The men's college hockey season is just around the corner. Last season, Boston University got all the way to the national championship game. Hockey East was well-represented in the national tournament, too. Along with BU, Boston College, Providence College, UMass, UConn and Maine all landed spots. BU and BC have been the top two teams...
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The men's college hockey season is just around the corner.
Last season, Boston University got all the way to the national championship game. Hockey East was well-represented in the national tournament, too. Along with BU, Boston College, Providence College, UMass, UConn and Maine all landed spots.
BU and BC have been the top two teams for the last two seasons. That may not be the case this year.
Both have legitimate shots at finishing as Hockey East champions, but various teams behind them have just as good a case.
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Here are our preseason Hockey East men's rankings.
1. Boston University
What happened last year (24-14-2, 14-8-2): Coach Jay Pandolfo (Burlington, Mass.) has led the Terriers to three straight Frozen Fours, including the national championship game in 2025. They also won the Beanpot. Cole Hutson became BU’s second straight National Rookie of the Year, leading the nation’s defensemen with 48 points.
2025-26 outlook: While five players departed early on top of the graduating seniors, the Terriers get Hutson and 25-goal scorer Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) back as sophomores and return mid-year enrollee Mikhail Yegorov to the net for his first full season. There will be new faces, though, including North Dakota transfer forwards Sacha Boisvert — the reigning NCHC Rookie of the Year — and Owen McLaughlin. Another exciting freshman class includes 6-foot-5 NTDP defenseman Carter Amico (Westbrook, Maine) and CHL star Ryder Ritchie.
2. Boston College
What happened last year (27-8-2, 18-4-2): Another star-studded season ended painfully, as now-NHLers Ryan Leonard (Amherst, Mass.), Gabe Perreault, Mike Richter Award-winning goaltender Jacob Fowler and the Eagles won their second straight Hockey East regular-season championship before falling to Denver one game short of the Frozen Four.
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2025-26 outlook: The Eagles hope that another reload is on tap this winter. The biggest addition is New Hampshire transfer Ryan Conmy, but he’ll be surrounded by familiar faces like new Bruins prospect James Hagens, breakout star sophomore Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass.) and junior Aram Minnetian on defense. As for freshmen, forward Will Moore and Kristian Kostadinski are also among six total players in the Bruins pipeline, while Louka Cloutier of the USHL’s Chicago Steel joins former Fowler backup Jan Korec in net.
3. Providence College
What happened last year (21-11-5, 11-8-5): Despite their season ending with Hockey East quarterfinal and NCAA first-round losses, the Friars got back above the 20-win mark and clinched their first national berth since 2019. It was an improvement over the prior season.
2025-26 outlook: The Friars have a great cast of sophomores and juniors set to continue leading up front, including top goal scorers Hudson Malinoski and Tanner Adams. Three defensive departures create a new look in front of Bruins prospect Philip Svedeback, who is back for his senior year in goal. Nate Leaman also picked up one of the nation’s top CHL commits in center Roger McQueen, the Anaheim Ducks’ 10th overall pick in 2025. One of six CHL players on the roster, his addition will help fill Vegas signee Trevor Connelly’s void.
4. Maine
What happened last year (24-8-6, 13-5-6): It was another successful season for the Black Bears under coach Ben Barr, culminating in their first Hockey East title since 2004. It happened with captain Lynden Breen injured for nearly three months. Sophomore goaltender Albin Boija and senior forward Harrison Scott both had all-star seasons. Intraconference transfers Taylor Makar and Frank Djurasevic jumped in as huge pieces, co-leading the team in goals and leading blueliners in points, respectively.
2025-26 outlook: Three of five double-digit goal scorers are returning, but what made Maine such a tough out was being one of the stingiest defensive teams. With Boija, Djurasevic and veterans Brandon Holt and Brandon Chabrier all back, there is a great start to making that a strength again. The forward lines have holes to fill, but transfer Max Scott brings a team-best scoring season from Brown. Eight CHL players arrive in Orono, including NHL prospects Jaden Lipinski and Justin Poirier up front and Luke Coughlin on defense.
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5. Connecticut
What happened last year (23-12-4, 12-8-4): The Huskies were one of the best stories in all of college hockey, reaching the Hockey East title game and advancing within a game of their first-ever Frozen Four after being predicted eighth in the league’s preseason poll. The NCAA regional loss came to Penn State in overtime. Veterans like Joey Muldowney — whose 29 goals were one off the Hockey East lead — and Ryan Tattle developed into breakout players.
2025-26 outlook: There is a lot to be excited about again in Storrs, where the cupboard remains largely full. Led by 40-point scorers Muldowney and fellow junior Jake Richard, every meaningful point-getter from last season (except for graduated captain Hudson Schandor) is returning. Four of those are just coming off their freshman seasons. New York Rangers signee Callum Tung leaves the net to Tyler Muszelik. Three anticipated newcomers are NHL draft picks, including left winger Alexandre Blais (Anaheim) out of the QMJHL.
6. Northeastern
What happened last year (14-20-3, 7-14-3): The Huskies had to play catch-up following an early nine-game winless streak, and even after a 3-9-0 stretch to end the regular season, Hockey East playoff victories over Merrimack and Boston College brought them to the semifinals as a No. 9 seed — the lowest to reach TD Garden in league history. Vegas signee Cameron Whitehead backstopped the late surge, which ended in double overtime against Maine.
2025-26 outlook: Last season’s offense was led by three players scoring 16 or more goals each, and only junior Dylan Hryckowian is returning among that group. The next closest scorer was freshman Joe Connor (Nottingham, N.H.) with seven. Can the Huskies find more balance? New faces like freshman Giacomo Martino and veteran transfers Tyler Fukakusa (RIT) and Matthew Perkins (Minnesota Duluth) could be key players. Vinny Borgesi and Joaquim Lemay will anchor the defense, with transfers Austen May (Providence) and goaltender Lawton Zacher (Brown) around them as well.
7. Massachusetts
What happened last year (21-14-5, 10-9-5): UMass maintained its status as a consistent winner last season, playing eventual national champion Western Michigan to a one-goal score in the NCAA regional final and amassing 20 wins for the sixth time in seven seasons. No other Hockey East program can say that. All-American junior Cole O’Hara matched the school’s Division 1 record with 51 points, including the league’s fifth-most goals with 22. O’Hara was one of five Minutemen to sign NHL deals after the season.
2025-26 outlook: If one thing is for certain at first glance, Greg Carvel’s team looks solid on the back end. After junior winger Jack Musa, four of the Minutemen’s next five leading returning scorers are defensemen. The group includes sophomore Francesco Dell’Elce, who was a 2025 third-round pick of Colorado. Lucas Olvestad and Owen Murray are key seniors in front of junior goalie Michael Hrabal. Forwards Matthew Wilde (RIT), Mikey DeAngelo (Michigan State) and Owen Mehlenbacher (Wisconsin) all transfer in with multiple years of eligibility remaining.
8. UMass Lowell
What happened last year (16-16-4, 8-13-3): The River Hawks bounced back from a rare down 2023-24 season under coach Norm Bazin, bettering their record by eight wins with the help of a much more competitive scoring offense. There were questions where the team’s goals would come from, but veterans and freshmen alike contributed. Owen Cole and Scout Truman had their best seasons before departing the program, while Mirko Buttazzoni and Chris Delaney (Hopkinton, Mass.) rounded out the team’s top four scorers as freshmen.
2025-26 outlook: While Truman (transferred to Minnesota Duluth) left alongside eight regular seniors and grad students, numerous returnees are coming off their best seasons yet. Delaney and now-senior Dillan Bentley both scored nine goals apiece. Two Atlantic Hockey transfers, defenseman Dominic Payne (Canisius) and forward Jay Ahearn (Niagara), provide experience and production from their prior programs. Reigning Memorial Cup-winning goaltender Austin Elliott could slide right into the net after both Henry Welsch and Beni Halasz graduated.
9. New Hampshire
What happened last year (13-16-6, 5-14-5): The Wildcats took a step back from their first 20-win season in a decade, earning just one regulation win in 15 games between mid-January and March to fall to 10th in the league. Conmy and senior Robert Cronin (Plymouth, Mass.) were a 32-goal duo, while captain Alex Gagne (Bedford, N.H.) developed into an NHL signee while anchoring a veteran defense, and Alaska-Anchorage transfer Jared Whale became the main man in the net.
2025-26 outlook: With Conmy, Cronin and Liam Devlin (Needham, Mass.) departed, senior Cy LeClerc (Brentwood, N.H.) and Morgan Winters are leaders up front, while juniors Nick Ring (Hingham, Mass.) and Marty Lavins look to follow up breakout seasons. Princeton transfer Jack Cronin (Hamilton, Mass.) is a veteran addition, while Granite Stater Kyle Chauvette (Goffstown, N.H.) comes in from Union to compete with Whale. Defenseman Nick De Angelis comes in as an OHL standout.
10. Merrimack
What happened last year (13-21-1, 9-14-1): The Warriors’ depth was hurt by injuries for the second straight season since their 2022-23 run. Those struggles resulted in the league’s lowest goal-scoring total (2.3 per game) and the need to call four different goaltenders into action. Despite ending the year on a five-game skid, they fought Northeastern to double overtime in a Hockey East opening-round game.
2025-26 outlook: With coach Scott Borek (Swampscott, Mass.) entering his eighth season, the roster is in an interesting position. Six of the top eight scorers — including the lead duo of junior defenseman Seamus Powell and sophomore winger Caden Cranston — and the regular goaltending corps are returning. Top blueliner Zach Bookman (Western Michigan) was one of nine transfers out, though. The Warriors pulled in former fourth-round draft pick Trevor Hoskin (Niagara) and defensemen Matthew Campbell (Michigan Tech) and Austin Oravetz (Michigan State), while a large freshman class is also due.
11. Vermont
What happened last year (11-21-3, 6-16-2): The Catamounts were unable to climb the Hockey East standings, but coach Steve Wiedler further developed his talent pool in his second season since taking over the head job and led the team to a solid eight road victories. The roster was a mix of youth and experience, as 10 of the top 12 scorers were seniors and graduate students or freshmen. Seniors Joel Maatta and Simon Jellus signed professionally overseas.
2025-26 outlook: With the youth on last season’s roster now a year older, Vermont is hoping that Colin Kessler and Max Strand can be potent on the power play again. Senior Massimo Lombardi and junior defenseman Sebastian Tornqvist stepped up their production. As for newcomers, OHL import Jacob Oster should factor into an open goaltending position, while former Holderness star Caeden Herrington (Manchester, Vt.) and Omaha transfer Dylan Gratton should play roles on defense.
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7. Massachusetts
