Look Who's Ranked in College Hockey for the First Time Since 2018

The first hockey polls of 2026 are out with Michigan and Wisconsin solidifying their holds atop the men's and women's rankings, respectively, without having played much over the past month. There was also little movement in the top five of either rankings, as Michigan State moved back up a spot to No. 2 on the men's side, and Connecticut women up to No. 5.

More notable was what happened on the other end. Princeton, which has won five straight games, is ranked for the first time since the 2018-19 season. — Nov. 26, 2018 to be specific — when the Tigers were ranked No. 19.The Tigers have the nation's second-longest winning streak behind only North Dakota (eight).

They're also a perfect 8-0 at home this season, including the weekend sweep against its first two ranked opponents this season, 5-4 over then-No. 8 Dartmouth, and 3-2 against then-No. 18 Harvard thanks to a last-second goal. It's the longest home winning streak in the 103-year history of Hobey Baker Rink, and is tied with Cornell for the current active longest home winning streak in the nation.

WITH JUST SECONDS LEFT, @princetonhockey WINS IT! #NCAAHockey x 🎥SNYpic.twitter.com/8AK6Y0423e
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) January 4, 2026

Of note from this week's rankings ...

Made biggest jump: No. 17 Augustana with its home sweep of Colorado College is 6-1-2 since late November, and has aa very favorable schedule the rest of the month. Cornell needs to be mentioned for climbing from No. 17 to No. 14 after sweeping Omaha.

Had biggest fall: Harvard got drilled by No. 10 Quinnipiac 9-1 and the bonce back against Princeton fell short, 3-2. Dartmouth and Boston University, and the Crimson can't afford another sweep.

Most underrated team per National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index: It might be in part to having fewer games following its usual late start, but NPI is high on Ivy League schools. We have to wonder if that will last, especially with Dartmouth having lost four of its last five and Harvard's showing last weekend (and ironically they play Friday night at Thompson Arena). But leading the way is Princeton, which cracked the top 20, yet is No. 12 in NPI.

Most overrated team per NPI: Even though Maine didn't take a loss at Denver over the weekend and made a big jump in NPI, it' still No. 22. The polls have the Black Bears at No. 12 (and No. 14).

USCHO Men's Poll

January 5, 2026

Rank	Team	Record	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Michigan	16-4	995 (46)	1
2	Michigan State	14-4	908 (2)	3
3	Wisconsin	13-3-2	886 (1)	2
4	North Dakota	16-4	854	4
5	Minnesota Duluth	14-6	784	5
6	Western Michigan	14-6	776 (1)	7
7	Denver	12-7-2	662	6
8	Quinnipiac	14-4-2	648	10
9	Penn State	12-6	578	8
10	Connecticut	11-5-3	517	11
11	Dartmouth	12-4	463	9
12	Maine	12-7-2	411	15
13	Boston College	11-6-1	410	13
14	Cornell	9-4	328	17
15	Minnesota State	12-5-5	298	14
16	Northeastern	10-7	231	16
17	Augustana	12-6-3	173	NR
18	Providence	9-7-2	157	16
19	Boston University	9-8-1	101	19
20	Princeton	10-4	83	NR

Others receiving votes: Union 76, Harvard 38, New Hampshire 24, Arizona State 19, Michigan Tech 19, St. Cloud State 16, Bentley 15, St. Thomas 14, Massachusetts 13, Bemidji State 6, Bowling Green 5, Holy Cross 5, Miami 5, Colorado College 1, RIT 1

USA Hockey Men's Poll

January 5, 2026

Rank	Team	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Michigan	680 (34)	1
2	Michigan State	626	3
3	Wisconsin	610	2
4	North Dakota	571	4
5	Minnesota Duluth	541	5
6	Western Michigan	514	7
7	Denver	472	6
8	Quinnipiac	434	10
9	Penn State	400	9
10	Dartmouth	372	8
11	Connecticut	349	11
12	Cornell	261	17
13	Boston College	252	13
14	Maine	231	18
T15	Minnesota State	178	14
T15	Northeastern	178	12
17	Providence	112	15
18	Augustana	102	NR
19	Princeton	64	NR
20	Harvard	48	16

Others Receiving Votes: Boston University, 33; Union 29; St. Cloud State 23; ; Arizona State 22; Massachusetts, 12; Bentley 6; Bemidji State 4; St Thomas 4; New Hampshire 2; Rochester Institute of Technology 2; Miami 1

USCHO Women's Poll

January 5, 2026

Rank	Team	Record	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Wisconsin	18-1-1	300 (20)	1
2	Ohio State	17-3	279	2
3	Minnesota	16-4	261	3
4	Penn State	18-3	235	4
5	Connecticut	15-3-2	214	6
6	Northeastern	15-4	195	7
7	Quinnipiac	15-5-2	174	8
8	Minnesota Duluth	12-8	158	5
9	Princeton	13-4	142	9
10	Cornell	10-6-1	106	10
11	Clarkson	13-6-2	102	11
12	Minnesota State	11-8-1	87	12
13	Colgate	10-10-1	59	14
14	Yale	11-7	38	15
15	St. Cloud State	7-12-1	36	13

Others receiving votes: Holy Cross 7, Mercyhurst 5, Boston College 1, Brown 1

USA Hockey Women's Poll

December 16, 2025 (New poll due to be Released Tuesday, will be updated)

Rank	Team	Points (1st)	Prv.
1	Wisconsin	285 (19)	1
2	Ohio State	266	2
3	Minnesota	243	3
4	Penn State	225	4
5	Minnesota Duluth	210	5
6	Northeastern	175	6
7	Connecticut	174	7
8	Quinnipiac	152	8
9	Princeton	131	9
10	Cornell	115	11
11	Clarkson	95	10
12	Minnesota State	68	12
13	St. Cloud State	54	13
14	Yale	36	14
15	Brown	21	15

Others receiving votes: Colgate, 13; Mercyhurst, 7; St. Thomas, 7; Holy Cross, 3.