2022-23 Men's NCAA Hockey Power Rankings

College Hockey Power Rankings: Penn State Closing In On No. ...

Chris Peters provides his weekly power rankings for NCAA Division I Men's Hockey.

Welcome to FloHockey's weekly power rankings for men's NCAA hockey. Find out which teams across the country rise, fall or stay put as the weekly series unfold in the 2022-2023 season.


1. Minnesota | Last Ranking 2

Record: 11-5-0

A weekend split with Arizona State on the road didn't stop the Gophers from moving up, but even in the national polls it's getting harder to determine who is No. 1. The Gophers are still one of the country's deepest and most talented teams, but the parity across the college hockey landscape has made it so anybody can beat anybody it seems. Six different teams received first-place votes in both of the major men's college hockey polls. The Gophers are tops for now, but like Midwestern weather -- stick around, it's probably going to change.

2. Penn State | Last Ranking: 4

Record: 13-3-0

A sweep of Alaska doesn't necessarily move the needle in terms of Penn State's status, but the fact that their only losses over their first 16 games are to teams we have ranked presently shows that Penn State is taking care of business when they need to. They generate more shots on goal than any other team in the nation and they are making every team work to stay competitive with them. These Nittany Lions seem to constantly have to prove themselves and we talked about the legitimacy of their contender status on Talking Hockey Sense this week.

3. Quinnipiac | Last Ranking: 7

Record: 10-1-3

A trip to Belfast for the Friendship Four led to the Bobcats coming home with some hardware. Though their result against UMass goes down as a tie in the record, they won the Belpot Trophy in a shootout. QU has not lost since Oct. 22 and is unbeaten in nine straight games. They've had balanced scoring and goaltender Yaniv Perets has been especially consistent in net with a .920 save percentage. They're getting first-place votes in the polls now and they deserve them.

4. Denver | Last Ranking: 1

Record: 10-4-0

A stunning shutout loss at home to Omaha before exploding for six goals the next night to salvage the split was a stumble for the Pioneers. They've had a few bouts with inconsistency this year and I wonder if part of it is their relative lack of scoring depth. The drop-off from their top line to the rest of the team is pretty dramatic. Despite that, Denver has largely been impressive this season and still look to be among the top teams in the country.

5. St. Cloud State | Last Ranking: 5

Record: 11-3-0

After a nice break over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Huskies are back at it with a big home series against North Dakota. St. Cloud has won three straight after dropping two in a row in early November. Grad transfer Grant Cruikshank continues to propel SCSU's offense with 17 points in 14 games, including 11 goals. While the Huskies have gotten pretty balanced scoring, goaltending has been a major factor for them with a Dominic Basse (CHI) and Jaxon Castor platoon sporting a .933 team save percentage.

6. Michigan | Last Ranking: 6

Record: 10-5-1

The Wolverines handed Harvard its first loss of the season and also tied the Crimson. Adam Fantilli and Mackie Samoskevich (FLA) continue to pace the offense with 25 and 21 points, respectively, but Michigan has weapons all throughout their lineup. Eight different players are in the double digits in points presently as this team is exceedingly difficult to matchup against. Assuming the recent scare of a virus sweeping through the team is behind them, the Wolverines appear back on track.

7. UConn | Last Ranking: 3

Record: 11-3-3

The Huskies got blown out Saturday, losing to Cornell 6-0 at Madison Square Garden. They responded, however, with a 3-1 win over ranked Hockey East opponent Merrimack on the road. This might be the indication of why UConn has been a good team this year. They haven't lost back-to-back yet this season and always seem to respond to their losses with a big win the next night. There are things to clean up, but they're still a top-tier team.

8. Harvard | Last Ranking: 8

Record: 7-1-1

The Crimson traveled to Ann Arbor and left without a win, but they did pick up a tie and showed they can hang with some of the best teams in the country. That was Harvard's first big test of the year and several more await them. The Crimson will play just three games in December and all of them will be on the road.

9. Boston University | Last Ranking: 10

Record: 8-4-0

The Terriers have won five of their last six games and managed to hang five goals on a tough Notre Dame squad last Wednesday. The offense really seems to be clicking now with senior Matt Brown leading the charge with 17 points in 12 games. Meanwhile, freshman Lane Hutson (MTL) is putting together a tremendous rookie campaign with 14 points in 12 games. On top of that, Drew Commesso (CHI) is starting to look more dialed in, in net as he has a .915 save percentage that is trending up.

10. Providence | Last Ranking: 9

Record: 9-3-3

A surprising loss to Brown in a local showdown for the Mayor's Cup was certainly a stumble for the Friars, but they had been unbeaten in their previous eight games leading to that. A home-and-home series awaits Providence this weekend against Boston College.

11. Michigan State | Last Ranking: 16

Record: 11-4-1

It's been a long, long time since there was this much optimism surrounding Michigan State, but they keep allowing it to build with their play. The Spartans swept Miami on the road, outscoring the Red Hawks 9-3 over the weekend. They have been able to spread out their scoring with freshmen Daniel Russell and Karsen Dorwart presently leading the team with 18 and 17 points, respectively. But the story of this team's season has a lot to do with graduate transfer goalie Dylan St. Cyr, who has a .934 save percentage over 15 appearances.

12. Merrimack | Last Ranking: 13

Record: 10-4-0.

The Warriors saw their seven-game winning streak stopped by UConn Tuesday night, but that was a revelatory game in that they were stride for stride with one of the top teams in their conference most of that contest. Junior Alex Jefferies (NYI), who scored a goal in that game, has been a breakout performer with 16 points through 14 games. They've got the goaltending to stay competitive, too, with Zachary Borgiel and Hugo Ollas (NYR) holding it down as a tandem.

13. Minnesota State | Last Ranking: 11

Record: 8-5-1

The Mavericks split their series with Michigan Tech on the road this weekend, losing the first night and winning the next via shootout, though that goes down as a tie in the national standings. The Mavericks have lost two conference games and find themselves a point behind Tech in the CCHA standings. They're still a bear to play against, but they may lack the offensive pop necessary to be a true contender this season.

14. Western Michigan | Last Ranking: NR

Record: 10-6-0

It was a tough decision to drop the Broncos out last week, but they're back after an impressive 6-4 win over the Northeastern Huskies got them right back on track after having lost two of their previous three games. Western Michigan owns the highest-scoring offense in the country with Ryan McAllister, Jason Polin and Max Sasson all among the national scoring leaders with McAllister at the very top. They have a good chance to keep the momentum rolling against Omaha on the road this week.

15. Michigan Tech | Last Ranking: NR

Record: 9-3-3

The Huskies lost some key players from last year's NCAA tournament team, but it hasn't hit them too hard. Coming off of a weekend split with Minnesota State, the Huskies are now first in the CCHA. They've got a big home-and-home with Upper Peninsula rivals Northern Michigan this weekend that will offer a pretty good challenge to them, but Joe Shawhan's club plays hard, they play physical and they score just enough to keep everyone else honest.

16. UMass | Last Ranking: NR

Record: 7-5-2

I'm still not entirely sure what to make of the Minutemen, but they're unbeaten in their last three, even if they lost in a shootout to Quinnipiac Saturday as that goes down as a tie in the national standings. UMass has played one of the nation's toughest schedules to date. They swept Denver earlier in the season, then went on a five-game losing streak and now they're back to winning. They've been inconsistent, but the talent on that roster suggests their early-November swoon probably isn't the standard of their season.

Dropped Out: Ohio State, Northeastern, UMass-Lowell