We’ve reached the winter break of the men’s college hockey season, which means we're at the halfway point on the road to Las Vegas and the 2026 Frozen Four. Lots of teams had high hopes for this season. Some have exceeded expectations, while others have floundered.
I’ve gone back to the preseason USCHO rankings for a sense of which teams were generally considered to be contenders this year and compared those rankings to the current NPI to help decide each team's grade. Let’s look back at the fall semester and see which teams have lived up to the hype, which have missed the mark and which have surprised us so far.
👉 See the current USCHO rankings
Michigan: A
Preseason USCHO No. 12 | Current NPI No. 1
Michigan is undoubtedly the team to beat in DI men's hockey right now. The Wolverines’ offense has been incredible this fall, leading the nation with 4.80 goals per game and 96 goals — 21 more than any other team. CHL transfer Jack Ivankovic has been outstanding in goal, tied for the nation’s best with three shutouts and firmly among the top in SV% (.927) and GAA (1.90) in 20 starts.
The one thing holding Michigan back from an A+ grade is its struggle to close out series against top teams. The Wolverines have split series against Western Michigan, Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan State — the common theme in each of those is a dominant Game 1 win followed by a decisive Game 2 loss. If the Wolverines can start sweeping the other top teams, they could be unstoppable come April.
Boston University: C
Preseason USCHO No. 2 | Current NPI No. 23
Boston University came into this season with sky-high expectations. Coming off a national championship appearance and boasting the most NHL draft picks on any college hockey roster (19), this looked like the year that the Terriers would finally break through.
But they’ve had a middling start to the season, sitting at just over .500 with a 9-8-1 record and falling to No. 23 in the NPI. If the Terriers want to salvage the season, they’ll need to come out hot in January. Fortunately, they have some experience in that area after turning their season around last year with the addition of goaltender Mikhail Yegorov before the Beanpot. Maybe some rest and recuperation is just what this team needs.
Wisconsin: A+
Preseason USCHO No. 20 | Current NPI No. 3
Wisconsin’s resurgence has been a welcome surprise for the Badger faithful. Ranked at No. 20 in the preseason USCHO poll, the Badgers have been on a tear this fall at 12-2-2 with a road win over No. 2 Michigan and a road sweep over No. 1 Michigan State.
Wisconsin’s success has come from a balanced and deep lineup, with seven different skaters sitting at 12 or more points in 16 games. Freshman goaltender Daniel Hauser has been lights out, with 10 wins and two shutouts in 13 starts and posting a .915 SV% and 2.17 GAA. The Badgers sit at No. 2 in scoring offense with 4.44 goals per game.
Wisconsin will close out 2025 competing in the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-off starting Dec. 28.
Minnesota: D
Preseason USCHO No. 8 | Current NPI No. 27
The expectations are always high for the Golden Gophers. After splitting the Big Ten regular season title with Michigan State last year, they suffered a heartbreaking OT loss to UMass in the NCAA regional semifinals. Like many other squads, they lost some of their top-end talent in players like Jimmy Snuggerud, Oliver Moore and Sam Rinzel, but rising talent like freshman LJ Mooney and sophomore Brodie Ziemer looked ready to take over this year.
And those players have been solid, but the overall team play has been questionable this fall. The Gophers hold an 8-10-1 record and sit at No. 4 in the Big Ten standings at 4-4-0.
The good news? They’ve played the hardest schedule of any team, according to the NPI strength of schedule. The bad news? It’s not going to get any easier down the stretch, as the Gophers have two series each against Michigan and Michigan State in the second half, among others.
Boston College: B-
Preseason USCHO No. 6 | Current NPI No. 15
Boston College lost a few key pieces from last season, particularly in the nation’s top-scoring duo of Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault, leaving the door open for sophomores like James Hagens and Dean Letourneau to take the next step as the Eagles’ stars.
And the future Boston Bruins teammates have done exactly that — Hagens looks like a natural goal scorer, racking up 18 points (10G, 8A) in 16 games, while Letourneau has been solid down the middle with 9G and 8A of his own. A third sophomore, Jake Sondreal has emerged as an elite playmaker, tallying 6G and 11A and getting some time on the top line with Hagens.
With a record of 10-5-1, the Eagles still have some work to do, but they have a lot to be proud of this fall semester.
Maine: C+
Preseason USCHO No. 7 | Current NPI No. 34
At times, Maine has looked like one of the nation’s top teams this fall. Unfortunately, consistency has been a challenge so far for the Black Bears. Sitting at 11-7-1, they have some impressive wins — a sweep of BU and a 3-0 road shutout over Boston College. But they’ve also dropped some questionable games — a pair of 4-0 shutout losses to UMass and Quinnipiac, a 7-3 loss to Boston College and a home sweep at the hands of New Hampshire.
Freshman Justin Poirier has emerged as a serious Hobey Baker candidate with 26 points (17G, 9A) in 19 games, but junior goaltender Albin Boija has taken a step back from last year’s dominance. If Maine wants to make a run at the playoffs, it will need to find a way to be more consistent.
Dartmouth: A
Preseason USCHO unranked (10 votes) | Current NPI No. 2
Dartmouth started the season on an 11-game winning streak before finally dropping its first game in OT at New Hampshire on Dec. 14. The only knock against Dartmouth so far has to be its strength of schedule. Sitting at No. 2 in the NPI, the Big Green has the lowest strength of schedule (ranked 59) of any of the top 15, and they lack the quality wins seen from teams like Wisconsin and Michigan.
Despite its relatively light schedule, Dartmouth has been beating up on its opponents. The Big Green is the only team that is top three in both scoring offense and defense, sitting at 4.33 goals per game (third) and 1.33 goals against per game (first). Their schedule remains pretty light for the rest of the season, so they should be able to keep rolling, but it feels like that No. 2 NPI ranking is on thin ice if they start losing to some of those weaker opponents.
