Your Weekend Guide to Hockey Junkies Heaven for Olympics, College Fans: Puck Drop

Are you ready for wall-to-wall hockey this weekend?

Even though the National Hockey League is off for the Olympic break, the next few days will be a paradise for die-hard hockey fans, especially those who like international and collegiate competition. Perhaps the best comparison in sports viewing are the first two days of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, with almost non-stop action and game after game after game ...

The men's tournament at the Olympics in Italy got until way with two games on on Wednesday, the first of which saw a major upset. Thursday will feature four games, and the entire preliminary round is packed into the weekend and will be wrapped up by Sunday evening.

The women's tournament has one final preliminary-round game to be played on Thursday, rescheduled Canada vs. Finland. Both will have a quick turnaround to Friday's quarterfinals, as the playoff round is single-game elimination. The U.S. will play host Italy. The four advancing teams will be reseeded to determine the pairings for Monday's semifinals.

Meanwhile, back in the States, college hockey will feature one of the final weekends of the regular season for both the men and the women as March will be dominated by conference tournaments. The marque series for the men is No. 6 Penn State at No. 2 Michigan in the Big Ten, but we have to give a huge shoutout to the other series between ranked teams, No. 20 Miami at No. 3 North Dakota in the NCHC.

A year ago, the RedHawks were absolutely dreadful. Actually, they were worse than that, 0-23-1 in conference play, 3-28-3 overall. You may remember when Miami opened the season with a 6-4 victory against Ferris State it snapped a 26-game winless streak. Now here it is 17-9-2 (8-8-2 NCHC), ranked, and playing a big series in Grand Forks. Miami may be the story of the year in college hockey.

As for the women, it's the second-to-last weekend of league play and some of the sport's best players are in Milan playing for USA and other national teams. We'll see the final head-to-head regular -season series between the top three teams, all in the WCHA, with No. 3 Minnesota at No. 2 Ohio State. Otherwise, keep you eye on the ECAC, where the top six teams are separated by just 6.5 points and there are four one-game top-15 matchups.

More on the conference chases tomorrow. Here's the full weekend schedule:

Men's College Hockey Schedule

Friday's games
AHA
Robert Morris at Niagara, 6 p.m. ET
Holy Cross at Canisius, 7 p.m. ET
Sacred Heart at Bentley, 7 p.m. ET
Mercyhurst at Air Force, ALT 7 p.m. MT

Big Ten
No. 6 Penn State at No. 2 Michigan, 6:30 p.m. ET
No. 13 Wisconsin at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m. ET
Minnesota at Notre Dame, 7 p.m. ET

CCHA
Northern Michigan at Ferris State, 7 p.m. ET
No. 17 Michigan Tech at Lake Superior, 7 p.m. ET
Bemidji State at No. 16 Minnesota State, 7 p.m. CT
Bowling Green at No. 18 Augustana, 7 p.m. CT

ECAC
Harvard at Brown, 7 p.m. ET
No. 9 Cornell at RPI, 7 p.m. ET
Colgate at Union, 7 p.m. ET
No. 12 Dartmouth at Yale, 7 p.m. ET

Hockey East
No. 11 Connecticut at Maine, 7 p.m. ET
No. 14 Boston College at Merrimack, 7 p.m. ET
Boston University at New Hampshire, 7 p.m. ET
Northeastern at No. 7 Providence, NESN 7 p.m. ET
UMass Lowell at Vermont, 7 p.m. ET

NCHC
Colorado College at St. Cloud State, 1 p.m. CT
Arizona State at No. 4Western Michigan, 7 p.m. ET
No. 20 Miami at No. 3 North Dakota, 7 p.m. CT
No. 8 Denver at Omaha, 8 p.m. CT

Non-Conference
Stonehill at Long Island, 2 p.m. ET
Alaska-Anchorage at Lindenwood, 7 p.m. CT

Saturday, February 14, 2026
AHA
Holy Cross at Canisius, 4 p.m. ET
Mercyhurst at Air Force, 5:05 p.m. MT
Sacred Heart at Bentley, 6 p.m. ET
Niagara at Robert Morris, 7 p.m. ET

Big Ten
No. 6 Penn State at No. 2 Michigan, 5 p.m. ET
Minnesota at Notre Dame, 6 p.m. ET
No. 13 Wisconsin at Ohio State, BTen, 7:30 p.m. ET

CCHA
Northern Michigan at Ferris State, 6 p.m. ET
No. 17 Michigan Tech at Lake Superior, 6 p.m. ET
Bemidji State at No. 16 Minnesota State, 6 p.m. CT
Bowling Green at No. 18 Augustana, 6 p.m. CT

ECAC
No. 12 Dartmouth at Brown, 4 p.m. ET
Princeton at No. 5 Quinnipiac, 7 p.m. ET
Colgate at RPI, 7 p.m. ET
No. 9 Cornell at Union, 7 p.m. ET
Harvard at Yale, 7 p.m. ET

Hockey East
Northeastern at No. 7 Providence, 5:30 p.m. ET
New Hampshire at Boston University, 6 p.m. ET
UMass Lowell at Vermont, 6 p.m. ET
No. 11 Connecticut at Maine, 7 p.m. ET
Merrimack at No. 14 Boston College, 7 p.m. ET

NCHC
Colorado College at St. Cloud State, 6 p.m. CT
Arizona State at No. 4 Western Michigan, 6 p.m. ET
No. 20 Miami at No. 3 North Dakota, 6 p.m. CT
No. 8 Denver at Omaha, 8 p.m. CT

Non-Conference
Stonehill at Long Island, 2 p.m. ET
Alaska-Anchorage at Lindenwood, 6 p.m. CT

Sunday, February 15, 2026
ECAC
No. 5 Quinnipiac at Princeton, 4 p.m. ET

Women's College Hockey Schedule

Friday's Games
AHA
Syracuse at No. 13 Mercyhurst, 6 p.m. ET
RIT at No. 4 Penn State, 6 p.m. ET
Lindenwood at Robert Morris, 7 p.m. ET

ECAC
Harvard at Rensselaer, 3 p.m. ET
Dartmouth at Union, 3 p.m. ET
No. 15 Colgate at No. 12 Clarkson, 6 p.m. ET
No. 9 Yale at No. 8 Princeton, 6 p.m. ET
Brown at No. 7 Quinnipiac, 6 p.m. ET
No. 11 Cornell at St. Lawrence, 6 p.m. ET

Hockey East
Vermont at Maine, 2 p.m. ET
No. 14 Holy Cross at Merrimack, 2 p.m. ET
No. 6 Connecticut at New Hampshire, 2 p.m. ET
No. 5 Northeastern at Boston University, 6 p.m. ET
Providence at Boston College, 6 p.m. ET

NEWHA
Long Island at Sacred Heart, 5 p.m. ET
Saint Anselm at Assumption, 6 p.m. ET
Franklin Pierce at Saint Michael's, 7:20 p.m. ET
Stonehill at Post, 7:45 p.m. ET

WCHA
Bemidji State at St. Cloud State, 2 p.m. CT
No. 1 Wisconsin at Minnesota State, 3 p.m. CT
St. Thomas at No. 10 Minnesota Duluth, 6 p.m. CT
No. 3 Minnesota at No. 2 Ohio State, 6 p.m. ET

Saturday's Games
AHA
Syracuse at No. 13 Mercyhurst, 1 p.m. ET
Lindenwood at Robert Morris, 1 p.m. ET
RIT at No. 4 Penn State, 2 p.m. ET

ECAC
No. 11 Cornell at No. 12 Clarkson, 3 p.m. ET
Brown at No. 8 Princeton, 3 p.m. ET
No. 9 Yale at No. 7 Quinnipiac, 3 p.m. ET
Dartmouth at Rensselaer, SNY 3 p.m. ET
No. 15 Colgate at St. Lawrence, 3 p.m. ET
Harvard at Union, 3 p.m. ET

Hockey East
New Hampshire at Maine, 1 p.m. ET
No. 14 Holy Cross at Providence, 1 p.m. ET
No. 6 Connecticut at Boston University, NESN 4 p.m. ET

NEWHA
Stonehill at Post, 2:15 p.m. ET
Assumption at Saint Anselm, 3 p.m. ET
Franklin Pierce at Saint Michael's, 3:30 p.m. ET
Sacred Heart at Long Island, 7 p.m. ET

WCHA
Bemidji State at St. Cloud State, 1 p.m. CT
No. 1 Wisconsin at Minnesota State, 2 p.m. CT
St. Thomas at No. 10 Minnesota Duluth, 3 p.m. CT
No. 3 Minnesota at No. 2 Ohio State, 3 p.m. ET

Sunday's Games
Hockey East
Merrimack at Vermont, 2 p.m. ET
Boston College at No. 5 Northeastern, 3:30 p.m. ET

Puck Drop: Thursday, February 12, 2026

• Syracuse athletic director John Wildhack will retire at the end of the academic year, concluding his decade-long tenure leading his alma mater. “From the moment John returned to his alma mater in 2016, he has been relentless in his pursuit of excellence across all facets of Syracuse Athletics," outgoing chancellor Kent Syverud said. "John has supported our student-athletes as competitors and scholars, he has transformed our athletics facilities. He has been a vital leader in the work of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and he has navigated the rapidly evolving college athletics landscape with expertise and vision.”

• Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky told reporters that freshman Gavin McKenna will continue to participate in all hockey activities, including practices and games, but that he won't have any more comments due to the ongoing legal case. For more check out Penn State On SI.

• Lake Superior State has launched the Laker Hockey Challenge with the goal of raising $1.5 million before the end of the year. More than $1.2 million has alrady been committed by donors to match the $1.5 million anonymous annual gift the Lakers received last year.

• Pressure Mounting on Bob Motzko After Gophers' Sixth Sweep of the Season

College Hockey Wednesday Scores

No Games Scheduled

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.

College Hockey Thursday Schedule

No Games Scheduled

Olympics Hockey Update

• With the men's tournament getting under way, the IIHF sent out a reminder on how some of the rules are a little different in international competition, including that fighting is an automatic ejection.

With men's Olympic tournament starting today, here's few game rules you should know!🙇‍♂️➡️#Olympics #IIHF @nhl @nhlpa @olympics pic.twitter.com/iEhRKNy69r
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) February 11, 2026

• Juraj Slafkovsky of the Montreal Canadiens had two goals and an assist to help Slovakia pull off a 4-1 upset of Finland in the opening game of the men's hockey tournament. Samuel Hlavaj, who has been playing with the Minnesota Wild's AHL team, stopped 39 of 40 shots by Finland. It was Slovakia's first win at the Olympics with NHL players since it upset Sweden in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Vancouver Games, 4-3. For more check out Break Away On SI.

• Sweden got its first win of the men's tournament, where the surprise was that host Italy scored two goals at Santagiulia Arena and was tied at 2-2 late. Damian Clara, a prospect with the Anaheim Ducks, made 46 saves before suffering an injury at 6:08 of the third period. Mika Zibanejad and Gustav Forsling both had a goal an assist, and William Nylander, Gabriel Landeskog and Victor Hedman had goals in the 5-2 victory. Rasmus Dahlin tied a Sweden Olympic record with three assists. Filip Gustavsson made 20 saves. The 60 shots on goal were the most ever by a team in an Olympic Winter Games with NHL players.

One team, one goal in mind. On to the quarters! 🇺🇸 🦅 #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/QLtAKONXGn
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) February 10, 2026

Olympics Hockey Scores and Schedule

MEN
Wednesday's Scores
Group B
Slovakia 4, Finland 1
Sweden 5, Italy 2

Thursday's Games
Group A
Switzerland vs. France, 6:10 a.m. ET
Czechia vs. Canada, 10:40 a.m.

Group C
U.S. vs. Latvia, 3:10 p.m.
Germany vs. Denmark, 3:10 p.m.

WOMEN
Group A (rescheduled)
Finland vs. Canada, 8:30 a.m. ET

Friday's Games
MEN
Group B
Finland vs Sweden, 6:10 a.m. ET
Italy vs. Slovakia, 6;10 a.m.

Group A
France vs. Czechia, 10:40 a.m.
Canada vs. Switzerland, 3:10 p.m.

WOMEN
Quarterfinals
Czechia vs. TBD, 10:40 a.m. ET
Canada vs, TBD, 10:40 a.m.
United States vs. Italy, 3:10 p.m. ET
Findland vs, TBD, 3:10 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 14
MEN
Group B
Sweden vs. Slovakia, 6:10 a.m.
Finland vs. Italy, 10:40 a.m.

Group C
Germany vs. Latvia, 6:10 a.m.
United State vs. Denmark, 3:10 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 15
MEN
Group A
Switzerland vs. Czechia, 6:10 a.m.
Canada vs. France, 10:40 a.m.

Group C
Denmark vs. Latvia, 1:10 p.m.
United States vs. Germany, 3:10 p.m.

Hockey Quote of the Day

"I'm so glad I went the college route, especially since I had so many memorable moments. One of the best came during a game with Minnesota-Duluth when we were down by a goal with only 10 seconds left in regulation time. We not only tied it but the game went into three overtimes before we won. I got five assists in that one and it proved to be the stepping-stone to my professional career.”
Adam Oates, RPI

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We'll Leave You With This ...

Team USA 🇺🇸 GM Bill Guerin: “Called my wife last night before she took off, I said, ‘I have a new favorite player. It's Abbey Murphy.’ pic.twitter.com/DYolB6esAX
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) February 11, 2026