As the NHL takes a three-week break for the 2o26 Winter Olympics in a few weeks, the NCAA season is rounding the homestretch of the regular season following the annual holiday and World Junior break. With a full complement of players available in college hockey, Midwest hockey squads have the NCAA in a choke-hold in early 2026. 

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Wisconsin’s Winless Weekend Brings Chaos to USCHO Rankings

There is expected to be a shake-up in the soon-to-be updated U.S. College Hockey Online (USCHO) Division I Men’s poll after Wisconsin’s Big Ten losing streak continued. Otherwise, it was a successful weekend for most of the elite college hockey squads, including undefeated two-win weekends from Michigan State (vs. Minnesota), Western Michigan (at Minnesota Duluth), and Penn State (at Wisconsin). 

With less than eight weeks remaining on the regular season schedule, each game becomes increasingly important. Wisconsin needs to stop the mounting avalanche following four consecutive losses, while #13 Connecticut stormed from behind to defeat #6 Quinnipiac and claim a second straight Connecticut Ice Tournament title on Jan. 24.

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NCAA Players Leaders

Max Plante of the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) is the stand-alone leader with 40 points this season. Plante, an unsigned Detroit Red Wings draft pick from 2022, has significantly benefited from the elite connection with his brother, Zam Plante, who has recorded 24 assists and 35 points for UMD. As the seventh-ranked team in the NCAA, the Bulldogs loom as a significant threat as tournament time approaches in a handful of weeks. 

Hayden Stavroff, an undrafted second-year player for the Dartmouth Big Green, has been impressive with 20 goals in 21 games. An import player from the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) pipeline, the 21-year-old has a proven track record of goal-scoring abilities. He scored 49 goals over two seasons in the BCHL and now has 30 goals in his second college hockey season.  

T.J. Hughes, a college free agent at the end of the season, has been part of a three-headed offensive attack for the University of Michigan. Hughes, Will Horcoff, and Michael Hage have all eclipsed the 30-point barrier on the 2025-26 campaign. Hage, a Montreal Canadiens first-rounder from the 2024 NHL Draft, is two points away from surpassing his NCAA-best 34 points for last year’s Michigan squad. Horcoff, a Pittsburgh Penguins draft selection at the 2025 NHL Draft, just slipped out of the top 10 in NCAA points this past weekend. 

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NCAA Goaltending Leaders

Michigan State’s Trey Augustine, an unsigned Red Wings draft pick from the 2023 NHL Draft, has been the unquestioned best goaltender in the college ranks this season. The 20-year-old has stopped nearly 94% of all shots faced this season and is the only netminder to allow fewer than 40 goals among goaltenders with at least 20 games played. Augustine continues to lead the way in the race for the 2025-26 Mike Richter Award.

Just in case you thought we hadn’t discussed Michigan enough already, here is another outstanding performance from a Wolverine. Goaltender Jack Ivankovic, a 2025 draft selection of the Nashville Predators, has allowed 41 goals in 22 contests with a 1.94 goals against average (GAA) and denying 93% of shot attempts that sailed his way. 

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What to Watch: Big 10 Matchups Highlight the Upcoming College Hockey Schedule

Whether you are paying attention to the Big Ten, Hockey East, or one of the college hockey conferences, it is put-up-or-shut-up time on the schedule. There are only eight weeks left to make an impression and earn the best possible positioning for a conference tournament and/or a potential trip to the Frozen Four in April 2026. 

The Big Ten Tournament will be a must-watch event for NHL prospect watchers with heavy-hitting names like Michigan State’s Porter Martone and Penn State’s Gavin McKenna as potential threats to derail the Wolverines season. While it is still several weeks away, plenty of the frozen floor battles over the next few weeks will help to determine how those matchups shape up. 

This will be the last run-up for prospects like McKenna, Keaton Verhoeff (Univ. of North Dakota), and newly-arrived NCAA-prospect Tynan Lawrence (Boston College) to impress NHL scouting staffs ahead of the 2026 NHL Combine in Buffalo, New York. Until then, all we can do is sit back and enjoy the hard-hitting hockey action with all roads leading to crowning a National Champion at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, later this spring. 

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Christopher Babos