Michigan Tech Named Team to Beat in CCHA; First Women’s National Poll Has a Surprise: Puck Drop

Here may be the only thing in college hockey that everyone could agree on Monday, Bemidji State forward Oliver Peer is the CCHA's best player heading into the 2026-27 season. He landed the honor in both the preseason coaches' poll and in media voting.

Peer is the league's top returning score. As a junior last season he netted 20 goals with 16 assists for 36 points, earning All-CCHA First Team honors.

After that, there was not much of a consensus. Granted, Michigan Tech did place first in the balloting for both polls, but the media gave more first-place votes to its second-place team, Minnesota State. The coaches had Bowling Green second, however the media had the Falcons fourth behind Augustana, which also landed first-place votes.

What does having four of the eight teams land at least one first-place vote mean? That everyone expects another very tight race in the CCHA.

Last season, the Mavericks (22-11-7 overall, 14-7-5 conference) finished first in the standings with 51 points, but both St. Thomas — which has since moved to the NCHC — and the Vikings were one point behind at 50, with the Huskies and Falcons right behind them with 49. Minnesota State won the CCHA postseason tournament and was the only team to land a spot in the NCAA tournament, while the other four were all top 25 in NCAA Percentage Index, which was used to select the 16-team field.

CCHA Preseason Coaches' Poll

Michigan Tech: 65 (4 first-place votes)
Bowling Green: 62 (2)
Minnesota State: 59 (2)
Augustana: 57
Bemidji State: 46
Lake Superior State: 41
Ferris State: 33
Northern Michigan: 29

CCHA Preseason Media Poll

Michigan Tech: 116 (4)
Minnesota State: 113 (6)
Augustana: 107 (2)
Bowling Green: 101 (1)
Bemidji State: 76
Lake Superior State: 64
Ferris State: 56
Northern Michigan: 43

Peer was named to the Preseason All-CCHA Team by both the coaches and media along with Huskies Max Koskipirtti and Isaac Gordon. Breck McKinley and Hayden Hennen of Bowling Green and Augustana, respectively, were consensus defensive selections.

Preseason Coaches' All-CCHA Team

Oliver Peer, F, Bemidji State
Max Koskipirtti, F, Michigan Tech
Isaac Gordon, F, Michigan Tech
Ben Doran, F, Bowling Green
Breck McKinley, D, Bowling Green
Hayden Hennen, D, Augustana
Owen Bartoszkiewicz, G, Michigan Tech

Preseason Media All-CCHA Team

Oliver Peer, F, Bemidji State
Max Koskipirtti, F, Michigan Tech
Luigi Benincasa, F, Minnesota State
Breck McKinley, D, Bowling Green
Hayden Hennen, D, Augustana
Will Skahan, D, Minnesota State
Owen Baumgartner, D, Augustana
Oliver Auyeung-Ashton, G, Northern Michigan

Finally, both the coaches and media had Bowling Green defenseman Mazden Leslie listed as CCHA Rookie of the Year after he totaled 68 points (18 goals and 50 assists) for the WHL's Kelowna Rockets last season, but the coaches also named Lake Superior forward Cooper Foster and Ferris State forward Nathan Leek in a three-way tie.

Foster had 29 goals and 37 assists for 66 points in 66 games last season for the Ottawa 67's (OHL), while Leek notched 47 goals and 37 assists for 84 points with Charlottetown Islanders (QMJHL).

Who's No. 1 in Women's College Hockey?

You may remember this headline last week: Thanks to the WCHA Preseason Poll, Women's Hockey Already has a Clear No. 1. This was after all but two of the conference coaches voted Ohio State ahead of Wisconsin in the WCHA preseason rankings (and they couldn't vote for their own team so it was one vote away from being unanimous).

Apparently the voters in the USCHO.com poll didn't agree.

On Monday, the first national preseason poll was released and had a small surprise at the top with reigning national champion Wisconsin at No. 1. We say small surprise because the Badgers and Buckeyes have played in the last four title games, and have been at No. 1 in every poll since Feb. 14, 2023 (Minnesota).

Wisconsin received 13 first-place votes in the poll, and Ohio State had seven. Meanwhile, the 15 teams in the poll were the same 15 ranked at the end of last season. The top five were are the same, albeit in different order, as were the top 10.

Rank	Team	Points	Prev.
1	Wisconsin (13)	293	1
2	Ohio State (7)	287	2
3	Minnesota	234	5
4	Penn State	229	3
5	Northeastern	223	4
6	Quinnipiac	195	7
7	Connecticult	181	6
8	Princeton	149	9
9	Minnesota Duluth	145	10
10	Yale	122	8
11	Cornell	107	11
12	Clarkson	82	14
13	Colgate	51	15
14	Minnesota State	50	13
15	Mercyhurst	41	12

Others receiving votes: St. Lawrence 3, Boston College 2, St. Cloud State 2, Brown 1, Harvard 1, Holy Cross 1, Vermont 1

Countdown to the 2026-27 Season

Men … 17 days. Women … 3 days.

Puck Drop: Tuesday, September 15, 2026

For those itching for the season to start, the U.S. National Developmental Program Under-17 team split its first two games on the schedule, taking a 4-0 loss at Anchorage (Maverick Avent made 35 saves for the shutout for the NAHL team), but bouncing back to win the finale 4-3 in a shootout. Playing in his home town, Carter Morris got the game-tying goal to send it to overtime after the U.S. goaltender had been pulled. Cannon Thibodeau (Notre Dame commit) had a goal and an assist.

Meanwhile, the Under-18 team split a pair of exhibitions with Muskegon Lumberjacks losing the first 4-3, but winning the second 7-3 in the ninth annual “Play With Purpose” charity game. Gerry DiCunzolo (Penn State) scored twice and Brayden Willis (Minnesota had a power-play goal and two assists.

USA Hockey announced that the U.S. Women’s National Team will face Canada in two pre-tournament games in advance of the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship, including on Oct. 28 at WFCU Centre in Windsor, Ontario, and at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich., on Oct. 30. A total of 31 players, 28 from the PWHL), were invited to the first of two training camps this week in Blaine, Minn., including defender Laney Potter and goaltender Ava McNaughton (both Wisconsin), and forward Joy Dunne (Ohio State). The World Championship will be Nov. 6-16 in Herning and Esbjerg, Denmark.

Notre Dame landed a premium prospect as center Kayden Stroeder made his commitment fro 2028-29. Last season he had 32 points in 55 games for the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL), and also played for Team Canada at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Meanwhile, Providence landed a commitment from goaltender Chase Pastor (Chicago Steel, USHL), and Niagara will add left wing Philip Govedaris (Brantford Bulldogs, OHL), both for 2027-28.

Yahoo's Ross Dellenger reported that Rep. Tim Walberg and Sen. Jon Husted are introducing a bill that limits the amount of international athletes on a college sports roster to 20 percent. Perhaps the most surprising part of it may be that the Walberg hails from Michigan and Husted from Ohio. The guess here is that their offices may subsequently hear from some college hockey fans about the "Training and Education for American Members in University Sports and Athletics Act,” (or Team USA Act) as 30 percent of rosters are Canadian, and nine percent are European.

As expected, the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Committee moved the 2027 NCAA Tournament Regionals from Bridgeport, Conn., to Hartford, Conn. Total Mortgage Arena. With the New York Islanders moving their AHL affiliate to Hamilton, Ontario, Total Mortgage Arena no longer has a regular hockey tenant. The other regionals will be played at Fargo, N.D., Loveland, Colo., and Springfield, Mass.

The Columbus Blue Jackets announced that they signed veteran goaltender Cam Talbot to a one-year, $950,000 contract for the 2026-27 season. The 39-year-old played in 34 games for the Detroit Red Wings, going 12-9-6 with a 3.19 goals against average and .883 save percentage. He's also the last player from Alabama-Huntsville (2007-10), where he led the Chargers to the College Hockey America championship and a spot in the NCAA tournament.

The Montreal Canadiens signed head coach Martin St. Louis (Vermont) to a multi-year contract extension. It reportedly adds three years, through 2029-30.

This Date in Hockey History

September 15, 1960: Hall of Fame forward Maurice Richard retired after 18 seasons in the NHL. He won eight Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens.

September 15, 1968: Lake Superior State goaltender Mike Greenlay was born in Vitória, Brazil.

September 15, 1975: New Hampshire left wing Derek Bekar was born in Burnaby, British Columbia.

September 15, 1979: Boston University left wing Mike Pandolfo was born in Winchester, Mass.

September 15, 1981: The Hockey Hall of Fame welcomed Frank Mahovlich, Allan Stanley, John Bucyk and referee John Ashley.

September 15, 2012: The 2012 NHL lockout began. It didn’t end until Jan. 6, 2013.

Hockey Quote of the Day

“I never thought they'd trade me."
Rod Langway (UNH)

We'll Leave You With This ...

Starting your week on 🔒#UNDproud | #LGH pic.twitter.com/uLTHhiPbPJ
— North Dakota Hockey (@UNDmhockey) September 14, 2026

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