Have You Noticed Where St. Thomas is Surprisingly Ranked in College Hockey? Puck Drop

They've only been playing Division I hockey since 2021-22, and many thought that opening a new arena would be the biggest highlight of their season. But the Tommies of St. Thomas obviously had other thoughts. While the University of Minnesota is having a horrible season by its standards, and is nowhere to be found in the latest college hockey rankings, the "other" team in the Twin Cities has won 10 straight games, and is a month away from qualifying for the NCAA Tournament.

Specifically, St. Thomas (16-7-3) hasn't lost since Dec. 5, while moving into first place in the CCHA standings during its final year in the league (it will join the National Collegiate Hockey Conference for 2026-27). The Tommies have slowly moved up to No. 15 in both polls, while the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index has them at No. 11.

What that means is that if the season ended today, and St. Thomas wasn't the CCHA automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament it could still make the 16-team field as an at-large.

Meanwhile, the 8-16-1 (4-10 Big Ten) Gophers are No. 41 in NPI. Granted, they're No. 1 in strength of schedule, but if they won their final 10 regular-season games might still need to win the conference tournament to advance.

Made biggest jump: Penn State moved up three spots after the sweep at Wisconsin as the two teams essentially swapped places in the rankings. However, the NPI has them at No 4 and No. 10, respectively. Last week: Providence and St. Thomas

Had biggest fall: Dartmouth, down four. Coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to then-No. 12 Cornell, it dropped a 5-2 game at Colgate, which even with the venue has to be called the Big Green's worst loss of the season. Last week: Princeton.

Most underrated ranked team per NPI: It should surprise no one that it's still St. Thomas, but the gap has narrowed as voters have slowly caught on to the winning streak. The schedule is about to get tougher, though, with Michigan Tech, Bowling Green and Augusta the next three opponents, with an off week also mixed in. Last week: St. Thomas.

Most overrated ranked team per NPI: See if you've head this one before, it's Maine. Voters have the Black Bears at No. 17, but the NPI has them at No. 23, right behind Hockey East rivals UMass and Boston University. Is this weekend's home game against Providence must win? We're getting to that point. Last week: Maine and Connecticut.

Finally, BU, which was preseason No. 2, and moved up to No. 1 on Oct. 13, finally fell out of the top 20 in both major polls after getting swept by Providence. The Terriers are 12-12-1 since losing in last year's national championship game.

USCHO Men's Poll

January 26, 2026

Rank	Team	Record	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Michigan	20-4	996 (48)	1
2	Michigan State	19-5	942 (1)	2
3	Western Michigan	18-6	877 (1)	3
4	North Dakota	20-6	850	4
5	Penn State	18-6	797	8
6	Quinnipiac	19-5-2	768	6
7	Minnesota Duluth	17-9	766	7
8	Wisconsin	15-7-2	644	5
9	Providence	15-7-2	631	11
10	Cornell	14-5	526	12
11	Denver	14-11-2	511	9
12	Connecticut	15-7-3	474	13
13	Boston College	13-8-1	356	15
14	Dartmouth	14-6-1	355	10
15	St. Thomas	16-7-3	330	16
16	Augustana	16-7-3	247	14
17	Maine	14-9-2	221	17
18	Minnesota State	13-8-5	120	20
19	Michigan Tech	17-9-2	172	19
20	St. Cloud State	13-13	57	NR

Others receiving votes: Massachusetts 38, Boston University 36, Harvard 26, Union 16, Bentley 14, Bowling Green 11, Northeastern 8, Miami 3, Arizona State 2, Bemidji State 2, RIT 2, Colorado College 1, Princeton 1

USA Hockey Men's Poll

January 26, 2026

Rank	Team	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Michigan	680 (34)	1
2	Michigan State	640	2
3	Western Michigan	603	3
4	North Dakota	575	4
5	Penn State	534	8
6	Quinnipiac	470	7
7	Wisconsin	453	5
8	Minnesota Duluth	442	6
9	Providence	431	11
10	Cornell	368	12
11	Denver	357	9
12	Connecticut	313	13
13	Dartmouth	280	10
14	Boston College	238	T14
15	St. Thomas	194	16
16	Augustana	169	T14
17	Maine	142	17
18	Minnesota State	98	20
19	St. Cloud State	42	NR
20	Michigan Tech	33	19

Others Receiving Votes: Boston University, 20; Massachusetts, 15; Harvard 14; Bowling Green 10; Union 7; Princeton 3; Bemidji State 2; Northeastern 2; RIT 2; Arizona State 1; Bentley 1; Miami 1.

USCHO Women's Poll

January 26, 2026

Rank	Team	Record	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Wisconsin	23-1-2	300 (20)	1
2	Ohio State	23-3	279	2
3	Minnesota	22-4	261	3
4	Penn State	24-4	240	4
5	Quinnipiac	21-5-2	212	6
6	Northeastern	20-6-0	200	8
7	Connecticut	18-6-2	175	5
8	Princeton	17-6-0	152	7
9	Minnesota Duluth	13-10-3	134	9
10	Yale	17-7	128	11
11	Clarkson	18-7-3	104	11
12	Cornell	13-9-2	88	12
13	Holy Cross	18-7-1	43	14
14	Minnesota State	11-13-2	42	13
15	Mercyhurst	18-10-2	20	NR

Others receiving votes: St. Cloud State 11, Colgate 10, St. Thomas 1

USA Hockey Women's Poll

January 20, 2026 (Will be updated with new poll released Tuesday)

Rank	Team	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Wisconsin	285 (19)	1
2	Ohio State	265	2
3	Minnesota	248	3
4	Penn State	221	4
5	Connecticut	195	5
6	Quinnipiac	188	6
7	Princeton	160	9
8	Northeastern	157	7
9	Minnesota Duluth	139	8
10	Yale	102	11
11	Cornell	99	10
12	Clarkson	93	12
13	Minnesota State	40	13
14	St. Cloud State	28	15
15	Colgate	24	14

Others receiving votes: Holy Cross 19; Mercyhurst 10; Brown 5; St. Thomas 2.

Puck Drop: Tuesday, January 27,2026

• San Jose Sharks prospect Joshua Ravensbergen has committed to play for Michigan State, beginning in 2026-27, according to NHL analyst Kevin Weekes. The 6-5 goaltender with Prince George Cougars of the Western Hockey League, who was on Team Canada for the World Juniors, was selected by the Sharks in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft, 30th overall. Trey Augustine, a junior out of South Lyon, Mich., is expected to turn pro following the season.

• The New York Rangers traded former UMD defenseman Carson Soucy to the crosstown New York Islanders for a third-round pick in 2026 Draft. It was the first deal between the two rivals since 2010.

• Ted Drury, the tournament MVP with Harvard in 1993, will be inducted into the Men's Beanpot Hall of Fame this year. His brother Chris, who played for Boston University, was inducted in 2009.

• Former Omaha right wing Taylor Ward signed a two-year, $1.75 million contract with the Kings.

• Former Minnesota center Logan Cooley is back practicing with the Mammoth in a non-contact jersey. He's been out since Dec. 5. Meanwhile, former Denver defenseman Zeev Buium was placed on injured reserve by the Canucks after taking a puck to the face.

• Multiple Big Ten Programs Show Support for MSU Hockey

Men’s College Hockey Monday Scores

No Games Scheduled

Women’s College Hockey Monday Scores

No Games Scheduled

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

Men's College Hockey Tuesday Schedule

Non-Conference
Long Island at Alaska-Anchorage, 7 p.m. AT

Women's College Hockey Tuesday Schedule

No Games Scheduled

Hockey Quote of the Day

"I was known as the weird guy who couldn't play basketball because I had to go to hockey practice twice a week."
T. J. Oshie (North Dakota)

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We'll Leave You With This ...

NO NAMES. ALL GAME.

🏟️🥶 01.31.26 🥶🏟️#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/pwiQV9i4V6
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) January 26, 2026