NFL
By Jason Gulden
NCHC Hockey fans, we have finally made it. It’s the opening weekend of the 2026-2027 NCHC Hockey season. It doesn’t matter if you finished first or ninth place last year; it’s a new year, and anything can happen. Everyone starts with a 0-0-0 record when the puck drops this weekend. What will your favorite NCHC team’s record be after this weekend? Only time will tell.
USCHO Rankings
The NCHC starts the season with 4 teams in the top 20 and 4 teams receiving votes in the first hockey poll of the 2026-2027 season. The 4 teams that are in the top 20 come as no surprise to anyone in the NCHC. These 4 teams are also projected to finish in the top 4 spots of the NCHC this season. Defending National Champs, the University of Denver starts the season ranked #1. Defending Regular Season Champs, the University of North Dakota starts the season ranked #4. University of Minnesota Duluth begins the season ranked #5, and the University of Western Michigan starts the season ranked #8.
Teams that also received votes but didn’t crack the top 20 are: St. Thomas, University of Miami (OH), Colorado College, and Arizona State. To see the full opening-weekend rankings, click the link here. The New rankings following this weekend’s games will come out on Monday, so look for those results in the weekend recap article early next week.
Preseason All-Conference Team
During the NCHC Media Day, they announced their Preseason All-Conference team. This team featured 3 Minnesota Duluth players and 3 North Dakota players. Minnesota Duluth is represented by defending Hobey Baker winner Max Plante. He is joined by his older brother, Zam Plante, and their teammate, defenseman Ty Hanson.
North Dakota is represented by last year’s Rookie of the Year, Cole Reschny. He’s joined by the defending NCHC Goaltender of the Year, Jan Spunar, and by defenseman Keaton Verhoeff. If this team played together, I’d be scared to play them. Amazing talent among all 6 of them.
NHL Players
Before we get into the current NCHC players and their teams for the 2026-2027 season, we need to mention the alums from these teams who make the opening-day roster of their NHL teams. The NCHC has 56 Alumni on the list and 64 overall alumni.
Additionally, two coaches have coached at an NCHC school. Jim Montgomery, the head coach for the St. Louis Blues, is a former Denver University head coach. Former North Dakota head coach Dave Hakstol is an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche. Below is a photo showing who is on the opening day NHL Rosters.
Opening Weekend
This weekend, 9 of our 10 teams are playing. Newcomer St. Thomas doesn’t debut until next weekend. Things get going on Friday with 6 NCHC teams in action. 5 games count toward the record, and 1 is an exhibition game. The University of Miami (OH) will be the first NCHC team to get its season going when it travels to Marquette, Michigan, to take on Northern Michigan. An hour later, Arizona State will drop the puck when it travels to Maryland Heights, Missouri, to take on Lindenwood.
Shortly after Arizona State drops the puck, we get our first home game for an NCHC team. Minnesota Duluth will host Long Island. Roughly an hour after Duluth debuts on home ice, the NCHC will get its second home game of the year when Colorado College welcomes USCHO #10-ranked UMass to Colorado Springs.
At the same time, as UMass and Colorado College drop the puck, another NCHC team will face off roughly 10 minutes north on Interstate 25 in Colorado Springs, as Omaha will be at the Air Force Academy for the only exhibition game on opening night. The final NCHC game on Opening night will take place in Alaska, as Denver University starts its season by taking on Alaska Anchorage.
Saturday night games will feature 8 NCHC teams, with 2 games being exhibition games. Once again, Arizona State will play at Lindenwood. Miami (OH) will play at Northern Michigan. Minnesota Duluth will host Long Island. Colorado College will host UMass, and Denver will play at Alaska Anchorage. St. Cloud State will get its season underway when they travel to Bemidji, Minnesota, to take on Bemidji State.
The final 2 NCHC teams to get their season underway will both play exhibition games. Western Michigan will welcome Western Ontario to Kalamazoo, and North Dakota will welcome Augustana to Grand Forks. Speaking of North Dakota, they will also play an exhibition game on Sunday when they welcome Manitoba to Grand Forks. How will your teams fare on Opening Weekend? Check back early next week to find out how they did.
If you like streaming sports, NCHC.tv is back for another year. As a subscriber, I can watch many NCHC games during the season. NCHC.tv broadcasts all games on NCHC ice during the season. If you’re a Western Michigan fan in Hanover, PA, a Colorado College fan in Vienna, VA, or a North Dakota fan in St. Petersburg, Florida, you can enjoy your teams anywhere you live.
They also offer day packages. You can also watch 4 games at once if you’re into that. Even if you live in your favorite team’s market and can’t make it to the arena that night or weekend, you can still enjoy their games, as NCHC.tv has NO BLACKOUT RESTRICTIONS. So if you want to join me as an NCHCTV subscriber this season, click the headline of this section to go to the subscription page and see all the options available for your streaming enjoyment.
Closing
Well, fall is in the air, and it’s starting to feel like hockey weather outside. There’s only one more thing to say: EVERYONE, IIT’STIME FOR NCHC HOCKEY!!!!!!! Enjoy the opening weekend, and I’ll be back early next week to recap the games, then later in the week to preview next weekend’s matchups. Talk to you all then.
