BC Bulletin

Why the Next Few Weeks Should be A Hockey Fan's Dream: 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|
Penn State hockey at Beaver Stadium.
Penn State hockey at Beaver Stadium. | Penn State Athletics

Late January and early February is always a fun time for hockey fans as it's the transition time from the regular season to the postseason, and the championship grind truly begin. This year's a little different, though, and not because the college game will enjoy its first Frozen Four in Las Vegas in April.

There are three major events coming up that should have everyone excited, even if one of them is a tournament played every year between the same teams. In may ways it's like the sport's version of The Masters or Wimbledon, where the tradition seems to always make it special.

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. They are in order:

1) College Hockey at Beaver Stadium

It's hockey outside, and not that tropical version the NHL is doing on Sunday with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins playing at Raymond James Stadium. Penn State will host its first games in Beaver Stadium, with a weekend doubleheader of the women's team hosting Robert Morris on Friday, followed by the men's team playing No. 2 Michigan State in the second game of its crucial Big Ten series on Saturday. The forecast is for mostly sunny skies and a high temperature of 17 degrees.

Here's hoping that Penn State can draw fans like Michigan and Michigan State did with outdoor games against each other. In 2001, "The Cold War" in East Lansing attracted 74,544 to Spartan Stadium to see a 3-3 game against the Wolverines (tickets sold out in just nine hours). In 2010, "The Big Chill at the Big House" attracted a record-setting crowd of 104,173 (certified), 113,411 (announced) fans in Ann Arbor to see UM win 5-0.

In case you're wondering, Beaver Stadium's capacity for football is 106,572.

2) Beanpot is around the corner

For those who don't know, Beanpot is the annual city championship of the four original major programs in the Boston area, and and it often doesn't go the way most fans expect. The teams rotate first-round oppoinents each year and both the semifinals and finals are played at the home of the Boston Bruins, TD Garden. Next Monday, February 2, Boston College will play Harvard, while Boston University will square off against Northeastern. A week later the winners meet in the championship game, played after after the third-place game.

This year the stakes are a little higher than usual as all four teams are trying to move up in the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index to make the NCAA Tournament. BC is a bubble team at No, 14, with Harvard at 19, BU at 22 and NU 27th. None can afford a loss, much less two.

3) The Olympics

Yes, the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games are finally here, and the NHL will take a break from Feb. 6-25 so many of its players can participate. The women's tournament will start first, with with Team USA opening against Czechia on Feb. 5, followed by Finland on the 7th, Switzerland on the 9th, and then the Group A showdown, Canada on Feb. 10th to set up the medal-round brackets.

Team USA is in Group C for its preliminary round. It will play its first game on Feb. 12 against Latvia, followed by Denmark two days later, and Germany on the 15th. The gold-medal game will be the final event of the Games on Feb. 22, just before the closing ceremonies.

Yes, there will be plenty of hockey to watch in between the curling matches in Italy, but not during the evenings in the U.S. due to the time difference with Europe, giving the college game an extra attention boost during the final games before conference tournaments.

SEE ALSO: Penn State Hockey Rolls Into Beaver Stadium With a Big Win Streak

Puck Drop: Monday, January 26, 2026

• Former North Dakota center Brock Nelson is one of the hottest player in the NHL, having scored 13 goals in his past 13 games. That includes his hat trick for Colorado in a 4-1 win at Toronto on Sunday. His first two goals were 1:12 apart in the first period and then he added an empty-netter for his fifth career hat trick. The Avalanche became the fourth team in NHL history with six or fewer regulation losses through 50 games in a season.

• The 12 players nominated for the 2026 Hockey Humanitarian Award, which goes to college hockey's finest citizen, were announced last week.

Jack Blake, Sr., D, Bowling Green
Davis Bone, Sr., F, Johnson & Wales
Kara Goulding, Sr., F, Boston College
James Hagens, So., F, Boston College
Kelly Howe, Sr., F, Hobart and William Smith
Tyler Mahan, Sr., F, RIT
Grace Sadura, Sr., F, Minnesota Duluth
Meg Simon, Sr., F, Middlebury
Jayden Sison, Sr., D, Princeton
Ryan Tattle, Sr., F, Connecticut
Alex Tracy, Sr., F, Minnesota State
Brendan Vettraino, Sr., F, Misericordia

• The recent contract extension for Maine athletic director Jude Killy is through June 2030 and increased his base pay from $250K to $300K with subsequent 4 percent annual increases. Per CollegeAD.com it also includes a bonus if the Black Bears make the Frozen Four in men's or women's hockey, or if men's basketball makes the NCAA Tournament.

• Count the Florida Panthers as the latest team to skate away impressed with former Boston University standout Macklin Celebrini, who is still only 19. Check out this story on Break Away On SI. Then take a look at his latest highlight:

Men’s College Hockey Sunday Scores

No Games Scheduled

Women’s College Hockey Sunday Scores

WCHA
No. 1 Wisconsin 6, Bemidji State 1

Note: Rankings are from last week's polls. Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.

This Week's Men’s College Hockey Schedule

Tuesday, January 27, 2026
Non-Conference
Long Island at Alaska-Anchorage, 7 p.m. AT  

Thursday, January 29, 2026
AHA
Army at Holy Cross, 7 p.m. ET  

Friday, January 30, 2026
AHA
Niagara at Canisius, 7 p.m. ET  
Army at Holy Cross, 7 p.m. ET  
RIT at Mercyhurst, 7 p.m. ET  
Bentley at Robert Morris, 7 p.m. ET  
Sacred Heart at Air Force, 7:05 p.m. MT  

Big Ten
No. 2 Michigan State at No. 8 Penn State, 6 p.m. ET  
No. 1 Michigan at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m. ET  
No. 5 Wisconsin at Minnesota, 7 p.m. CT  

CCHA
No. 20 Minnesota State at Ferris State, 7 p.m.ET  
Bemidji State at Northern Michigan, 7 p.m. ET  
No. 19 Michigan Tech at No. 16 St. Thomas, 7 p.m. CT  
Lake Superior at No. 14 Augustana, 7 p.m. CT  

ECAC
Colgate at Brown, 7 p.m. ET  
Princeton at Clarkson, 7 p.m. ET  
Union at No. 10 Dartmouth, 7 p.m. ET  
RPI at Harvard, 7 p.m. ET  
No. 6 Quinnipiac at St. Lawrence, 7 p.m. ET  
No. 12 Cornell at Yale, 7 p.m. ET  

Hockey East
No. 15 Boston College at No. 18 Boston University, NESN  7 p.m. ET  
Northeastern at Massachusetts, 7 p.m. ET  
New Hampshire at Merrimack, 7 p.m. ET  

NCHC
Arizona State at Colorado College, 7 p.m. MT  
No. 7 Minnesota Duluth at No. 9 Denver, 7 p.m. MT  
Miami at St. Cloud State, 7 p.m. CT  
Omaha at No. 3 Western Michigan, 7 p.m. ET  

Non-Conference
Bowling Green at Notre Dame, 7 p.m. ET  
Stonehill at Vermont, 7 p.m. ET  
Long Island at Alaska, 7 p.m. AT  

Saturday, January 31, 2026
AHA
RIT at Mercyhurst, 5 p.m. ET  
Sacred Heart at Air Force, 5 p.m. MT  
Canisius at Niagara, 7 p.m. ET  
Bentley at Robert Morris, 7 p.m. ET  

Big Ten
No. 2 Michigan State at No. 8 Penn State, BTN, 1 p.m. ET  
No. 1 Michigan at Ohio State, 5 p.m. ET  
No. 5 Wisconsin at Minnesota, 6 p.m. CT  

CCHA
No. 20 Minnesota State at Ferris State, 6 p.m. ET  
Bemidji State at Northern Michigan, 6 p.m. ET  
No. 19 Michigan Tech at No. 16 St. Thomas, 6 p.m. CT  
Lake Superior at No. 14 Augustana, 6 p.m. CT  

ECAC
No. 12 Cornell at Brown, 7 p.m. ET  
No. 6 Quinnipiac at Clarkson, SNY  7 p.m. ET  
RPI at No. 10 Dartmouth, 7 p.m. ET  
Princeton at St. Lawrence, 7 p.m. ET  
Colgate at Yale, 7 p.m. ET  

Hockey East
No. 11 Providence at No. 17 Maine, 7 p.m. ET  
Merrimack at New Hampshire, NESN, 7 p.m. ET  

NCHC
Arizona State at Colorado College, 6 p.m. MT  
No. 7 Minnesota Duluth at No. 9 Denver, 6 p.m. MT  
Miami at St. Cloud State, 6 p.m. CT  
Omaha at No. 3 Western Michigan, 6 p.m. ET  

Non-Conference
Notre Dame at Bowling Green, 7 p.m. ET  
Long Island at Alaska, 7 p.m. AT  
Stonehill at Vermont, 7:30 p.m. ET  

Sunday, February 1, 2026
Hockey East
Massachusetts at UMass Lowell, NESN, 3:30 p.m. ET  

This Week's Women’s College Hockey Schedule

Thursday, January 29
Hockey East
Holy Cross at Northeastern, 7 p.m. ET  

Friday, January 30
AHA
Robert Morris at No. 4 Penn State, 1 p.m. ET  
RIT at Lindenwood, 3 p.m. CT  
Mercyhurst at Delaware, 6 p.m. ET  

ECAC
No. 6 Quinnipiac at No. 11 Clarkson, 3 p.m. ET  
No. 7 Princeton at St. Lawrence, 3 p.m. ET  
Harvard at Colgate, 6 p.m. ET  
Dartmouth at No. 12 Cornell, 6 p.m. ET  
No. 10 Yale at Rensselaer, 6 p.m. ET  
Brown at Union, 6 p.m. ET  

Hockey East
Boston University at Merrimack, 2 p.m. ET  
Providence at Vermont, 2 p.m. ET  
No. 5 UConn at New Hampshire, 6 p.m. ET  
Maine at Boston College, 6 p.m. ET  

NEWHA
Long Island at Franklin Pierce, 3 p.m. ET  
Stonehill at Assumption, 4 p.m. ET  
Post at Saint Anselm, 7:15 p.m. ET  
Sacred Heart at Saint Michael's, 7:20 p.m. ET  

WCHA
No. 15 St. Cloud State at St. Thomas, 2 p.m. CT  
No. 1 Wisconsin at No 3 Minnesota, 6 p.m. CT  
No. 13 Minnesota State at Bemidji State, 6 p.m. CT  
No. 9 Minnesota Duluth at No. 2 Ohio State, 6 p.m. ET  

Saturday, January 31
AHA
RIT at Lindenwood, 1 p.m. CT  
Mercyhurst at Delaware, 2 p.m. ET  
Robert Morris at No. 4 Penn State, 6 p.m. ET  

ECAC
No. 7 Princeton at No. 11 Clarkson, 2 p.m. ET  
No. 6 Quinnipiac at St. Lawrence, 2 p.m. ET  
Dartmouth at Colgate, 3 p.m. ET  
Harvard at No. 12 Cornell, 3 p.m. ET
Brown at Rensselaer, 3 p.m. ET  
No. 10 Yale at Union, 3 p.m. ET  

Hockey East
Providence at Vermont, 2 p.m. ET  
Merrimack at Boston University, NESN, 4 p.m. ET  
New Hampshire at No. 5 UConn, 6 p.m. ET  
No. 8 Northeastern at No. 14 Holy Cross, 6 p.m. ET  

NEWHA
Post at Saint Anselm, 1 p.m. ET  
Assumption at Stonehill, 2 p.m. ET  
Sacred Heart at Saint Michael's, 3 p.m. ET  
Long Island at Franklin Pierce, 3 p.m. ET  

WCHA
No. 1 Wisconsin at No. 3 Minnesota, 2 p.m. CT  
No. 15 St. Cloud State at St. Thomas, 2 p.m. CT  
No. 13 Minnesota State at Bemidji State, 3 p.m. CT  
No. 9 Minnesota Duluth at No. 2 Ohio State, 3 p.m. ET  

Sunday, February 1
Hockey East
Maine at Boston College, 2 p.m. ET  

Hockey Quote of the Day

"My recruiting key: I looked for people first, athletes second. I wanted people with a sound value system as you cannot buy values. You're only as good as your values. I learned early on that you do not put greatness into people, but somehow try to pull it out."
Herb Brooks (Minnesota)

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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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