The Herald's conference-by-conference college hockey preview

Oct. 1—GRAND FORKS — This is the Herald’s annual look at the top teams and players in each college hockey conference.

Herald predicted order of finish

1. Minnesota Duluth

2. Denver

3. North Dakota

4. Western Michigan

5. Colorado College

6. Miami

7. St. Thomas

8. Arizona State

9. St. Cloud State

10. Omaha

Top forward: Max Plante, Minnesota Duluth

Top defenseman: Joona Väisänen, Western Michigan

Top goaltender: Jan Špunar, North Dakota

Top freshman: Carson Carels, D, North Dakota

Top transfer: Michael Neumeier, D, Western Michigan

Breakout player: Nolan Roed, F, St. Cloud State

1. St. Thomas, located in St. Paul, Minn., moved from the CCHA to the NCHC this summer. The addition puts the NCHC at 10 teams for the first time. The NCHC played as an eight-team league from 2013-24. Arizona State’s addition put the league at nine teams for two seasons.

2. St. Cloud State hired former captain Nick Oliver of Roseau, Minn., to take over for Brett Larson. Oliver previously was an assistant at Wisconsin, where he helped coach the Badgers to the NCAA national championship game.

3. Western Michigan is playing its final season at Lawson Ice Arena, its raucous on-campus home since 1974. In 2027, the Broncos will begin playing at a new arena downtown.

Herald predicted order of finish

1. Michigan

2. Michigan State

3. Minnesota

4. Wisconsin

5. Penn State

6. Notre Dame

7. Ohio State

Top forward: Michael Hage, Michigan

Top defenseman: Luke Osburn, Wisconsin

Top goaltender: Jack Ivankovic, Michigan

Top freshman: Chase Reid, D, Michigan State

Top transfer: Alexis Cournoyer, G, Wisconsin

Breakout player: Javon Moore, F, Minnesota

1. Minnesota hired former St. Cloud State head coach Brett Larson to replace Bob Motzko, who was bought out after an 11-22-3 season. Larson won two NCAA national championships as an assistant coach at Minnesota Duluth and led St. Cloud State to an NCAA final.

2. Michigan State has nine first-round NHL Draft picks on its roster, the most ever by a college hockey team. The previous record was seven (Michigan in 2021-22).

3. League favorite Michigan is looking to end a 15-year drought without winning a conference title — a streak that extends back to its Central Collegiate Hockey Association days. Michigan is the only Big Ten team that has yet to win the league.

1. Michigan Tech

2. Bowling Green

3. Augustana

4. Minnesota State

5. Bemidji State

6. Lake Superior State

7. Ferris State

8. Northern Michigan

Top forward: Max Koskipirtti, Michigan Tech

Top defenseman: Breck McKinley, Bowling Green

Top goaltender: Oliver Auyueng-Ashton, Northern Michigan

Top freshman: Mazden Leslie, D, Bowling Green

Top transfer: Will Dawson, F, Bemidji State

Breakout player: Sam Court, D, Minnesota State

1. The CCHA is at eight teams after St. Thomas’ departure to the NCHC in the summer. The league is staying with a 26-game schedule, meaning teams will face six of the seven members both at home and on the road this season.

2. Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore announced this will be his last season at the school. Longtime assistant Travis Winter will take over next season.

3. The CCHA is loaded with Section 8 players: Jaksen Panzer (EGF/Bemidji State), Joe Gramer (Moorhead/Bemidji State), Evan Bushy (TRF/Bowling Green), Mason Kraft (Moorhead/Minnesota State), Daimon Gardner (Warroad/Minnesota State), Erick Comstock (Warroad/Augustana), Hayden Hennen (Hallock/Augustana), Tyler Hennen (Hallock/Augustana), Joe Schiller (Moorhead/Northern Michigan) and Noah Rupprecht (TRF/Ferris State). Two North Dakotans are playing in the CCHA: Will Howard (GF/Augustana) and Maxon Vig (Bismarck/Bemidji State). Both are sons of former UND players and NCAA national champions — Tarek Howard (1983-87) and Mitch Vig (1994-98).

1. Providence

2. UMass

3. Boston College

4. Boston University

5. UConn

6. Merrimack

7. Northeastern

8. Maine

9. New Hampshire

10. UMass Lowell

11. Vermont

Top forward: Dean Letourneau, Boston College

Top defenseman: Larry Keenan, UMass

Top goaltender: Lawton Zacher, Northeastern

Top freshman: Caleb Malhotra, F, Boston University

Top transfer: Cade Christianson, D, Providence

Breakout player: Jack Murtagh, F, Boston University

1. Northeastern will play every game on the road during the 2026-27 season with its home rink under construction. The new facility is scheduled to open in the fall of 2028.

2. Merrimack returns its top 10 scorers and 16 of its top 17 from last season’s Hockey East playoff championship team. Goaltender Max Lundgren, who played every minute for the Warriors last season, is gone. USHL Clark Cup-winning goalie Linards Feldbergs is in.

3. New Hampshire’s Mike Souza will serve as head coach for the U.S. Collegiate Selects team that will compete at the Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland, over Christmas break. The Selects took second last season, when Souza was an assistant.

1. Quinnipiac

2. Dartmouth

3. Cornell

4. Princeton

5. Harvard

6. Clarkson

7. Union

8. RPI

9. Colgate

10. St. Lawrence

11. Brown

12. Yale

Top forward: Ethan Wyttenbach, Quinnipiac

Top defenseman: C.J. Foley, Dartmouth

Top goaltender: Emmett Croteau, Dartmouth

Top freshman: Drew Stewart, F, Dartmouth

Top transfer: Jack Stockfish, F, Quinnipiac

Breakout player: Filip Sitar, F, RPI

1. Three Ivy League programs have new head coaches — Harvard (Rob Rassey), Yale (Jeff Hamilton) and Brown (Tommy Upton).

2. Princeton and Harvard only have six new players on their rosters this season, tied with Colorado College for the lowest in the country.

3. Quinnipiac returns 139 goals from last season, more than any team in the country. The Bobcats also return 358 points, which is tied with Michigan for the most.

1. Bentley

2. Sacred Heart

3. Air Force

4. RIT

5. Holy Cross

6. Niagara

7. Robert Morris

8. Army

9. Canisius

Top forward: Nick Sajevic, Air Force

Top defenseman: Dominic Elliott, Robert Morris

Top goaltender: Jakub Krbecek, RIT

Top freshman: Easton Rye, G, Bentley

Top transfer: Charles-Edward Gravel, G, Niagara

Breakout player: Landen Gunderson, F, Sacred Heart

1. Atlantic Hockey is down to nine programs after Mercyhurst cut its men’s and women’s hockey programs last March.

2. Canisius brought in 10 NCAA transfers, tying for the most of anyone in college hockey.

3. Air Force coach Frank Serratore is entering his 30th season behind the Falcons’ bench. He’s one of two active head coaches who have been at their school for 30-plus years. Quinnipiac’s Rand Pecknold (33 years) is the other.

1. Alaska

2. Long Island

3. Stonehill

4. Lindenwood

5. Alaska Anchorage

6. Maryville

Top forward: Matthew Romer, Stonehill

Top defenseman: Nathan Rickey, Alaska

Top goaltender: Tyler Shea, Alaska

Top freshman: Caden Brown, F, Lindenwood

Top transfer: Tyler Shea, G, Alaska

Breakout player: Anselmo Rego, F, Lindenwood

1. Maryville University, located in St. Louis, is beginning its first year of NCAA Division I hockey. Maryville will play 16 Division-I opponents this season.

2. Alaska Anchorage hired longtime Division-I assistant Eric Rud (Colorado College, St. Cloud State, Miami) as its next head coach. Rud has head coaching experience in the USHL with Green Bay and Sioux Falls, as well as with the St. Cloud State women.

3. Grand Forks native Luc Bydal is a freshman at Long Island. He will be teammates with two UND transfers — forward Dalton Andrew and defenseman Nate Benoit.

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