The road back to the Frozen Four is over one week away for the Penn State men's hockey team. Now that the season is rapidly approaching, USCHO released its preseason poll for 2025-26.
The Nittany Lions are coming off a historic season, finishing 13th in the PairWise rankings with a 20-13-4 overall record. Between the foundation put down in 2024-25 and the major talent incoming from the Canadian Hockey League, it's no surprise that Penn State made the top five on the USCHO Preseason Poll.
Penn State men's hockey is ranked No. 5 in the 2025-26 USCHO Preseason Poll
The Nittany Lions were ranked fifth in the country heading into the 2025-26 season. The blue and white received three first-place votes and rallied a total of 820 points. No. 1 Western Michigan, No. 2 Boston University, No. 3 Michigan State, and No. 4 Denver took the top spots.
Surprisingly, though the Spartans received 14 first-place votes, it wasn't enough to bump them into the No. 2 spot over the Terriers who matched Penn State with three No. 1 votes. BU was the ultimate demise of the Nittany Lions' Frozen Four Tournament run in 2024-25, but then to the Broncos in the Championship Game. The reigning national champions received 29 first-place votes ahead of the upcoming season.
If the rankings remain relatively the same, which is not guaranteed in the slightest with the amount of talent packed into the 20 teams right now, the first outdoor hockey game at Beaver Stadium will be a top five matchup. Michigan State and Penn State face off Saturday, Sat. 31, 2026 for an outdoor hockey doubleheader with the women's team.
First puck drop of the blue and white's season is scheduled for Oct. 3 at 9 p.m. at Arizona State. The full USCHO Preseason Poll rankings here: