Michigan Hockey Powers Go 1-2-3 in Latest Rankings
Michigan State, Western Michigan and Michigan. According to the latest polls, the three best teams in college hockey all hail from the Great Lakes State.
The Spartans moved into the top spot with a weekend sweep at then-No. 1 Boston University, including a drama-filled 4-3 overtime victory on Saturday. The series opener, which was shown on ESPN 2, had a 4-2 final score.
"Heck of a weekend," Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale said after the overtime win. "Tonight was about as good of a college hockey game as you're going to see. I thought it was a really good response out of BU, obviously they're a really good team. We knew they were going to be a lot sharper the second night."
Michigan has rocketed up the rankings with a 6-0 start after being No. 12 in the preseason poll, and cracked the top three following a sweep of Robert Morris. It also faced Providence and Mercyhurst in non-conference play and outscored its opponents 40-7 ( for an average score of 6.7-1.2).
This year, being the state champion will obviously mean a lot. Michigan State begins its quest by visiting Northern Michigan this weekend, although the Wildcats are off to a rough start at 0-6 after being swept by Massachusetts, Ohio State and Colorado College.
Michigan State face Big Ten rival Michigan twice during the regular season, Dec. 5-6, and Feb. 6-7. They could obviously play again in the Big Ten tournament (see below), which has a new format this season and home-ice advantage could be huge.
Michigan State does not have reigning national champion Western Michigan on its schedule, but Michigan does. The Wolverines will host the Broncos, who playh in the NCHC, this weekend for a No. 2 at No. 3 matchup.
How's that for timing?
USCHO Men's Poll
October 20, 2025
Rank | Team | Record | Points (1st) | Prv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Michigan State | 3-1-0 | 967 (29) | 3 |
2 | Western Michigan | 3-1-0 | 924 (9) | 2 |
3 | Michigan | 6-0-0 | 886 (11) | 4 |
4 | Boston University | 2-2-1 | 823 | 1 |
5 | Penn State | 5-1-0 | 775 (1) | 6 |
6 | Quinnipiac | 3-1-1 | 692 | 10 |
7 | Denver | 2-1-1 | 677 | 5 |
8 | North Dakota | 3-1-0 | 654 | 8 |
9 | Boston College | 2-1-1 | 601 | 9 |
10 | Maine | 2-1-1 | 566 | 7 |
11 | Connecticut | 2-2-0 | 410 | 12 |
12 | Minnesota | 2-3-1 | 400 | 13 |
13 | Massachusetts | 4-1-0 | 377 | 11 |
14 | Ohio State | 3-1-0 | 356 | 16 |
15 | Providence | 1-2-0 | 332 | 14 |
16 | Colorado College | 5-1-0 | 228 | 19 |
17 | Wisconsin | 2-0-2 | 202 | 17 |
18 | Minnesota Duluth | 5-1-0 | 138 | NR |
19 | Cornell | 0-0-0 | 123 | 18 |
20 | Minnesota State | 1-1-2 | 108 | 20 |
Others receiving votes: Augustana 80, Arizona State 57, Union 52, Northeastern 17, St. Thomas 11, Miami 8, Michigan Tech 8, Canisius 7, Dartmouth 6, St. Cloud State 5, Ferris State 3, Harvard 3, Brown 1, Clarkson 1, Lindenwood 1, Niagara 1
USA Hockey Poll
October 20, 2025
Rank | Team | Points (1st) | Prv. |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Michigan State | 659 (17) | 4 |
2 | Western Michigan | 634 (5) | 2 |
3 | Michigan | 624 (12) | 3 |
4 | Boston University | 575 | 1 |
5 | Penn State | 528 | 6 |
6 | Quinnipiac | 591 | 10 |
7 | Denver | 471 | 5 |
8 | North Dakota | 442 | 8 |
9 | Boston College | 422 | 9 |
10 | Maine | 358 | 7 |
11 | Connecticut | 283 | 12 |
12 | Minnesota | 268 | 14 |
13 | Massachusetts | 267 | 11 |
14 | Providence | 218 | 13 |
15 | Ohio State | 212 | 15 |
16 | Wisconsin | 161 | 17 |
17 | Colorado College | 110 | 20 |
18 | Cornell | 109 | 18 |
19 | Minnesota Duluth | 98 | NR |
20 | Minnesota State | 75 | 19 |
Others receiving votes: Union 44; Augustana 35; Arizona State16; Miami 15; Northeastern 12; Canisius 8; Harvard 3; Clarkson 1; St. Cloud State 1.
Big Ten Tournament Format
For those who missed it, the tournament is changing to a two-week, single-elimination format with all games played on campus, but will still determines the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Per the Big Ten: All seven teams will qualify with quarterfinals being held on Wednesday, March 11. Teams seeded No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 will host the No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 seeds respectively. The No. 1 seed gains a bye into the semifinals. Semifinals will take place on Saturday, March 14, hosted by the No. 1 seed and the highest advancing seed from the quarterfinals. The championship game will be held the weekend of March 20-21 and hosted by the highest remaining seed.
Michigan State is the two-time reigning champion. It defended its tournament title in 2025, recording a 4-3 double overtime victory over Ohio State in Munn Ice Arena.
USCHO Women's Poll
October 20, 2025
Rank | Team | Record | Points (1st) | Prv. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wisconsin | 8-0-0 | 300 (20) | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | 5-1-0 | 275 | 2 |
3 | Minnesota | 7-1-0 | 265 | 3 |
4 | Minnesota Duluth | 6-2-0 | 224 | 4 |
5 | Cornell | 2-0-0 | 220 | 5 |
6 | Penn State | 8-0-0 | 202 | 6 |
7 | Quinnipiac | 4-2-0 | 189 | 7 |
8 | Connecticut | 3-3-0 | 138 | 11 |
9 | Colgate | 3-3-0 | 137 | 8 |
10 | Clarkson | 3-3-0 | 107 | 9 |
11 | St. Cloud State | 4-4-0 | 98 | 10 |
12 | Northeastern | 4-2-0 | 95 | 12 |
13 | St. Thomas | 5-2-0 | 27 | NR |
14 | Yale | 2-0-0 | 27 | NR |
15 | Boston University | 0-5-0 | 21 | 13 |
Others receiving votes: Mercyhurst 16, St. Lawrence 16, Minnesota State 14, Princeton 12, Boston College 9, Brown 6, Providence 2
Women's USA Hockey Poll
October 21, 2025
Rank | Team | Points (1st) | Prv. |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Wisconsin | 285 (19) | 1 |
2 | Ohio State | 259 | 2 |
3 | Minnesota | 253 | 3 |
4 | Cornell | 214 | 4 |
5 | Minnesota Duluth | 212 | 5 |
6 | Penn State | 192 | 6 |
7 | Quinnipiac | 179 | 7 |
8 | Colgate | 135 | 8 |
9 | Connecticut | 126 | 11 |
10 | Clarkson | 103 | 9 |
11 | St. Cloud State | 100 | 10 |
12 | Northeastern | 85 | 12 |
13 | St. Thomas | 36 | NR |
14 | Yale | 27 | NR |
15 | St. Lawrence | 20 | T13 |
Others Receiving Votes: Mercyhurst 12; Minnesota State, 12; Princeton 10; Boston University, 8; Brown 7; Boston College, 3; Maine, 1; Providence 1.
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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