Men's College Hockey

Denver No. 1 in USA Hockey poll

Posted on by Let's Play Hockey

 

Denver’s 2026-27 captains include (from left): Jake Fisher, Sam Harris, Kieran Cebrian, Cale Ashcroft, and Kyle Chyzowski. (PHOTO Created by Sophie Hamill/Denver Athletics)

Michigan, Michigan State, North Dakota and
Minnesota Duluth round out top five

The defending national champion Denver Pioneers are ranked right where they left off last season. The Pionners are ranked No. 1 in the USA preseason poll, as expected.

Denver is coming off their second national championship in two years and their third int the past five. They return 18 players from last year’s championship squad.

Denver received 29 of 34 first-place votes. The University of Michigan comes in at No 2 and Michigan State No. 3. The Spartans received three first-place votes.

The University of North Dakota and the University of Minnesota-Duluth round out the top 5.

UMD could be a team to watch as they return Hobey Baker Award winner Max Plante along with 13 other upperclassmen.

The Gophers, coming off an 11-22-3 record and the second most losses in a season in program history are ranked No. 18. They are under the tutelage of a new coach as Brett Larson will look to lead them back into national contention.

Minnesota State-Mankato is ranked No. 17 after a 22-11-7 mark last year. The Mavericks reached the national title game in 2022, losing to Denver 5–1. That team was led by Mike Hastings, who is now the bench boss at the University of Wisconsin. The Badgers are ranked No. 6 heading into the season.

The season opens this weekend.

USA Hockey
2026-27 Men’s College Hockey Poll – Preseason
(First-place votes in parentheses)

RankSchool

Final
2025-26 Rank

2025-26 Record

Weeks in Top 20

1.University of Denver, 668 (29)129-11-31
2.University of Michigan, 620 (1)331-8-11
3.Michigan State University, 614 (3)526-9-21
4.University of North Dakota, 589 (1)429-10-11
5.University of Minnesota Duluth, 514724-15-11
6.University of Wisconsin, 494224-13-21
7.Providence College, 461923-11-21
8.Quinnipiac University, 455827-10-31
9.Western Michigan University, 433627-11-11
10.University of Massachusetts, 3081622-13-11
11.Dartmouth College, 2991023-8-41
12.Boston College, 2871820-15-11
13.Cornell University, 2401222-11-11
14.University of Connecticut, 2071320-13-51
15.Boston University, 185NR17-17-21
16.Penn State University, 1741121-14-21
17.Minnesota State University, 1571422-11-71
18.University of Minnesota, 103NR11-22-31
19.Merrimack College, 591521-16-21
20.Michigan Tech University, 50RV23-13-31

Others Receiving Votes: Augustana University, 46; Ohio State University, 33; University of St. Thomas, 28; Bowling Green State University, 26; Miami University, 22; University of Maine, 19; Bentley University, 14; Northeastern University, 10; Clarkson University, 7; Princeton University, 7; Sacred Heart University, 7; Colorado College, 1; Harvard University, 1; University of New Hampshire, 1; Union College, 1.

Top 20 Matchups
(All times listed in local time zone)

DateMatchupTimeTV/Stream
Fri., Oct. 2No. 18 Minnesota at No. 20 Michigan Tech7:07 p.m. ETMidco Sports Plus
Sat., Oct. 3No. 19 Merrimack at No. 8 Quinnipiac4:00 p.m. ETESPN+
No. 18 Minnesota at No. 20 Michigan Tech6:07 p.m. ETMidco Sports Plus

Notes: Hockey East leads all conferences with six ranked teams, followed by the Big Ten with five. The NCHC has four ranked programs, ECAC Hockey has three and the CCHA has two … Team records are listed as W-L-T.