Alaska at Union, 5 p.m. ET
Army at Vermont, 6 p.m. ET
Long Island at Merrimack, 6 p.m. ET
Lindenwood at No. 15 Maine, 6:30 ET
Exhibition
US Under-18 at Clarkson, 2 p.m. ET
Sunday's Games
Non-Conference
Lindenwood at No. 15 Maine, 4 p.m. ET
No. 8 Dartmouth at New Hampshire, 4 p.m. ET
WOMEN
Friday's Games
Non-Conference
Saint Michael's at Dartmouth, 3 p.m. ET
Long Island at Robert Morris, 7 p.m. ET
Saturday's Games
Non-Conference
Saint Anselm at Dartmouth, 2 p.m. ET
Long Island at Robert Morris, 3 p.m. ET
Canada Names World Juniors Training Camp Roster
Similar to USA Hockey, Canada announced its roster for its upcoming training camp in preparation for the World Juniors, What's different, though, were the number of players from the NCAA this season:
Michigan: F Michael Hage, G Jack Invankovic
Michigan State: F Porter Martone
North Dakota: D Cole Reschny, F Keaton Verhoeff, (commitment D Ethan Mackenzi)
Penn State: F Gavin McKenna, D Jackson Smith
Canada named 27 players, but two players won't make the final team that will compete in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minn., from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5. The camp runs Dec. 12-22 in Niagara Falls, Ontatio.
Puck Drop: Tuesday, December 9, 2025
• NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly gave the league's Board of Governors a progress report on Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, which is still being built for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. He confirmed that the dimensions of the rink will be a little smaller than the NHL regulation size of 200-feet long and 85-feet wide (instead it'll be approximately 197 feet in length), but stressed that NHL technicians are He said NHL ice technicians are advising those working the facility. "I actually do think most of my information is more on the positive side than the negative side," Daly said per NHL.com. "The buildings are supposed to be done by Feb. 2, so we have some time, and the latest reports I was getting, I was at the table in the meeting, were positive."
• Athletes.org has published its first collective bargaining agreement framework that outlines clear terms between student-athletes and a governing body, comparisons to pro sports and the benefits for all parties. The four-year proposal would include a revenue share template agreement, “school-specific revenue-sharing percentage based on pro rata revenue per sport,” a five-year max on eligibility, a removal of third-part NIL limitations and more. Check out the 35-page document here.
First suspension in a while for the Big Ten handed out to Notre Dame’s Brennan Ali — dangerous spot on the ice for this kind of contact. https://t.co/fopHUXfpFN pic.twitter.com/EF4IkFawGS
— Eric Vegoe (@evegoe) December 8, 2025
• Former Boston University goaltender Jake Oettinger was named one of the NHL's Three Stars of the Week. He was listed second behind New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokinalso after going 3-0 with a 0.98 goals against average, .961 save percentage and one shutout, while taking the league lead for wins this season with 14. He earned his 14th career shutout with 30 stops in a 3-0 victory against the New Jersey Devils on Dec. 3.
• RPI received a commitment from left wing Josh Evaschesen of the Kamloops Blazers (WHL) for the 2026-27 season.
• Blake Zielinski had two goals and two assists to help lead the U.S. Junior Select Team to a 7-1 victory over Sweden at the 2025 World Junior A Challenge at Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. The U.S. outshot Sweden 41-30, and was 3-for-4 on the power play. It'll wrap up preliminary-round play against
Canada West on Wednesday.
Mammoth announce Logan Cooley will be out indefinitely due to a lower-body injury.
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 8, 2025
Cooley crashed into the net against Vancouver on Friday and hit his leg on the post pic.twitter.com/sdPgQDnO8F
This Date in Hockey History:
December 8, 2010: Former Denver coach Murray Armstrong died in St. Augustine, Fla. He was 84.
December 8, 1938: Michigan left wing Red Berenson was born in Regina, Saskatchewan.
December 8, 1967: The expansion franchise known as the California Seals made the first of numerous name changes, to the Oakland Seals. In 1970, they changed their name to the California Golden Seals after two games as the Bay Area Seals. They eventually became known as the Cleveland Barons in 1976, merged with the Minnesota North Stars in 1978 (now known as the Dallas Stars).
December 8, 1979: Former Michigan left wing Red Berenson was named the head coach of the St. Louis Blues, a team he had played for eight seasons, on his 40th birthday. He replaced former Blues teammate Barclay Plager.
December 8, 1987: Former North Dakota forward Dave Christian scored his first hat trick with the Washington Capitals, and third in the NHL, in a 5-4 loss to visiting Calgary.
December 8, 1990: Former Cornell goaltender notched his seventh shutout as the Minnesota North Stars blanked Philadelphia 7-0.
December 8, 1991: Former Wisconsin goaltender Mike Richter notched his second career shutout with a 4-0 win. It was first by the New York Rangers against the Boston Bruins since 1969.
December 8, 1995: Boston College Thatcher Demko was born in San Diego, Calif.
December 8, 1998: Clarkson center Joshua Dunne was born in O’Fallon, Mo.
December 8, 1999: Brothers Paul and Steve Kariya, who both played at Maine, met on the ice for the first time in the NHL. Paul had a power-play goal Anaheim and Steve notched an assist for Vancouver in a 2-2 tie.
December 8, 2007: Former St. Cloud State center Matt Cullen had three assists as Carolina became just the third NHL team to win six straight at Montreal with a 5-1 victory.
December 8, 2013: Former North Dakota left wing Zach Parise scored two goals and the Minnesota Wild defeated San Jose 3-1 despite being outshot 38-13.
December 8, 2016: North Dakota All-American defenseman Terry Abrams had his jersey No. 3 retired by South St. Paul High School.
Hockey Quote of the Day
"I'm really happy that I'm not someone who beats to the same drummer. I'm glad that I'm an individual and I am a little different from the average player. I think all players should be that way in their own way."Glenn Anderson (Denver)
We'll Leave You With This ...
An MSU tradition that makes you feel a little less alone on finals week: the Midnight Scream. pic.twitter.com/vzAjDv4GTl
— MSU (@michiganstateu) December 8, 2025
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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.
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