Is the West Really That Much Stronger? The Latest College Hockey Rankings

The men's college hockey season is only into Week 2, and the women have been playing just a little longer, but if the early polls are on the mark it looks like it'll be a good season for the Western schools.

In the men's polls, Boston University is the lone East Coast team in the top five. Granted, Penn State is located in the East, in plays in the Big Ten, which is largely considered a Midwest-based conference and thus a Western school in college hockey. For example, when the American Hockey Coaches Association names All-Americans each year they do an East and West team. Last year, when Nittany Lions forward Aidan Fink was a first-team selection it was for the West.

Meanwhile, on the women's side, with Minnesota Duluth moving ahead of Colgate, the top four teams are all from Western schools.

We're just getting started on the 2025-26 season, and there are plenty of East-based teams in the top 10 and 20, but so far the voters seem to have a lot more confidence in the Michigan teams on the men's side, with three of the top 10 after the Wolverines moved up this week.

Is it a surprise? Hardly. Since 2015, only two Eastern teams have won the national championship, Quinnipiac in 2023, and UMass in 2021.

Meanwhile, the Western Collegiate Hockey Association has completely dominated the women's game, with six straight national titles and won all but three of the national championship games played since 2001.

Men's Polls

USCHO

Rank Team Record Points Previous
1 Western Michigan (32) 0-0-0 943 1
2 Michigan State (11) 0-0-0 906 3
3 Boston University (2) 1-0-0 895 2
4 Penn State (4) 2-0-0 890 5
5 Denver 0-0-0 811 4
6 Maine 0-0-0 653 7
7 Providence 0-0-0 572 9
8 Quinnipiac 1-0-0 561 13
9 Michigan (1) 2-0-0 553 12
10 North Dakota 0-0-0 551 11
11 Boston College 0-1-0 541 6
12 Minnesota 1-1-0 478 8
13 UConn 1-1-0 468 10
14 UMass 2-0-0 387 15
15 Arizona State 0-2-0 229 14
16 Ohio State 0-0-0 216 16
17 Cornell 0-0-0 177 17
18 Wisconsin 2-0-0 144 20
19 St. Thomas 1-0-0 143 19
20 Minnesota State 0-0-0 117 18
Others receiving votes: Colorado College 92, Michigan Tech 40, UMass Lowell 26, Minnesota Duluth 25, Northeastern 17, Bemidji State 13, Sacred Heart 10, St. Cloud State 7, Omaha 6, Bowling Green 5, Dartmouth 5, Bentley 4, Brown 4, Clarkson 3, Harvard 3, Canisius 2, Notre Dame 2, Augustana 1

USA Hockey

Oct. 6 Rankings
Rnk Team Points (First Place) Last Poll
1          Western Michigan (24) 642 1
2          Michigan State (3)         612 3
3          Boston University (4) 616 2
4          Penn State (2) 546 5
5          Denver 558    4
6 Providence      425  T8
7        Michigan (1)    318 12
8       Maine 404   T8
9         Quinnipiac       395 13
10       Boston College            389   6
11      North Dakota 366   T10
12       Minnesota       347   7
13     Connecticut     306  T 10
14        Massachusetts 242   10
15       Arizona State   151 14
T 16    Cornell 133   16
T 16    Ohio State 133 17
18        Wisconsin       122 19
19      St. Thomas      77     T 20
20       Minnesota State        127    18

Others Receiving Votes: University of Minnesota Duluth, 39; Colorado College, 30; Michigan Tech University, 25; University of Massachusetts Lowell, 18; Northeastern University, 13; Clarkson University, 10; Harvard University, 5; Bemidji State University, 3; Brown University, 3; Notre Dame University, 2; University of Nebraska Omaha, 2; St. Cloud State University; 1.

Women's Polls

USCHO

Rnk Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Wisconsin (19) 4-0-0 299 1
2 Ohio State (1) 2-0-0 277 2
3 Minnesota 4-0-0 264 3
4 Minnesota Duluth 4-0-0 219 5
5 Cornell 0-0-0 216 4
6 Penn State 4-0-0 201 6
7 Quinnipiac 4-0-0 173 8
8 Colgate 0-2-0 146 7
9 Clarkson 2-2-0 125 9
10 St. Cloud State 3-1-0 117 11
11 Connecticut 2-2-0 110 12
12 St. Lawrence 1-3-0 68 10
13 Northeastern 2-0-0 64 14
14 Boston University 0-2-0 55 13
15 Mercyhurst 3-3-0 24 NR
15 Princeton 0-0-0 24 15
Others receiving votes: Boston College 6, Minnesota State 4, Yale 4, St. Thomas 3, Union 1

USA Hockey

Sept. 30 Rankings (Will Be Updated Oct. 7)
Rank    Team, Votes, (First Place)
1. Wisconsin (19) 2-0-0 285 1
2. Ohio State 0-0-0 263 2
3. Minnesota 2-0-0 255 3
4. Cornell 0-0-0 229 4
5. Minnesota Duluth 4-0-0 202 5
6. Colgate 0-0-0 186 6
7. Penn State 2-0-0 144 8
8. Quinnipiac 2-0-0 121 10
9. Clarkson 1-1-0 119 7
10. St. Lawrence 0-2-0 92 9
11. St. Cloud State 3-1-0 71 12
12. Connecticut 1-1-0 82 13
13. Boston U 0-0-0 85 11
14. Northeastern 0-0-0 35 T14
15. Princeton 0-0-0 28 T14

Others Receiving Votes: Mercyhurst 11; Yale 2; Maine 1; Minnesota State 1; St. Thomas, 1.