October 26, 2026 USCHO Top Ten Poll Breakdown

Week four of the 2026 NCAA Hockey season was even crazier than week three. Two of the top three teams went down resulting in significant shifts among the USCHO Rankings. Let's take a look

Talk about coming down to the wire! In the waning moments of a 2-2 tie against Western Michigan which looked like it would require overtime, Michigan's Will Horcoff ripped home a buzzer beater with 0.1 remaining. Jayden Perron and Dakoda Rhéaume-Mullen also had markers in the Wolverine win. Their next pair of matches are in Columbus against archival Ohio State starting on Halloween.

Wisconsin blanked Western Michigan 4-0 in Saturday's scrimmage. Sophomore Alexis Cournoyer stopped all 33 shots on goal while four different Badgers lit the lamp. Gavin Morrissey was also solid in the circle, going 10 for 17 on faceoffs. The next regular season games for Wisconsin are against Notre Dame starting October 30.

Denver came out on top Friday against Boston College by a 5-2 margin and held on for a Saturday shootout tie. Seattle Kraken prospect. Clarke Caswell drove the offensive bus, dishing out four assists across the games. Blake Fiddler potted his first collegiate goal during to give the Pioneers a 2-0 lead. Boston College did rally back with a late goal in both the second and third periods before losing the shootout. Closing out games is something Head Coach David Carle will no doubt focus on before Omaha comes to town Friday.

Michigan State split the weekend on the road at New Hampshire despite being outshot a combined 73-37. In Saturday's victory Mason West scored his first collegiate goal and team leader Anthony Romani put home his fifth of the year. The Spartans battle with North Dakota down in Austin for the 2026 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game in Austin on Halloween.

Providence rolled through UMass–Lowell in their home and home set with the River Hawks, moving to 5-0 for the first time since 2002-03.  This includes a perfect 30 save performance in net Friday night's 3-0 win by Jack Parsons. Florida Panthers' second rounder Ryder Cali and Lowell co-captain Aleksi Kivioja both potted a pair of pucks against Lowell. The Friars face a hungry Quinnipiac squad fresh off an overtime loss to Army in their lone contest of the coming week.

It was a hard weekend for Western Michigan. The Broncos lost on a last second goal by Michigan Friday evening. The ensuing evening, Western was shut out 4-0 in a home exhibition bout to Wisconsin. Still, William Whitelaw and Zaccharya Wisdom put pucks home in Ann Arbor. They host Long Island University for the first of two games starting Thursday.

Duluth took care of business with Bemidji State, sweeping the Beavers. Ty Hanson helped the offense hum along with his 4 points (3 goals + 1 assist), and Carl Axelsson held down the fort allowing one goal on 48 Beaver attempts. It is comforting for Bulldog fans that their school is putting up these performances without Max Plante, who is out with an upper body injury. Next on Duluth's agenda are the dark horse Colorado College Tigers, who host the Bulldogs for two dances this weekend.

North Dakota was swept by unranked Minnesota in what many assumed would be a cakewalk going the other way. Jan Špunar allowed 10 goals on 47 shots between the two contest while key contributor Will Zellers was held off the scoresheet completely. The Fighting Hawks look to bounce back against Michigan State during 2026 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game in Austin on Halloween.

Colorado College has skyrocketed up the national rankings with a number of high profile wins. These include a sweep of former No. 10 UMass while splitting a road weekend against No. 17 Connecticut. Last weekend with Air Force was a dominant one as the Tigers pounced on the Falcons both nights winning 6-2 and 4-0. Five different Colorado players helped spread the wealth with their goals while Jackson Unger turned away 56 of 58 opposing attempts. The Tigers clash with No. 7 Minnesota–Duluth this weekend in what should be a riveting pair of games.

Army upset the Bobcats in a 4-3 overtime thriller. After trailing entering the third period, Quinnipiac tied the game on a Jack Stockfish power move, forcing overtime. However, with just 17 seconds remaining in the extra season, the Bobcats gave up the game winning goal. Ethan Wyttenbach, usually an automatic goal scorer, did not register a point. Quinnipiac will have to regroup quickly before facing Providence on Halloween.