DENVER – The University of Denver hockey team was ranked No. 4 in the nation in the USCHO.com 2025-26 preseason poll that was released on Monday.
Denver is coming off its second straight NCAA Frozen Four appearance and has reached at least the national semifinals three times in the past four seasons. The Pioneers, who finished last year at No. 3 in the poll, lost to eventual national champions and conference-foe Western Michigan in the semifinals on April 10 in St. Louis, Missouri.
Western Michigan ranks No. 1 in this year's first list, while national runner-up Boston University is at No. 2 and Michigan State is at No. 3. WMU received 29 of the 50 first-place votes, while Michigan State was picked at the top of the ballot 14 times. BU and No. 5 Penn State had three top votes each, while No. 12 Michigan was chosen first by one voter.
DU has recorded four-straight 30-win campaigns—a program record—and finished 2024-25 with a 31-12-1 overall mark. The Pioneers, who were picked second in this year's National Collegiate Hockey Conference preseason media poll, finished third in last season's conference standings with a 15-8-1 record in league play.
The NCHC has four school ranked in the initial USCHO.com poll, the third-most among conferences behind six by both the Big Ten and Hockey East. Joining Denver and Western Michigan on the list is North Dakota at No. 11 and Arizona State at No. 14, while Colorado College, Omaha, Minnesota Duluth and St. Cloud State also received votes among pollsters.
About the USCHO.com Poll: The Division I men's ice hockey poll is compiled weekly and consists of 50 voters, including coaches and media professionals from across the country.
UP NEXT: Denver is in its third week of 2025 training camp and begins play with an exhibition against UNLV at Magness Arena on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m. MT. The Pioneers open the regular season on Friday, Oct. 10 at Air Force before hosting Bentley the next night on Saturday, Oct. 11 in the home opener.
TICKETS: Single-game tickets and 5-game mini plans for DU hockey's 2025-26 campaign are on sale now.
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