Denver Still the One in First Rankings After College Hockey Season Opens: Pick Drop
- USCHO Men's Hockey Poll: Week 2
- USA Hockey Men’s Poll: Week 2
- USCHO Women’s Poll: Week 4
- Puck Drop: Tuesday, October 6, 2026
- College Hockey Scores
- Today’s College Hockey Schedule
- This Date in Hockey History
- Hockey Quote of the Day
- We'll Leave You With This ...
There was no movement in the top five of the national men's hockey polls this week, with reigning champion Denver maintaining its grip on the top spot, and followed by Michigan, Michigan State, North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth.
But the East was very close to cracking the top as Quinnipiac, which blew out two Hockey East teams over the weekend, jumped ahead of Wisconsin and into No. 6 and was breathing down UMD's neck. It'll make for an interesting weekend as Quinnipiac is at Maine, which is almost always a tough place to visit, and No. 7 Wisconsin at No. 19 Minnesota State.
Biggest Jump: Michigan Tech moved up seven spots up to No. 12 after sweeping Minnesota at home.
Biggest Fall: Massachusetts dropped eight places, down to No. 18, after getting swept at Colorado College.
Most underrated per NPI: It's incredibly early and this team has only played one game so far, so take it for what it's worth, Union is in an eight-way tie for first in the NPI rankings. The seven other teams are all ranked in the polls.
Most overrated per NPI: UMass, barely over Minnesota. They're the only ranked teams in the nine-way tie for 54th,
USCHO Men's Hockey Poll: Week 2
Rank | School | Votes (First) | Prev. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denver | 2-0 | 980 (39) | 1 |
2 | Michigan | 2-0 | 936 (6) | 2 |
3 | Michigan State | 0-0 | 887 (3) | 3 |
4 | North Dakota | 0-0 | 844 | 4 |
5 | Minnesota Duluth | 2-0 | 775 | 5 |
6 | Quinnipiac | 2-0 | 757 | 7 |
7 | Wisconsin | 2-0 | 693 | 6 |
8 | Western Michigan | 0-0 | 651 | 8 |
9 | Providence | 0-0 | 579 | 9 |
10 | Dartmouth | 0-0 | 466 | 11 |
11 | Boston College | 0-0 | 406 | 12 |
12 | Michigan Tech | 2-0 | 348 | 19 |
13 | Cornell | 0-0 | 338 | 13 |
14 | Boston University | 2-0 | 329 | 16 |
15 | Colorado College | 2-0 | 328 | NR |
16 | Connecticut | 0-0 | 268 | 15 |
17 | Penn State | 0-0 | 203 | 17 |
18 | Massachusetts | 0-2 | 193 | 10 |
19 | Minnesota State | 0-0 | 167 | 18 |
20 | Minnesota | 0-2 | 136 | 14 |
Others receiving votes: Augustana 37, Merrimack 37, Ohio State 36, St. Thomas 25, Bentley 23, Bowling Green 16, Miami 11, Northeastern 9, Clarkson 8, Stonehill 7, Sacred Heart 3, Brown 1, Maine 1, Omaha 1, Union 1
USA Hockey Men’s Poll: Week 2
Rank | School | Votes (First) | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Denver | 669 (29) | 1 |
2 | Michigan | 633 (3) | 2 |
3 | Michigan State | 614 (2) | 3 |
4 | North Dakota | 589 | 4 |
5 | Minnesota Duluth | 516 | 5 |
6 | Quinnipiac | 513 | 8 |
7 | Wisconsin | 489 | 6 |
8 | Western Michigan | 451 | 9 |
9 | Providence | 392 | 7 |
10 | Dartmouth | 324 | 11 |
11 | Boston College | 284 | 12 |
12 | Cornell | 258 | 13 |
13 | Boston University | 251 | 15 |
14 | Connecticut | 234 | 14 |
15 | Colorado College | 186 | NR |
16 | Michigan Tech | 162 | 20 |
T17 | Penn State | 138 | 16 |
T17 | Massachusetts | 138 | 10 |
19 | Minnesota State | 109 | 17 |
20 | Minnesota | 67 | 18 |
Also receiving votes: Merrimack 30; Ohio State 25; Augustana 24; St. Thomas, 15; Maine, 8; Northeastern 7; Bentley 6; Clarkson, 4; Bowling Green 3; Harvard 2.
USCHO Women’s Poll: Week 4
Rank | Team | Record | Points (First) | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wisconsin | 4-0-0 | 296 (16) | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | 4-0-0 | 284 (4) | 2 |
3 | Minnesota | 2-0-0 | 253 | 3 |
4 | Penn State | 2-2-0 | 242 | 4 |
5 | Quinnipiac | 4-0-0 | 223 | 6 |
6 | Princeton | 0-0-0 | 145 | 8 |
7 | Northeastern | 0-1-0 | 140 | 5 |
8 | St. Cloud State | 4-0-0 | 136 | 13 |
9 | Connecticut | 2-2-0 | 134 | 12 |
10 | Minnesota Duluth | 3-1-0 | 120 | 7 |
11 | Yale | 0-0-0 | 102 | 10 |
12 | Cornell | 0-0-0 | 98 | 11 |
13 | Clarkson | 2-2-0 | 8371 | 9 |
14 | Colgate | 2-0-0 | 60 | 14 |
15 | Vermont | 1-1-0 | 39 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Minnesota State 22, Boston College 7, Mercyhurst 7, St. Thomas 6, St. Lawrence 3
Puck Drop: Tuesday, October 6, 2026
• On3 reported that Boone Pickens Stadium will host "Bedlam on Ice" between the Oklahoma State and Oklahoma's club teams on Jan. 30. Supporters are hoping to transition OSU’s program to Division I by 2029.
• Macklin Celebrini (Boston University) did not play for the San Jose Sharks against the Dallas Stars on Monday due to a lower-body injury. Consequently, Jake Oettinger (BU) only needed to make 13 saves to get his 17th career shutout in a 5-0 victory.
Patrick Kane on making his return to the United Center tomorrow night 🙌 pic.twitter.com/0PKZNzE7IN
— Blackhawks on CHSN (@CHSN_Blackhawks) October 5, 2026
• A couple of late items from the weekend: The 3-2 OT win by Holy Cross against Maine at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass., was the Crusaders’ first win against the Black Bears since Feb. 4, 1978. … Jay Pandolfo became the fifth Boston University coach to get his 100th win. It was the first meeting between BU and Alaska, and the first time the Terriers traveled to Alaska since 2007-08 when they played a series at Anchorage. … Maryville won its first two games as a Division I program during its transition season, earning the sweep at St. Lawrence. Antoine Dorion notched the first goal for the Saints, while playing against a team called the Saints that’s been playing hockey since 1925-26.
College Hockey Scores
No Games Played
Today’s College Hockey Schedule
WOMEN
Non-Conference
Post at No. 5 Quinnipiac, 6 p.m. ET
This Date in Hockey History
October 6, 1969: North Dakota center Jeff McLean was born in Port Moody, British Columbia.
October 6, 1981: Former Boston College right wing Joe Mullen notched his first assist as the St. Louis Blues defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-2.
October 6, 1988: Former Alaska Fairbanks center Curtis Fraser was named co-captain of the Minnesota North Stars along with former UMD defenseman Curt Giles and Bob Rouse.
October 6, 1988: Wayne Gretzky made his debut with the Los Angeles Kings. He scored on his first shot and added three assists in an 8-2 victory over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.
October 6, 1992: Nebraska Omaha right wing John Archibald was born in Regina, Saskatchewan.
October 6, 1993: Former Wisconsin forward Scott Mellanby scored the first goal in Florida Panthers during a 4-4 tie at Chicago.
October 6, 1994: Nebraska Omaha center Jake Guentzel was born in Omaha, Neb.
October 6, 1999: Former St. Cloud State right wing Mark Parrish combined with Viktor Kozlov and Pavel Bure to set the Florida Panthers record for the fastest three goals in franchise history (1:17) during 4-2 come-from-behind win against the visiting Los Angeles Kings.
October 6, 2001: Former Michigan goaltender Steve Shields made 41 saves to get his first win for the Anaheim Mighty Ducks. Former St. Cloud State center Matt Cullen scored two goals in the 4-2 victory at Pittsburgh.
October 6, 2001: Former Lowell goaltender Dwayne Roloson notched a shutout in his debut with the Minnesota Wild, despite being outshot by the San Jose Sharks, 36-19.
October 6, 2001: Michigan State hosted Michigan for an outdoor game at Spartan Stadium and set a world record with 74,544 fans in attendance. Mike Cammalleri scored two goals for the Wolverines and Duncan Keith had one the Spartans in the 3-3 tie.
October 6, 2002: The Minnesota Wild played the Atlanta Thrashers in a preseason game at Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
October 6, 2007: Former Minnesota defenseman Erik Johnson’s first NHL goal was the game-winner as the St. Louis Blues downed the Los Angeles Kings, 5-3. In the same game, former North Dakota center Brady Murray became the fourth NHL player to face his father as a coach, Andy.
October 6, 2014: Former Wisconsin defenseman Ryan McDonagh was named captain of the New York Rangers.
October 6, 2017: The Vegas Golden Knights won their first regular-season game with a 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars. The expansion team went on to be the first to reach the Stanley Cup Finals during their inaugural season.
Hockey Quote of the Day
“If you're giving me tickets to the football game, baseball game or hockey game, I'm taking the tickets to the hockey game. For me, it's by far the most fun sport to go and watch live and be part of. I just don't know why it doesn't translate as well on TV.”Tom Glavine
We'll Leave You With This ...
In case you missed it, Alexander Ovechkin announced that this will be his final season in the NHL. While he never played collegiate hockey, his impact on the sport has been immense.
"As a little kid hockey player, remember always wanting to practice my one-timers in Ovi's ‘office,'" former University of Wisconsin forward Lacey Eden told NHL.com. He attended Capitals games with her father at Verizon Center, now Capital One Arena. "Growing up in the DMV where hockey maybe wasn't the most popular sport, there was always that stardom from Ovechkin.
"I was actually at the watch party outside Capital One in 2018 for the Stanley Cup Final, just being part of the moment for the Caps, being part of that growth of hockey in the DMV. All sparked by Alex Ovechkin."
Alex Ovechkin announced to his teammates this morning that this season will be his final in the NHL pic.twitter.com/wnnnkrIl5U
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 5, 2026
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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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