The men’s college hockey season is in full swing. With conference play heating up in late October, let’s take a look at which teams look poised for a run at conference titles after the first few weeks of the season.
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Big Ten — Michigan
No. 3 Michigan has been the biggest riser in the rankings since starting the season ranked No. 12. The Wolverines have started 6-0 for the first time since 1979, and the offense is humming, outscoring opponents 40-7 over the six-game span — their 40 goals are most in the nation by a 13-goal margin.
The Wolverines have gone on a heater to start the season, including a two-game sweep at No. 7 Providence and a 10-2 win over Robert Morris. The underclassmen have been a major factor in Michigan’s success in the young season. Sophomore Michael Hage leads the team with 11 points (5G, 6A), while Cole McKinney and Malcolm Spence are tied for the most points among all NCAA first-years with 7 apiece (3G, 4A).
But maybe the best Wolverine on the ice has been in the blue paint. Freshman goalie Jack Ivankovic has posted a .942 SV% and a 1.17 GAA, the best among goalies with at least four starts. The Wolverines face their toughest test yet as they take on No. 2 Western Michigan in a home-and-home series Oct. 23 and 24, and they open conference play at Notre Dame on Oct. 31.
Other Big Ten contenders
With so much hockey left to play, the Wolverines obviously aren’t a lock for the Big Ten title. Rival Michigan State currently sits at No. 1 in the USCHO rankings, and for good reason. They took on top-ranked Boston U. last weekend in a wild series that saw the Spartans win 4-2 and 4-3 (OT). The Spartans are loaded on paper, and that series against BU showed that they are one of the most complete teams in the country.
The Spartans open conference play against another star-studded team in No. 5 Penn State on Nov. 7. The Nittany Lions have started the season 5-1, but they haven’t been playing the cleanest hockey so far. They struggled at home against Long Island, surviving a 5-4 OT thriller in the series opener but bounced back with a 3-0 shutout in the second game. Most of the team’s goals have come from JJ Wiebusch and Charlie Cerrato, but it’s only a matter of time before the highly touted freshman Gavin McKenna gets going. If the Nittany Lions can get things clicking, they could be a problem in the Big Ten.
READ MORE: Gavin McKenna shines in NCAA debut
NCHC — Western Michigan
Western Michigan opened the season with a disappointing loss to Ferris State, 3-2, in its home opener, but the Broncos rattled off three straight road wins over the Bulldogs and UMass-Lowell to start the season 3-1. WMU lost key players in captain Tim Washe and Alex Bump, who left for the NHL, but Michigan transfer William Whitelaw has picked up the scoring slack, posting four goals and an assist in four games.
Sophomore Joona Väisänen leads the team with six points, but the Broncos’ offensive strength comes from their scoring depth, as 11 different players have found the back of the net. Much like Michigan, WMU is backstopped by one of the top goalies in the country, Hampton Slukynsky. His numbers are down to start the season, sitting at a .890 SV% and 2.02 GAA in four starts, but we know what he’s capable of when he gets hot, as evidenced by his impressive freshman season last year.
The Broncos open conference play Oct. 31 at St. Cloud State before hosting Denver the following weekend.
ECAC — Quinnipiac
No. 6 Quinnipiac is another big riser in the USCHO rankings after starting the season ranked No. 13. The Bobcats have an impressive resume with wins over No. 6 Boston College and No. 7 Maine. Their first loss came in the Ice Breaker tournament against Alaska Fairbanks, but they bounced back with a 7-2 win over Notre Dame in the Ice Breaker consolation game.
Quinnipiac is tied for eighth in the nation with four goals per game, led by freshman Ethan Wyttenbach and senior Jeremy Wilmer with four goals apiece. Wyttenbach has had an excellent start to his college career, as he’s the only freshman in the country with points in his first six games.
Quinnipiac opens conference play at Yale on Nov. 7 and Brown on Nov. 8 before hosting No. 2 Boston University on Nov. 15.
READ MORE: Quinnipiac places third in the Men's Ice Breaker tournament
Hockey East — Boston University
Unlike some of the other conferences, Hockey East doesn’t have any teams who have come out of the gates flying, but if there’s one team that is best poised to make a run in conference play, it’s No. 3 Boston University.
BU has gotten out to a middling start this season, posting a 2-2-1 record in its first five games. But the Terriers still look like the top dogs in Hockey East, boasting the roster with the most current NHL draft picks (19) and one of the nation’s top goalscorers in Cole Eiserman (5G). A hard-fought two-game series against Michigan State showed that BU can stand toe-to-toe with the nation’s top contenders, but the Terriers just need to find that next gear to finish games, as Michigan State swept the series.
One of the bright spots for the Terriers in the young season has been sophomore goaltender Mikhail Yegorov, who stopped 60 shots against MSU over the two games and has a .911 SV% and 2.74 GAA in five starts. Much like WMU’s Slukynsky, Yegorov had an excellent freshman campaign, leading the Terriers to the Frozen Four championship last season, so he should be able to reach another level as BU settles into the 2025-26 campaign.
BU opens conference play against No. 12 UConn in a home-and-home series on Oct. 24 and 25. It will be interesting to see how the Terriers can bounce back after getting swept in a tough series against now-No. 1 Michigan State.
CCHA — Augustana
Augustana has been one of the surprises of the season so far, starting 3-1-0 overall with a series split at Minnesota Duluth and a convincing home sweep over No. 15 Arizona State. The sweep over ASU earned Augustana 80 points in the most recent USCHO poll, though the Vikings just missed out on being ranked. The Vikings have been an excellent third period team in their three wins, scoring twice in the final frame of each game.
Goaltender Josh Kotai has been a force in net for Augustana, starting all four games and putting up a .936 SV%, a 2.00 GAA and notching a shutout against a high-scoring Minnesota Duluth team. Junior Hunter Bischoff leads the team in goals (3) and points (5) and has a point in three straight games heading into the Vikings’ conference opener against Bemidji State on Oct. 24-25.
AHA — Canisius
The AHA looks pretty wide open to start the season, but one team that is emerging as the top contender is Canisius. The Golden Griffins have had a wild start to the season, taking down No. 20 Clarkson in their first game and splitting a home series against Long Island. They won their first AHA matchup against Army, 3-1, before going on the road against Colgate, again splitting the series for a 5-2-0 record to start the season.
Through six starts, senior G Chase Clark leads the NCAA with 179 saves, and his five wins trail only Michigan’s Jack Ivankovic. Senior forward Grant Porter sits tied for seventh in points with 10 (4G, 6A) and has a point in each of his six games this season, including the OT winner in the first game against LIU.
Canisius heads to Waltham, Mass. to face Bentley as it gets into the thick of AHA play.
Don’t sleep on Sacred Heart
Despite Canisius’ hot start, it’s still very early in the season, and there is plenty of time for things to shake up in the conference. Another team to watch out for is Sacred Heart, led by standout sophomore goalie Ajeet Gundarah, who should build on his strong freshman season last year.