BC Bulletin

Marquee Matchups in Michigan, Minnesota Highlight College Hockey Schedule: Puck Drop

Your daily briefing on what's going on in college hockey, everything from the assists on the ice to the Zamboni.
Christopher Walsh|
March 17, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward Luke Moffatt (9) tries to score on Western Michigan Broncos goalie Frank Slubowski (1) as Matt Tennyson (7) defends in the third period at Joe Louis Arena.
March 17, 2012; Detroit, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines forward Luke Moffatt (9) tries to score on Western Michigan Broncos goalie Frank Slubowski (1) as Matt Tennyson (7) defends in the third period at Joe Louis Arena. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
  1. This Week's Schedule
  2. Puck Drop: Wednesday, October 22, 2025
  3. Tuesday's Score
  4. Did You Notice?
  5. Athletes of the Week Honors
  6. This Date in Hockey History:
  7. Hockey Quote of the Day
  8. We'll Leave You With This ...

We're already had then-No. 3 at No. 1 in men's college hockey, resulting in a sweep for the visiting team, and both No. 4 at 1 and No. 2 at 3 on the women's side, plus Icebreaker tournaments in both. So we're done with the early-season high-profile non-conference matchups, right?

Not so fast, as someone used to frequently say in collegiate sports.

Yes, it's another week with marquee-level games, only this time the matchups are all of the in-state variety. On the mens side, reigning national champion No. 2 Western Michigan plays a home-and-home series with maybe the hottest team to start the 2025-26 season, No. 3 Michigan. Game 1 at Yost Arena will be the lone game in college hockey on Thursday night, and then the teams will reconvene roughly 100 miles away for the Friday night finale at Lawson Arena.

Both teams are deep, have a lot of players who can score. Michael Hage leads Michigan (6-0) with 11 points on five goals and six assists, and Will Horcoff already has six goals.

For Western Michigan, Joona Väisänen leads with six points in four games, while William Whitelaw and Grant Slukynsky both have five points. Last week at Massachusetts-Lowell, 12 different players got on the scoresheet.

The Wolverines lead the all-time series 77-38-9, but they split last season.

Meanwhile, in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, the women's game will see a similar matchup with No. 3 Minnesota at No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth. The Bulldogs took a tough sweep at No. 1 Wisconsin two weeks ago, while Gophers are coming off a split against No. 2 Ohio State that ended with a brawl and subsequent suspensions. UMD is winless in the last 13 meetings (0-12-1) , but is led by goaltender Ève Gascon, who plays for Team Canada in international events.

The men's teams from both schools will square off as well in another ranked matchup (No. 18 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 12 Minnesota), while No. 7 Denver at No. 9 Boston College is a another top-level series between top-10 teams, and No. 4 Boston University opens its Hockey East schedule with a home-and-home against No. Connecticut.

Finally, Minnesota may have yet another version of Purple Reign as St. Thomas in St. Paul will open its new arena on Friday against No. 15 Providence.

This Week's Schedule

Thursday, October 23, 2025
MEN
Non-Conference
No. 2 Western Michigan at No. 3 Michigan, 7 p.m.

Friday, October 24, 2025
MEN
Atlantic Hockey
Holy Cross at Army, 7 p.m. 
Canisius at Bentley, 7 p.m.
Air Force at RIT, 7 p.m. 

CCHA
Bowling Green at Lake Superior, 7 p.m.  
Ferris State at Michigan Tech, 7 p.m.
Augustana at Bemidji State, 8 p.m.  

Hockey East
No. 11 Connecticut at No. 4 Boston University, 7 p.m.

Non-Conference
Sacred Heart at No. 14 Ohio State. 6:30 p.m.   
No. 8 North Dakota at Clarkson, 7:00 p.m.   
Colgate at No. 10 Maine, 7 p.m.   
Mass.-Lowell at Mercyhurst, 7:00 p.m.  
No. 6 Quinnipiac at Merrimack, 7:00 p.m.   
Stonehill at No. 5 Penn State, 7 p.m.   
No. 7 Denver at No. 9 Boston College, 7 p.m. 
No. 1 Michigan State at Northern Michigan, 7 p.m.   
No. 15 Providence at St. Thomas, 7 p.m.   
Miami at Lindenwood, 7 p.m.   
RPI at No. 20 Minnesota State, 8 p.m. 
No. 18 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 12 Minnesota, 8:00 p.m.  
No. 13 Massachusetts at Omaha, 8 p.m.
Long Island at New Hampshire, 8 p.m.  
Robert Morris at Notre Dame, 8 p.m. 
Alaska-Anchorage at St. Cloud State, 8 p.m.  
No. 3 Michigan at No. 2 Western Michigan, 8 p.m.
Alaska at No. 17 Wisconsin, 8 p.m.

Exhibition
US Under-18 at Niagara       

WOMEN
No. 11 St. Cloud State at No. 2 Ohio State, 6 p.m.
No. 3 Minnesota at No. 4 Minnesota-Duluth, 7 p.m.
No. 5 Cornell at Harvard, 5 p.m.
Lindenwood at No. 6 Penn State, 2 p.m.
No. 7 Quinnipiac at No. 13 Yale 6 p.m.
No. 9 Colgate at Dartmouth, 3 p.m.
No. 10 Clarkson at Union, 6 p.m.
No. 8 UConn at Mercyhurst, 3 p.m.
New Hampshire at No. 15 Boston University 6 p.m.
St. Lawrence at RPI, 6 p.m.
Providence at No. 13 St. Thomas, 3 p.m.
Syracuse at RIT, 3 p.m.
Saint Michael’s at Sacred Heart, 5 p.m.
Robert Morris at Delaware, 6 p.m.
Princeton at Brown, 6 p.m.
Franklin Pierce at Vermont, 6 p.m.
Post at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.
Saint Anselm at Stonehill, 7 p.m.

Saturday, October 25, 2025
MEN
Atlantic Hockey
Holy Cross at Army, 4 p.m.   
Air Force at RIT, 5 p.m.           
Canisius at Bentley, 6 p.m.

CCHA
Bowling Green at Lake Superior, 6 p.m.  
Ferris State at Michigan Tech, 6 p.m. 
Augustana at Bemidji State, 7 p.m.

Hockey East
No. 4 Boston University at No. 11 Connecticut, 5 p.m.

Non-Conference
Mass.-Lowell at Mercyhurst, 4 p.m.
Sacred Heart at No. 14 Ohio State, 5 p.m.   
Robert Morris at Notre Dame, 6 p.m.   
Stonehill at No. 5 Penn State, 6 p.m.   
No. 1 Michigan State at Northern Michigan, 6 p.m.  
Alaska-Anchorage at St. Cloud State, 7 p.m.  
Alaska at No. 17 Wisconsin, 7 p.m. 
RPI at No. 20 Minnesota State, 7 p.m. 
No. 8 North Dakota at Clarkson, 7 p.m.  
Colgate at No. 10 Maine, 7 p.m.
Long Island at Merrimack, 7 p.m.
No. 6 Quinnipiac at New Hampshire 7 p.m.  
No. 7 Denver at Northeastern, 7 p.m. 
No. 18 Minnesota-Duluth at No. 12 Minnesota, 8 p.m.   
No. 13 Massachusetts at Omaha, 8 p.m.  
No. 15 Providence at St. Thomas, 8 p.m.   
Miami at Lindenwood, 8 p.m.   

Exhibition
US Under-18 at Cornell, 7 p.m.     
Simon Fraser at Princeton, 7 p.m.   
Toronto at St. Lawrence, 7 p.m.

WOMEN
Saint Michael’s at Sacred Heart, noon
Boston College at Merrimack, 1 p.m.
Lindenwood at No. 6 Penn State, 1 p.m.
No. 8 UConn at Mercyhurst, 1 p.m.
Robert Morris at Delaware, 2 p.m.
Providence at No. 13 St. Thomas, 2 p.m.
Minnesota State at No. 1 Wisconsin, 3 p.m.
No. 11 St. Cloud State at No. 2 Ohio State, 3 p.m.
No. 3 Minnesota at No. 4 Minnesota -Duluth, 4 p.m.
No. 5 Cornell at Dartmouth, 3 p.m.
No. 7 Quinnipiac at Brown, 3 p.m.
No. 9 Colgate at Harvard, 3 p.m.
No. 10 Clarkson at RPI, 3 p.m.
St. Lawrence at Union, 3 p.m.
Franklin Pierce at Vermont, 3 p.m.
RIT at Syracuse, 3 p.m.
Princeton at No. 13 Yale, 3 p.m.

Sunday, October 26, 2025
MEN
Exhibition
Norwich at Dartmouth, 3 p.m.

WOMEN
Holy Cross at Post, 1:30 p.m.
Minnesota State at No. 1 Wisconsin, 3 p.m.

Puck Drop: Wednesday, October 22, 2025

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times ET.

Tuesday's Score

MEN
Non-Conference
No. 6 Quinnipiac 4, Holy Cross 1

Did You Notice?

• Quinnipiac opened a three-game week on the road by pouring on 22 shots in the first period and scoring twice during a 4-1 victory at Holy Cross. Markus Vidicek, Jeremy Wilmer, Matthew Lansing and Graham Sward had the goals for the the No. 6 Bobcats, who have a Hockey East swing this weekend at Merrimack and New Hampshire.

• Meanwhile, on Monday night two former Quinnipiac players from the 2023 national championship team made their NHL debuts: Zach Metsa (Sabres) and Charles Legault (Hurricanes). On Tuesday, former Michigan State forward Isaac Howard scored his first NHL goal with the Oilers.

• Hours after being activated from the injured reserve, former Providence defenseman Jake Walman scored in overtime to give Edmonton a 3-2 victory over Ottawa. He had missed the first six games of the season with an undisclosed injury.

• According to James Murphy of RG, the trade market for former Boston College right wing Alex Tuch is growing as he's due to be a free agent after this saeson. Per a source, "Buffalo is listening on Alex Tuch. From what I know, the Bruins and Oilers have inquired, along with a couple of other teams.”

• New Jersey Devils brothers Jack and Luke Hughes, the latter of which played at Michigan, have launched a reading initiative in partnership with their NHL team to promote reading across the local New Jersey youth community: "Pucks & Pages."

Athletes of the Week Honors

Some of this week’s award winners:

Atlantic Men
Forward: Walter Zacher, JR, Canisius
Defenseman: Crossley Stewart, JR, RIT
Goaltender: Chase Clark, SR, Canisius
Rookie: Dax Williams, FR, Holy Cross

Big Ten (Three Stars of the Week)
First Star: Matt DiMarsico, Jr., F, Penn State
Second Star: Daniel Hauser, Fr., G, Wisconsin
Third Star: Matt Basgall, Sr., D, Michigan State

ECAC Men
Forward: Jack Brandt. So., Colgate
Defender: Tyler Dunbar, Jr., Union
Rookie: Etienne Lessard, Fr., Union
Goaltender: Matej Marinov, Jr., Quinnipiac

Atlantic Women
Forward: Tessa Janecke, SR, Penn State
Defenseman: Danica Maynard, FR, Penn State
Goaltender: Katie DeSa, SR, Penn State
Rookie: Ava Drabyk, FR, Syracuse

ECAC Women
Forward: Kahlen Lamarche, Jr., Quinnipiac
Defender: Keira Ley, So., Harvard
Rookie: Megan Duplantie, Fr., Union
Goaltender: Annelies Bergmann, Jr., Cornell

NEWHA
Player: Maddi Achtyl, Sr., Stonehill
Defensive Player: Maggie Korneta, Sr., Franklin Pierce
Goaltender: Eve Stone, Sr,m Stonehill
Rookie: Georgia Stevens, Post University

WCHA
Forward: Alice Sauriol, Jr., St. Cloud State
Defender: Ellah Hause, Jr., St. Thomas
Goaltender: Ève Gascon, Jr., Minnesota Duluth
Rookie: Rae Mayer, Forward, Minnesota Duluth

This Date in Hockey History:

October 22, 1911: Fred Robertson, who briefly served as the head coach for John Carroll University while playing with the Cleveland Barons (AHL) was born in Carlisle, United Kingdom.  

October 22, 1960: Wisconsin goaltender Terry Kleisinger was born in Regina, Saskatchewan.

October 22, 1972: Boston University defenseman Scott Lachance was born in Charlottesville, Va.

October 22, 1979: New Hampshire right wing Darren Haydar was born in Milton, Ontario.

October 22, 1980: Denver left wing Matt Pettinger was born in Edmonton, Alberta.

October 22, 1996: Former Boston University center John Cullen registered his 500th career point as the Tampa Bay Lightning won at the New York Islanders 6-3.

October 22, 2001: Michigan center Brendan Brisson was born in Los Angeles, Calif.

October 22, 2006: Former Minnesota right wing Paul Holmgren was named general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers after Bob Clarke resigned.

October 22, 2008: Ted Lindsay, Brian Burke, Phil Housley and Bob Naegele all received the Lester Patrick Award for service to hockey in the United States.

October 22, 2008: Former Boston University left wing Keith Tkachuk scored in his sixth straight game from the start of a season to set a St. Louis Blues record, and former North Dakota right wing T.J. Oshie netting his first NHL career goal in a 4-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. 

October 22, 2013: Former North Dakota center Brock Nelson scored his first NHL goal, but the New York Islanders lost in overtime to the visiting Vancouver Canucks.

October 22, 2022: Former Wisconsin forward Joe Pavelski became the oldest player in Dallas Stars/Minnesota North Stars history to score a hat trick (38 years, 103 days).

Hockey Quote of the Day

“No way we thought about the gold medal. We figured the Soviets were gonna be the team and nobody was gonna beat them.”
Mike Eruzione

We'll Leave You With This ...

Published
Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

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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