The result led the reaction, and it’s easy to understand why. When Denver defeated Western Michigan in overtime of a NCHC tournament semifinal last weekend, voters in the polls moved the Pioneers up from No. 6 ahead of the Broncos at No. 4.
However, the National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index, which is based on a formula that relies on the team’s winning percentage and the the weighted average percentage of the team’s opponents NPI, did not. Heading into this final weekend of conference tournament championships, Western Michigan (26-10-1) is fourth at 57.437, and Denver (24-11-3) fifth at 56.895.
That’s exactly where we had them in this week’s bracketology, playing in the Loveland, Colo., regional along with Wisconsin and St. Thomas, two teams that could still get bumped from the 16-team field.
Could Denver surpass Western Michigan in NPI if it defeats Minnesoat Duluth in the NCHC title game this weekend? We don’t think so, but the only reason that we’re not going to rule it out is that this is the first season using the NPI instead of Pairwise for the selection process and some of the exact specifics with strength of schedule changes are a little tough to pinpoint. Moreover, the conference championship is just one game, and carries no more weight than any other game the teams played this season. The rankings formula doesn’t factor in winning any trophies.
Either way., it’s actually not that important to our discussion even though the No. 4 team is an incredibly important spot in the 16-team field as it’s the last of the top seeds for each region, and in a bracket has to deal with the No. 5 seed.
You see where we’re going with this? Here are three reasons why Denver might ned up giving the selection committee a headache this weekend.
1) History. You may remember that en route to the 2025 national title not only did Western Michigan defeat Denver in double overtime of the championship game of the NCHC Frozen Faceoff, 4-3, but then again in double overtime in the Frozen Four, 3-2. The teams obviously just played again in the postseason, and putting them in the same regional kind of seems like a disservice to both programs. The NCAA Tournament used to shy away from all intra-conference matchups in regionals, but now only does so for the first round. they could be on another collision course.
2) ) Denver is a regional host team. The four hosts are Denver (Loveland), Union (Albany, N,Y.), Holy Cross (Worcester, Mass.) and Omaha (Sioux Falls, S.D.), and the hosts have to do just that, host their bracket if in the tournament. if you’re wondering why Omaha is serving as a host in South Dakota, it’s partly because North Dakota is considered the Frozen Four host, which will be played in Las Vegas.
So yes, not only may Western Michigan have to play Denver again, it could be in Denver’s back yard. In case you’re wondering, both of the double-overtime games last year were at neutral sites (St. Paul and St. Louis).
3) Attendance. Let’s say Denver loses to UMD in the NCHC title game. The Bulldogs would likely move ahead of the Pioneers in the NPI, but Denver could drop to No. 7, which would mean being in the same bracket as the NCHC regular-season champion, No. 2 North Dakota. However, the selection committee will want to keep UND in Sioux Falls, as it might be the only team that could guarantee a good draw (especially with Augustana very much on the bubble) — just like it’ll try to have Cornell playing in Albany.
Chances are we’re going to have two groups of fans complaining when they see the final brackets, Pioneers fans in general, and those of whichever teams have to go through Denver to reach the Frozen Four.
Here are this week’s rankings, begging with NPI:
National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index
1. Michigan
2. North Dakota
3. Michigan State
4. Western Michigan
5. Denver*
6. Minnesota Duluth*
7. Providence
8. Dartmouth*
9. Cornell*
10. Penn State
11. Quinnipiac
12. Wisconsin
13. Massachusetts*
14. St. Thomas*
15. Connecticut*
16. Augustana
17. Minnesota State*
18. Boston College *
19. Ohio State*
20. Michigan Tech
The * means the team still has a game, or potentially games, to play in its conference tournament.
Now for the comparison to the two major polls, ranking the top 20 in college hockey. Not only did both have Michigan at No. 1, but it was unanimous.
Made Biggest Jump: St. Thomas went from No. 15 to 18 in the USCHO.com poll, while Dartmouth moved from No. 12 to No. 9. Interesting note on both, St. Thomas is 2-1-1 against ranked opponents since Jan. 1, and Dartmouth is 1-2 against ranked teams since Jan. 1. However, the Big Green is No. 56 (out of 63) in strength of schedule, but the Tommies are No. 30.
Had Biggest Fall: Augustana dropped from No.13 all the way to No. 18 after losing at St. Thomas in the CCHA semifinals, 2-1, which seems pretty harsh. We thought for sure it would be Quinnipiac after getting swept by Clarkson, but the Bobcats slipped just from No. 7 to tied for No. 10.
Most underrated ranked team per NPI: Augustana. The Vikings are still at No. 16 in NPI, and in the NCAA Tournament hunt, but they need help with the right combination of conference championship results to make the tournament.
Most overrated ranked team per NPI: The USCHO voters had Bentley at No. 20, five spots higher than NPI. The Falcons have had a great year, but their only chance to make the NCAA Tournament is still to win the AHA tournament championship against Sacred Heart (No. 28 NPI).
USCHO Men’s Poll
March 16, 2026
Rank
Team
Record
Points (1st)
Prv.
1
Michigan
28-7-1
1,000 (50)
1
2
North Dakota
27-9-1
890
2
3
Michigan State
25-8-2
889
3
4
Denver
24-11-3
848
6
5
Western Michigan
26-10-1
809
4
6
Minnesota Duluth
23-13-1
746
8
7
Providence
23-10-2
684
5
8
Cornell
22-9-1
619
9
9
Dartmouth
21-7-4
569
12
T10
Penn State
21-13-2
535
10
T10
Quinnipiac
26-9-3
535
7
12
Wisconsin
21-12-2
414
10
13
Connecticut
19-11-5
397
14
14
Massachusetts
22-12-1
383
15
15
St. Thomas
21-11-5
278
18
16
Minnesota State
21-10-7
258
16
17
Boston College
20-14-1
243
17
18
Augustana
22-11-4
198
13
19
Ohio State
14-20-2
53
NR
20
Bentley
22-11-5
46
NR
Others receiving votes: Michigan Tech 39, Princeton 35, Sacred Heart 10, Merrimack 8, Maine 5, Miami 3, Union 3, Bowling Green 1, Clarkson 1, St. Cloud State 1
USA Hockey Men’s Poll
March 16, 2026
Rank
Team
Points (1st)
Prv.
1
Michigan
680 (34)
1
2
North Dakota
624
2
3
Michigan State
615
3
4
Denver
568
6
5
Western Michigan
561
4
6
Minnesota Duluth
507
8
7
Providence
481
5
8
Cornell
413
9
9
Dartmouth
390
12
10
Quinnipiac
386
7
11
Penn State
360
10
12
Wisconsin
308
11
13
Massachusetts
262
15
14
Connecticut
242
14
15
St. Thomas
183
17
16
Minnesota State
168
18
17
Boston College
153
16
18
Augustana
128
13
19
Ohio State
38
NR
T20
Michigan Tech
23
19
T20
Princeton
23
NR
Others Receiving Votes: Bentley 13; Maine, 11; Clarkson 1; Merrimack 1; Sacred Heart 1.
Puck Drop: Monday, March 17, 2026
• First off, Happy St, Patrick’s Day!
• The NHL and NHL Players’ Association announced that Calgary and Edmonton will be the North American host cities for the World Cup of Hockey 2028, with Prague serving as the European host for the eight-team international tournament. Scotia Place, the Calgary Flames’ new arena that will open in the 2027-28 season, and at O2 Arena in Prague, will host six round-robin games and one elimination game. The World Cup semifinals and championship will be played at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The eight competing nations was not announced, nor whether Russia will be invoted. Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off, which included the United States, Sweden and Finland.
• With center Auston Matthews (USA Hockey National Team Development Program) out for the season following an on-ice injury, the Toronto Maple Leafs have called for a harsher penalty than the five-game suspension handed down Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas for his knee-on-knee hit last Thursday. For more, check out Breakaway On SI .
• Minnesota Duluth sophomore Max Plante was named the 2025-26 NCHC Forward of the Year, while St. Cloud State junior Tyson Gross won the league’s Defensive Forward of the Year award.
• The Blackhawks signed former Boston University and North Dakota center Sacha Boisvert to a three-year, entry-level contract that runs through the 2027-28 season. He had three goals and 14 assists in 26 games this season for the Terriers, down from 18 goals and 14 assists in 37 games the previous season before transferring. Chicago had selected him with the 18th-overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft.
• Colorado College goaltender and team captain Kaidan Mbereko signed with the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL.
• Division III Middlebury announced that women’s head coach Bill Mandigo will retire at the conclusion of the 2025-2026 academic year. Manigo won four national titles and after 43 seasons had a career record of 698-185-60.
• Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (Boston University) was named the NHL’s Second Star of the Week, and St. Louis Blues right wing Jimmy Snuggerud (Minnesota) was named the third star, while New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafreniere took the top honor. Oettinger went 3-0-0 with a 1.65 goals-against average and .940 save percentage to help the Stars extend their point streak to a franchise record-tying 15 games. Snuggerud has three goals and three assists, including his first career three-point game.
• Check out this move that players will be trying to replicate in the NHL. This was by Semyon Der-Arguchintsev in the KHL, and of course the Toronto Maple Leafs have his NFL rights.
Oh that’s naaaaasty 🤢 pic.twitter.com/1zSeGAm3Hh
— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) March 16, 2026
All times are local to where the game is being played.
AHA Tournament
Championship
Saturday, March 21
Sacred Heart winner at Bentley, 7 p.m. ET
Big Ten Tournament
Championship
Saturday, March 21
Ohio State at Michigan, BTN, 8 p.m. ET
CCHA Tournament
Championship
Friday, March 20
St. Thomas at Minnesota State, 7 p.m.
ECAC Tournament
Semifinals
Friday, March 20
At Lake Placid, N.Y.
Dartmouth vs. Clarkson, 4 p.m. ET
Cornell vs. Princeton, 7 p.m. ET
Championship
Saturday, March 21
At Lake Placid, N.Y.
Semifinal winners, 5 pm ET
Hockey East Tournament
Semifinals
Friday, March 20
At TD Garden, Boston
Merrimack vs. Massachusetts, 4 p.m. ET
Boston College vs. Connecticut, 7 p.m. ET
Championship
Saturday, March 21
Semifinals winners, 7 p.m. ET
NCHC Tournament
Championship
Saturday, March 21
Minnesota Duluth at Denver, 6 p.m. MT
Women’s Frozen Four
Friday, March 20
At Pegula Ice Aren, Penn State
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Northeastern, 4 p.m. ET
No. 2 Wisconsin Regional vs. No. 3 Penn State, 7:30 p.m. ET
Championship Game
Sunday, March 22
At Pegula Ice Aren, Penn State
Semifinal winners, 4 p.m. ET
Hockey Quote of the Day
“Joe [Mullen] was like a vagabond. I’m not surprised he’s made the NHL. He had such determination. If Joe knew he could get ice time somewhere on his own, he’d go as far as he had to go. The Westsiders couldn’t afford ice, so we’d practice on roller skates.”
Youth hockey coach Tom Horvath
We’ll Leave You With This …
A pair of images from the Kings-Rangers game highlighting former teammates during the return of Artemi Panarin after being traded and Anze Kopitar’s last career game at Madison Square Garden. The first includes Vincent Trocheck, who just played for Team USA in the Olympics, and the second features former Massachusetts goaltender Jonathan Quick.
#NYR Vincent Trocheck messes with Artemi Panarin’s pregame ritual 🤣
No. 10 then did his two puck lobs and even shot one into the Blueshirts net as the MSG crowd cheered him on. pic.twitter.com/XcDwrBau47
— Mollie Walker (@MollieeWalkerr) March 16, 2026
Nothing but respect from the @NYRangers after Anze Kopitar’s last career game at @TheGarden. 👏
And check out the awesome embrace with his good buddy, Jonathan Quick. 🖤 pic.twitter.com/rc9HD2jhjl
— NHL (@NHL) March 17, 2026
Follow us on Twitter/X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Threads and Blue Skyfor the latest news.
