How Much One Week Can Mean in College Hockey Bracketology: Puck Drop

How much can a college hockey bracketology projection change in one week, and during a time of the year when a lot of programs aren't on the ice? Let's put it to the test. After all, not a lot happened last week, right?

Here we go, selecting the 16-team field based on what all teams have so far this season, based on the same criteria the selection committee for the 2026 Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship, with the Frozen Four set to be played in Las Vegas on April 9 and 11.

The six conferences that receive automatic bids are: Hockey East, ECAC Hockey, Big Ten, NCHC, CCHA and Atlantic Hockey (AHA), and with each it's the conference tournament champion. For our purposes we'll go with the team currently in first place of the standings: Dartmouth, Connecticut, Denver, Wisconsin, Minnesota State and Holy Cross.

There's your first change from a week ago, the Badgers have moved two points ahead of Michigan, which is still No. 1 in the polls, but barely.

The NCAA switched from the Pairwise system that had been in place for more than 30 years for NPI (NCAA Percentage Index) for use in selecting and seeding the NCAA Tournament. The NPI rankings of our automatic qualifiers are No. 1, 20, 56, 3, 9, and 22. Only one of those teams has the same rank as a week ago.

Next up, the 10 at-large bids, based on NPI: Michigan, Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota, Michigan State, Penn State, Harvard, Western Michigan, Northeastern, Augustana and Cornell.

Teams that are suddenly in as of now are Harvard and Augustana. Out are Quinnipiac and St. Cloud State. The next four teams, just missing, would be Boston College, Lindenwood, Providence and Princeton. Of note, New Hampshire is at No. 25 after sweeping Maine, one spot ahead of Minnesota.

With our teams selected, seeding is next. The four regionals will be March 27-29, at Albany, N.Y., Sioux Falls, S.D., and Loveland, Colo., Worcester, Mass. Host teams are Union, Denver, Omaha and Holy Cross — and in case you're wondering which school is serving as the host othe Frozen Four in Las Vegas, it's North Dakota.

Regardless, we group the teams. The * indicates the school is hosting.

1: Dartmouth, Michigan, Wisconsin and UMD (none of those teams changed)
2: North Dakota, Denver*, Michigan State and Penn State (two teams moved up)
3: Minnesota State, Harvard, Western Michigan, Northeastern (Harvard the big mover)
4: Augustana, Cornell, Connecticut, Holy Cross* (Augustana almost a 3 seed)

We're down to pairings, which need to be geographically friendly when possible but avoid first-round conference matchups in a way that doesn't negatively impact the bracket integrity.

Your daily briefing on what's going on in college hockey, everything from the assists on the ice to the Zamboni.

This Week's Projection

Worcester Regional: 1 Dartmouth vs. Holy Cross*; 2 Penn State vs. Minnesota State
Albany Regional: 1 UMD vs. Augustana; 2 North Dakota vs. Northeastern
Sioux Falls Regional: 1 Michigan vs. Connecticut; 2 Michigan State vs. Western Michigan
Loveland Regional: 1 Wisconsin vs. Cornell; 2 Denver* vs. Harvard

So how does that compare to a week ago?

Last Week's Super-Early Projection

Worcester Regional: 1 Dartmouth vs. 4 Holy Cross*; 2 Northeastern vs. 3 Cornell
Albany Regional: 1 UMD vs. 4 Quinnipiac; 2 Minnesota State vs. 3 Western Michigan
Sioux Falls Regional: 1 Michigan vs. 4 Connecticut; 2 North Dakota vs. 3 Michigan State
Loveland Regional: 1 Wisconsin vs. 4 St. Cloud State; 2 Denver* vs. 3 Penn State

That's a very different-looking tournament. Imagine what it might resemble next week.

SEE ALSO: Last Week's Bracketology

Puck Drop: Wednesday, December 10, 2025

• No. 16 Providence put 47 shots on net, with freshmen Jonathan Fauchon and Roger McQueen both having a goal and an assist, and freshman Julius Sumpf had two assists as the Friars (8-6-2) won their third straight Mayor's Cup with a 4-2 victory against Brown at Meehan Auditorium. Tanner Adams was awarded an empty-net goal with 37 seconds remaining following a penalty by Brown (3-10).

Heading home with some hardware 🏆 pic.twitter.com/klfcn3vLvT
— PC Men's Hockey (@FriarsHockey) December 10, 2025

• Former Arizona State defenseman Ty Murchison was called up by the Philadelphia Flyers from AHL Lehigh Valley, and made his NHL debut against San Jose. He was credited with three hits and one blocked shot in the 4-1 victory.

• North Dakota forward Will Zellers was added to the preliminary roster of the U.S. National Junior Team. He has 10 goals and five assists in 16 games for the Fighting Hawks this season.

• Northeastern announced that Boston Bruins singer Todd Angilly will perform the National Anthem at Matthews Arena on Saturday. No. 20 Boston University at No. 11 Northeastern is the only matchup between ranked teams on college hockey playing this weekend.

• Trade Noise Continues to Build Around Canucks' Quinn Hughes

Congrats, Craig Smith, on your retirement!

Madison native and Badger great helped UW to the 2010 NCAA Championship Game.

🔴 14-year NHL career
⚪️ 2017 Stanley Cup finalist
🔴 4-time U.S. National Team member#BadgersintheBigs

📰 https://t.co/bfUh6lwiWD pic.twitter.com/FRu5T03x5x
— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) December 9, 2025

Tuesday's Scores

MEN
Non-Conference
No. 16 Providence 4, Brown 2 (Mayor's Cup)

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

Wednesday's Schedule

MEN
Hockey East
UMass Lowell at No. 15 Maine, 7 p.m. ET

Exhibition
Maryville at Alaska-Anchorage, 7 p.m. AT

This Date in Hockey History:

December 10, 1930: Duluth State Teacher's College, now known as Minnesota Duluth, announced that intercollegiate ice hockey would be added as a varsity sport. Incidentally, the nickname at the time was Pedagogues. The football team adopted Bulldogs in 1933.

December 10, 1968: Western Michigan defenseman Andy Rymsha was born in St. Catharines, Ontario.

December 10, 1969: Bowling Green and Hall of Fame defenseman Rob Blake was born in Simcoe, Ontario.

December 10, 1971: The Economic Development Administration made a grant of $666,400 to the City of Eveleth for the construction of US Hockey Hall of Fame Museum.

December 10, 1972: The Rangers hosted the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden for the very first time. The Rangers won 4-1, and New York was never the same.

December 10, 1981: Wisconsin right wing Rene Bourque was born in Lac La Biche, Alberta.

December 10, 1982: Ohio State defenseman Nate Guenin was born in Aliquippa, Penn.

December 10, 1985: Michigan center T.J. Hensick was born in Lansing, Mich.

December 10, 1986: Wayne Gretzky became the first player in NHL to notch 40 career hat tricks during a 7-4 victory over Winnipeg, he finished with 50.

December 10, 1989: Wayne Gretzky scored his 1,900th point with an assists during an 8-4 victory for the Los Angeles Kings at the Quebec Nordiques.

December 10, 1992: Omaha defenseman Jaycob Megna was born in Plantation, Fla.

December 10, 1992: The NHL announced that expansion franchises had been awarded to Anaheim and Miami.

December 10, 1997: Former Minnesota standouts Neal Broten and John Mayasich were named 1998 recipients of the Lester Patrick Award, for outstanding service to hockey in the United States, along with Max McNab and Peter Karmanos.

December 10, 1997: Michael Petit became the first player in NHL history to score a point for 10 different teams.

December 10, 1999: Notre Dame forward Alex Steeves was born in Bedford, N.H.

December 10, 2007: Sports Illustrated Magazine author Michael Farber wrote that Detroit shouldn’t be called Hockeytown USA. St. Paul, Farber wrote, is "hockey's epicenter in the U.S. mainly because of the Minnesota Wild, a franchise that goes out of it's way to be respectful of the game, its fans and the countless hockey players across the State."

December 10, 2013: Former Minnesota right wing Kyle Okposo scored the game-tying goal with 1:37 remaining in regulation then the shootout winner to lead the New York Islanders end their 10-game losing streak (0-8-2) with a 3-2 victory at San Jose.

December 10, 2021: Former Harvard defenseman Adam Fox recorded his 100th assist in just his 151st game as the Rangers defeated the Sabres 2-1.

December 10, 2023: Former Massachusetts goaltender Jonathan Quick made 25 saves during a 4-1 victory against the Kings to be the first Rangers goalie in 40-plus years to have a points streak reach nine games (8-0-1).

Hockey Quote of the Day

[On officials reviewing a goal in 2004 national title game] “I’ll never forget, Krissy said, ‘Coach, it’s OK. Because if they don’t count it, we’ll just get another one.”
Laura Halldorson on Krissy Wendell-Pohl

We'll Leave You With This ...

What a weekend!#BeTheRoar pic.twitter.com/bFEyKaqaDd
— UNH Men's Hockey (@UNHMHOCKEY) December 9, 2025