Is Hockey East Way Overrated This Season? What Polls and NPI Rankings Indicate

In the latest USCHO.com poll, ranking the top 20 college hockey teams in the nation, Connecticut is listed as the top team from Hockey East at No. 11. The Huskies are 12-6-3 overall, and top the league standings at 8-4-1 with a four-point cushion.

The NPI also has another team from Hockey East ahead of the Huskies, Boston College (11-6-1), one slot higher at No, 17. But that means it also considers the Eagles, who are second in the league standings, overrated as well in the polls.

If you think there's a trend here, you're correct. Maine is listed third in the poll at No. 16 despite being below .500 in league play. NPI has it at No. 29. Boston University is barley hanging in the poll at No. 20, yet is No. 26 in the NPI.

Northeastern? Even though the Huskies have lost five straight and got swept at Vermont last weekend, they still received votes in the poll. The NPI ranking is No. 33. The last-place team in the league standings, Massachusetts, also received votes in the poll yet is No. 42. The Minutemen's overall record is 10-10, 3-7 in Hockey East.

According to the NPI, two teams that aren't overrated in the poll are Providence and New Hampshire. The Friars (11-7-2, 6-3-1 Hockey East) are No. 14 in the poll and No. 13 in NPI. The Wildcats (11-8) were fourth among those receiving votes, which would if rankings included 25 teams would put them at No. 24. RPI says they're at No. 23.

UNH is tied for seventh in the league standings with 15 points, but has also played the fewest conference games with nine, one fewer than Boston College, Providence and UMass — so the 'Cats have the best opportunity to move up ... or fall, depending on how you want to look at it.

Part of this is due to the west being so strong this season, with the top six teams all hailing from the Big Ten and NCHC, and both leagues having a fourth team in the top 10. Regardless, this is beginning to look disastrous for Hockey East, as there few non-conference games remaining, and the possibility of it only having only one team in the NCAA Tournament is becoming very real.

The guess here is that things will click for a couple of them over the next two months, but then we'll see a wild conference tournament with so many teams facing win or go home.

Made biggest jump: Providence, from No. 18 to No. 14 after sweeping Maine.

Had biggest fall: Northeastern from No. 16 to out of the poll, and Maine from No. 12 to No. 17.

Most underrated team per National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index: St. Thomas. At No. 14 in NPI, the Tommies have officially become a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament.

Most overrated team per NPI: The top four teams are all from Hockey East.

USCHO Men's Poll

January 12, 2026

Rank	Team	Record	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Michigan	18-4	996 (46)	1
2	Wisconsin	15-3-2	904 (3)	3
3	Western Michigan	16-6	861 (1)	6
4	Michigan State	15-5	854	2
5	North Dakota	17-5	802	4
6	Minnesota Duluth	16-6	800	5
7	Quinnipiac	16-4-2	676	8
8	Penn State	14-6	642	9
9	Denver	12-9-2	546	7
10	Dartmouth	13-4	510	11
11	Connecticut	12-6-3	455	10
12	Boston College	11-6-1	452	13
13	Cornell	11-4	421	14
14	Providence	11-7-4	349	18
15	Augustana	14-6-3	296	17
16	Maine	12-9-2	249	12
17	Minnesota State	12-6-5	186	15
18	Princeton	11-5	86	20
19	St. Thomas	12-7-3	85	NR
20	Boston University	10-9-1	72	19

Others receiving votes: Union 70, Northeastern 50, Michigan Tech 23, New Hampshire 21, Arizona State 17, Bentley 17, St. Cloud State 17, Massachusetts 13, Bowling Green 11, Harvard 9, Bemidji State 7, Miami 5, Colorado College 2, Merrimack 2, RIT 1

USA Hockey Men's Poll

January 12, 2026

Rank	Team	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Michigan	680 (34)	1
2	Wisconsin	630	3
3	Michigan State	586	2
4	Western Michigan	566	6
5	North Dakota	555	4
6	Minnesota Duluth	547	5
7	Quinnipiac	451	8
8	Penn State	447	9
9	Dartmouth	382	10
10	Denver	367	7
11	Connecticut	307	11
12	Cornell	303	12
13	Boston College	289	13
14	Providence	247	17
15	Augustana	200	18
16	Maine	148	14
17	Minnesota State	120	T15
T18	Princeton	56	19
T19	St. Thomas	56	NR
20	Boston University	52	NR

Others Receiving Votes: Harvard 26; Michigan Tech 22; Union 22; Clarkson 15; Arizona State 14; Northeastern 14, Bentley 12; Bowling Green 9; St. Cloud State 6; New Hampshire 4; Massachusetts 3; Merrimack 2; Bemidji State 1; Rochester Institute of Technology 1.

USCHO Women's Poll

January 12, 2026

Rank	Team	Record	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Wisconsin	19-1-2	300 (20)	1
2	Ohio State	19-3	280	2
3	Minnesota	18-4	260	3
4	Penn State	19-4	228	4
5	Connecticut	17-3-2	216	5
6	Quinnipiac	17-5-2	180	7
7	Northeastern	16-5	171	6
8	Minnesota Duluth	12-9-1	170	8
9	Princeton	15-4	157	9
10	Cornell	11-6-2	122	10
11	Clarkson	13-7-3	75	11
12	Colgate	12-10-1	74	13
13	Yale	14-7	66	14
14	Minnesota State	11-10-1	62	12
15	St. Cloud State	7-14-1	21	15

Others receiving votes: Holy Cross 9, Mercyhurst 7, Brown 1, St. Thomas 1

USA Hockey Women's Poll

January 6, 2026 (Will up updated with new poll Tuesday)

Rank	Team	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Wisconsin	285 (19)	1
2	Ohio State	266	2
3	Minnesota	246	3
4	Penn State	224	4
5	Connecticut	199	7
6	Northeastern	186	6
7	Quinnipiac	166	8
8	Minnesota Duluth	161	5
9	Princeton	139	9
10	Cornell	102	10
11	Clarkson	99	11
12	Minnesota State	72	12
13	Yale	39	14
14	St. Cloud State	37	13
15	Colgate	35	NR

Others receiving votes: St. Thomas 9; Mercyhurst 6; Brown 3; Holy Cross 3; Boston University, 2; New Hampshire 1