Denver opens at No. 1, and Michigan visits in week three
The champs took 35 of 50 first-place votes in the first USCHO poll, but Michigan State and Michigan each pulled a handful.
The first USCHO.com poll of the college season is out, and the defending champs are where you'd expect. Denver opens 2026-27 at No. 1 with 973 points and 35 of 50 first-place votes, per the university's release. Michigan sits second at 915 points.
Michigan State is third, North Dakota fourth and Minnesota Duluth fifth, while Western Michigan, the 2025 national champion, checks in at No. 8.
Denver went 29-11-3 last season and beat Wisconsin 2-1 on April 11 for its 11th national title, per DU. That's three championships in five years for the winningest program in the sport.
Why it matters
The vote wasn't a unanimous coronation, either. Per Badgers Wire, Michigan State pulled seven first-place votes, Michigan got six and North Dakota took two. Somebody at the top of the ballot isn't sold on the Pioneers running it back.
Wisconsin, the team that took Denver to the final, opens at No. 6. Badgers Wire called it "a bit odd" given last spring's run. Mike Hastings' group lost bodies over the summer, and the voters clearly counted them.
The Big Ten crowd is loud in this poll. Michigan and Michigan State are both top three, and Wisconsin is right behind. The NCHC still owns the top spot and two more of the top five, so the West-versus-West argument that's carried the sport for a decade isn't going anywhere.
Ferda take
Preseason No. 1 in college hockey is a jersey with a bullseye stitched on the back. It means every road barn from Grand Forks to Kalamazoo circles your date and the students show up early.
Denver has handled that before, because three titles in five years is the signature of a program that reloads rather than rebuilds. But a poll in September is a guess about a roster that hasn't played a game with its freshmen yet.
The nice part for the rest of us: the schedule gives us a real answer fast. Denver opens Oct. 2-3 at Alaska Anchorage, per DU, then raises the banner at Magness Arena on Oct. 16-17 against No. 2 Michigan. That's a Frozen Four rematch in week three.
What's next
The poll updates weekly once games start. Denver's trip to Anchorage is the first chance for the Seawolves, under new coach Eric Rud, to make the champs look ordinary. Then Michigan comes to town, and we find out whether the 35 voters or the 15 had it right.