Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey falls in rankings after sweep at home

Wisconsin hockey took a tumble in the polls after a fourth-straight home loss

Wisconsin men's hockey coach Mike Hastings guides the team through practice at La Bahn Arena in Madison, Wis. at Tuesday Sept. 26, 2026. | Mark Stewart / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

After losing four-straight games, Wisconsin Badgers men's hockey continues to fall in the polls. Despite losses to oher highly ranked teams, UW has fallen a tier below where it once stood.

At the beginning of January, the Badgers sat as high as #2 overall, trailing only the Michigan Wolverines. In November, Wisconsin split a series in Ann Arbor against the Wolverines, taking a 6-1 victory in the series finale after a 7-4 loss on the first night.

UW will get its crack at Michigan again in February, but it has since fallen behind its other Big Ten peers. Since the turn of the calendar to 2026, the Badgers are 0-4 in conference play, with all four losses coming at home. As Wisconsin (15-7-2, 8-6-0 Big Ten) has fallen in the conference standings, it has also fallen in the national rankings.

Wisconsin men's hockey falls from top five rankings

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— USCHO.com (@USCHO) January 26, 2026

In the USCHO poll, the Badgers swapped spots with its most recent opponent. The Penn State Nittany Lions skated out of the Kohl Center with 7-2 and 3-1 victories last weekend, catapulting themselves into the top-five. UW, meanwhile, fell to its lowest ranking since before Thanksgiving, checking-in at No. 8.

The Badgers took a similar, but not quite as stark, fall in the USA Hockey poll. Wisconsin fell from No. 5 to No. 7. UW did not fall quite as far in the USA Hockey poll because the now No. 8 Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs took a slide as well. UMD was swept on its home ice this past weekend by consensus the No. 3 Western Michigan Broncos.

WMU is among the many highly ranked teams to hand Wisconsin a loss in recent weeks. Since December 29, the Badgers are 2-5 overall with all five losses coming at the hands of teams now ranked in the top-five.

The movement in the rankings set up a matchup in Minneapolis between the No. 8/7 ranked Wisconsin Badgers and unranked Minnesota Golden Gophers.

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