Is the East Balanced or Just a Mess? The Latest College Hockey Rankings: Puck Drop
Hockey East leads the nation with seven ranked teams (or six, depending on which poll you're using), while no other conference has more than four in the top. Normally, one would look at that statistic and believe it's a pretty lopsided year in favor of the teams from the region.
But then a second glance tells a very different story. Hockey East doesn't have a team in the top10. They're all bunched together in the bottom half of the rankings. Dartmouth, which is atop the ECAC, just lost to the team in the middle of Hockey East standings, New Hampshire, which didn't crack the rankings in the USCHO.com poll, and was tied for 20th in the latest USA Hockey College Hockey Poll.
Consequently, the Big Green dropped form the top spot in the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index that will be largely used to determine the NCAA Tournament field, yet the poor strength of schedule ratiing sticks out. It would easily be the worst of any team in the top 25 if it wasn't for Princeton, also of the late-starting Ivy League. So far, Dartmouth has faced just one ranked opponent at the time, defeating then-No. 17 Cornell at home, 2-1, on Nov. 8.
Thankfully, the schedule picks up with a pair of games against Arizona State at Thompson Arena, followed by a Jan. 2 showdown with Princeton, at No. 10 Quinnpiac the next night, No. 18 Harvard on Jan. 9, a rematch at NO. 17 Cornell on Jam. 23, and NO. 20 Union on Jan. 30.
Meanwhile, one has to wonder if Hockey East is going to have its own version of demolition derby the rest of the season, with teams knocking each other out of contention until there's really very little left. That brings us to the league's other rankings problem, NPI.
Here's where all the teams stand heading into Winter Break.
Hockey East NPI rankings
15. Providence
16. Boston College
17. Northeastern
18. Connecticut
21. New Hampshire
23. Boston University
34. Maine
40. Massachusetts
43. Merrimack
50. Vermont
52. Lowell
How many of those teams are in position to play in the NCAA Tournament? Just the eventual conference tournament champion through the automatic bid, and then as a 4-seed. Moreover, while the Friars have the best NPI ranking, they're seventh in the league standings. UConn has a slim one-point lead over hard-charging Boston College for first, although the Huskies have played an extra conference game over the Eagles.
If you really want to be confused, look at Maine (11-7-1 overall, 6-5 Hockey East). The reigning conference tournament champions are No. 14 in the USCHO.com poll and No,. 34 in NPI.
However, keep in mind, that at this point a year ago only three teams that made the Frozen Four were in the regular rankings, as Denver was No. 5, Western Michigan was sixth, and Boston University 13th. Penn State didn't hit the top 20 until the second poll in February.
Hockey East ended up with six teams in the NCAA tournament. Boston College and Hockey East and Maine were No. 1 seeds; Providence, Connecticut and Boston University were No. 2 seeds, and Massachusetts was a 3.
USCHO Men's Poll
December 15, 2025
Rank | Team | Record | Points (1st) | Prv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Michigan | 16-4 | 982 (36) | 1 |
2 | Wisconsin | 12-2-2 | 942 (13) | 2 |
3 | Michigan State | 12-4 | 896 (1) | 3 |
4 | North Dakota | 14-4 | 835 | 4 |
5 | Minnesota Duluth | 14-6 | 744 | 5 |
6 | Denver | 12-6-1 | 743 | 6 |
7 | Western Michigan | 10-6 | 666 | 7 |
8 | Dartmouth | 11-1 | 656 | 8 |
9 | Penn State | 11-5-0 | 594 | 9 |
10 | Quinnipiac | 12-4-2 | 554 | 10 |
11 | Connecticut | 9-5-3 | 459 | 12 |
12 | Boston College | 10-5-1 | 423 | 13 |
13 | Northeastern | 10-6 | 396 | 11 |
14 | Maine | 11-7-1 | 324 | 15 |
15 | Minnesota State | 11-4-5 | 294 | 14 |
16 | Providence | 8-6-2 | 250 | 16 |
17 | Cornell | 7-4-0 | 205 | 17 |
18 | Harvard | 7-3-1 | 131 | 18 |
19 | Boston University | 9-8-1 | 107 | 20 |
20 | Union | 12-5-2 | 60 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Augustana 57, Colorado College 56, New Hampshire 38, Holy Cross 21, Massachusetts 18, Miami 18, Arizona State 10, Bemidji State 10, St. Cloud State 4, Princeton 3, St. Thomas 2, Michigan Tech 1, RIT 1
USA Hockey Poll
December 15, 2025
Rank | Team | Points (1st) | Prv. |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Michigan | 676 (29) | 1 |
2 | Wisconsin | 645 (5) | 2 |
3 | Michigan State | 611 | 3 |
4 | North Dakota | 551 | 4 |
5 | Minnesota Duluth | 526 | 5 |
6 | Denver | 512 | 6 |
7 | Dartmouth | 463 | 10 |
8 | Western Michigan | 460 | 7 |
9 | Penn State | 386 | 9 |
10 | Quinnipiac | 376 | 8 |
11 | Connecticut | 311 | 11 |
12 | Boston College | 303 | 14 |
13 | Northeastern | 270 | 15 |
14 | Minnesota State | 188 | 163 |
15 | Maine | 183 | 16 |
T16 | Cornell | 158 | 20 |
T16 | Providence | 136 | 17 |
18 | Harvard | 148 | 12 |
19 | Boston University | 77 | 20 |
T20 | Augustana | 36 | NR |
T20 | New Hampshire | 36 | NR |
Others Receiving Votes: Union 22; Massachusetts, 18; Colorado College, 12; Arizona State 6; Holy Cross; Bemidji State, 5; Miami 5; Rochester Institute of Technology, 1.
USCHO Women's Poll
December 8, 2025 (no poll this week)
Rank | Team | Record | Points (1st) | Prv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wisconsin | 18-1-1 | 230 (20) | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | 15-3 | 279 (5) | 2 |
3 | Minnesota | 14-4 | 258 | 3 |
4 | Penn State | 17-1 | 237 | 4 |
5 | Minnesota Duluth | 12-6 | 217 | 6 |
6 | Connecticut | 13-3-2 | 186 | 7 |
7 | Northeastern | 15-4 | 185 | 8 |
8 | Quinnipiac | 14-5-1 | 151 | 5 |
9 | Princeton | 11-4 | 139 | 9 |
10 | Cornell | 10-5-1 | 119 | 10 |
11 | Clarkson | 11-6-2 | 101 | 13 |
12 | Minnesota State | 11-8-1 | 76 | 15 |
13 | St. Cloud State | 7-12-1 | 66 | 14 |
14 | Colgate | 9-10-1 | 36 | 12 |
15 | Yale | 9-7 | 20 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Holy Cross 12, Brown 9, Boston College 4, Mercyhurst 4, New Hampshire 1
USA Hockey Women's Poll
December 9, 2025
Rank | Team | Points (1st) | Prv. |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wisconsin | 285 (19) | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | 266 | 2 |
3 | Minnesota | 243 | 3 |
4 | Penn State | 227 | 4 |
5 | Minnesota Duluth | 208 | 5 |
6 | Northeastern | 176 | 6 |
7 | Connecticut | 172 | 7 |
8 | Quinnipiac | 152 | 9 |
9 | Princeton | 136 | 11 |
10 | Clarkson | 99 | 10 |
11 | Cornell | 98 | 8 |
12 | Minnesota State | 65 | 12 |
13 | St. Cloud State | 48 | 14 |
14 | Yale | 35 | NR |
15 | Brown | 25 | 13 |
Others receiving votes: Colgate 15, St. Thomas 13, Holy Cross 9, Mercyhurst 7, New Hampshire 1.
Puck Drop: Tuesday, December 16, 2025
• Former Miami center Kevyn Adams was fired as the general manager of the Buffalo Sabres. He had been with the organization since 2011, when he was originally hired as an assistant coach, and the general manager for five-plus seasons. His replacement is Jarmo Kekalainen. For more, check out Break Away On SI.
• Former Michigan goaltender John Gibson of the Detroit Red Wings was named the NHL’s second star of the week. He went 3-0-0 with two shutouts and a .971 save percentage.
• Former Boston College left Wing Chris Kreider played his first NHL game as a visitor at Madison Square Garden. He and Anaheim left with a 4-1 victory as former Boston College forward Cutter Gauthier scored two goals.
The fans in New York welcome back Chris Kreider, who played 13 seasons with the @NYRangers, in his return to the world's most famous arena. 👏 pic.twitter.com/hWHVHi4AnK
— NHL (@NHL) December 16, 2025
This Week's College Hockey Schedule
MEN
Non-Conference
Omaha at Augustana, 7 p.m. CT Friday; 6 p.m. Saturday
Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.
This Date in Hockey History:
December 16, 1929: The offside rule was proposed at the NHL’s Board of Governors meeting, and went into effect five days later.
December 16, 1975: Former Boston College center Harvey Bennett was traded from Pittsburgh to Washington in exchange for fellow American Stan Gilbertson
December 16, 1978: Pat Shea, an American who played 10 games in the NHL with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1931-32 season, died in Boise, Idaho. He was 67.
December 16, 1980: The Minnesota North Stars traded former Boston University left wing Mike Fidler to the Hartford Whalers for defenseman Gordie Roberts. He played for Team USA in the 1984 Canada Cup as well as the 1982 and 1987 Ice Hockey World Championships, and was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999.
December 16, 1981: Former Minnesota center Aaron Broten tied Colorado Rockies franchise (now the New Jersey Devils) record for most assists in a game by a rookie. He notched three during a 7-4 loss to the visiting Edmonton Oilers.
December 16 1983: 1983: Former Minnesota Duluth goaltender, head coach and athletic director Ralph Romano died while attending a game against Denver. He was 49.
December 16, 1989: Former Minnesota and Miracle on Ice defenseman Mike Ramsey played in his 700th career NHL game as the Buffalo Sabres won 3-1 at Boston.
December 16, 1991: The NHL officially added the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators a expansion teams, to begin play at the start of the 1992-93 season.
December 16, 2011: Former North Dakota left wing Zach Parise had goal and three assists as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Dallas Stats 6-3 on the night Scott Niedermayer's No 27 was retired in a pregame ceremony.
December 16, 2014: Former Minnesota center Nick Bjugstad scored in the 20th round of the longest shootout in NHL history as the Florida Panthers edged the Washington Capitals 2-1. The 11 combined shootout goals set another NHL record. It was Bjugstad’s second turn in the shootout after both teams already used all 18 active skaters.
December 16, 2023: Former Boston College left wing Johnny Gaudreau became the second-fastest active U.S.-born player to 700 points, behind Patrick Kane (696 games). He did it in 714 with an assist as Columbus lost to New Jersey 6-3.
Hockey Quote of the Day
"The top three worst things I've seen in hockey? The invention of the trap. The invention of the morning skate. And the invention of the extremely ugly uniform."
Brett Hull (UMD)
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Martin St louis starts his presser speaking about the Brown university which his son attends and sends his thoughts and prayers to all the families affected with the tragedy ❤️
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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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