ST. PAUL — We’re halfway through through the 2020s, in college hockey terms anyway, with five seasons under our belt, and five seasons still to be players. So in the doldrums of summer, what better time to crunch the numbers, like we did five years ago, and find out which of the game’s 60-plus Division I programs can claim to be the half-decade’s best.
You may recall that when
we did this at the end of the 2010s
, there was some mild controversy, as Boston College’s regular season success plus two NCAA titles edged out Minnesota Duluth, which claimed three national championships in that decade. A similar thing happened when doing the math this time around, as a team without a NCAA title on its resume came out on top, thanks in large part to championships earned in the regular seasons.
In terms of criteria, we judged the 2010s solely on team performance and left individual awards out of the mix. Our initial intent was to keep that same formula, which awards:
- 5 points for a NCAA title
- 3 points for being NCAA runner-up
- 2 points for getting to the Frozen Four
- 1 point for making the NCAA tournament
- 3 points for winning your conference’s regular season title
- 2 points for winning your conference tournament.
Then our friend COVID-19 came to visit in March of 2020, wiping out the conference tournaments, the NCAA tournament and the Frozen Four that year. Yes, we know that a few schools that were in line to make the 2020 NCAA tournament have hung banners commemorating the anticipated accomplishment, and some have even suggested hanging a mythical national championship banner for that season’s top Pairwise team. We’re not doing that. The tournament wasn’t played, so you don’t get credit for it. Sorry.
But to make up for those lost numbers, we factored in three individual trophies this time, awarding:
- 2 points for the Hobey Baker Award
- 1 point for the Mike Richter (goalie) award
- 1 point for the Tim Taylor (rookie) award.
Starting in 10th place, let’s find out the program of the 2020s, so far:
Thomas Kendall / UMass Athletics
10. UMass, 14 points (National championships: 1, National runners-up: 0, Frozen Fours: 1, NCAA tournament appearances: 3, Hockey East regular season titles: 0, Hockey East playoff titles: 2, Hobeys: 0, Richters: 0, Taylors: 0) – After ending the 2010s with their first Frozen Four appearance, their first trip to the NCAA title game (a 3-0 loss to Minnesota Duluth in Buffalo in 2019) and that season’s Hobey winner in Cale Makar, the Minutemen reached the pinnacle in 2021, blanking St. Cloud State in Pittsburgh as head coach Greg Carvel put college hockey’s top accomplishment on his resume.
Bob Shank / AIC
8. (tie) AIC, 15 points (National championships: 0, National runners-up: 0, Frozen Fours: 0, NCAA tournament appearances: 2, Atlantic Hockey regular season titles: 3, Atlantic Hockey playoff titles: 2, Hobeys: 0, Richters: 0, Taylors: 0) – Best known for their stunning upset of top-seeded St. Cloud State in the opening round of the 2019 NCAA playoffs, the Yellowjackets returned to the NCAAs in 2021 and 2022, going one-and-done both times. But their three consecutive Atlantic Hockey regular season crowns, and two more in the playoffs, have AIC in our top 10.
Clint Austin / The Rink Live
8. (tie) Boston University, 15 points (National championships: 0, National runners-up: 0, Frozen Fours: 2, NCAA tournament appearances: 3, Hockey East regular season titles: 1, Hockey East playoff titles: 1, Hobeys: 1, Richters: 0, Taylors: 1) – Two years ago at about this time the Terriers were a team in transition, with a new coach in Jay Pandolfo and a new drive to fulfill their fans high expectations. Since then, BU has been to two consecutive Frozen Fours, and claimed the Hobey and Taylor this year in first overall NHL draft pick in Macklin Celebrini. He won’t be back on Commonwealth Avenue next season, but the Terriers are looking like a NCAA tournament contender for the long haul.
Russell Hons / UND athletics
6. (tie) North Dakota, 17 points (National championships: 0, National runners-up: 0, Frozen Fours: 0, NCAA tournament appearances: 3, NCHC regular season titles: 4, NCHC playoff titles: 1, Hobeys: 0, Richters: 0, Taylors: 1) – Yes, we know that among a large share of the rabid Fighting Hawks fanbase, anything less than a NCAA title is deemed a failure, but North Dakota’s regular season dominance in the nation’s toughest conference is an accomplishment as notable as anything teams do in April. Perhaps their best team, in 2021, was undone by the cruel hand of the hockey gods when a better-rested Minnesota Duluth team upset the Hawks in Fargo, in a multi-overtime regional final.
Clint Austin / The Rink Live
6. (tie) Michigan, 17 points (National championships: 0, National runners-up: 0, Frozen Fours: 3, NCAA tournament appearances: 4, Big Ten regular season titles: 0, Big Ten playoff titles: 2, Hobeys: 1, Richters: 0, Taylors: 1) – With their arch-rivals from East Lansing winning the Big Ten this season, it’s hard to fathom that historically powerful Michigan is the conference’s only team without a regular season title to its credit since the Big Ten became the first power five conference to award a hockey title in 2013. But the Wolverines have dominated in March, winning the conference tournament twice, reaching the last three Frozen Fours and claiming the Hobey/Taylor daily double last season in Adam Fantilli.
Clint Austin / The Rink Live
5. Boston College, 19 points (National championships: 0, National runners-up: 1, Frozen Fours: 1, NCAA tournament appearances: 2, Hockey East regular season titles: 3, Hockey East playoff titles: 1, Hobeys: 0, Richters: 0, Taylors: 1) – With five seasons yet to be played in this decade, the team of the 2010s is in good position to repeat as decade champs, after a resurgence under new coach Greg Brown. The Eagles dominated the Hockey East regular season early in the 2020s and charged back to the Frozen Four title game in St. Paul a few months ago, before running into a hot goalie in the title game. Still, with a wealth of top talent from the East headed to the Heights next season and beyond, one could expect the Boston Catholic school to be heard from plenty going forward.
Brad Rempel / Gopher Sports
4. Minnesota, 20 points (National championships: 0, National runners-up: 1, Frozen Fours: 2, NCAA tournament appearances: 4, Big Ten regular season titles: 2, Big Ten playoff titles: 1, Hobeys: 0, Richters: 1, Taylors: 0) – The historically renowned Gophers program’s first six seasons under head coach Bob Motzko have been almost everything that folks in the State of Hockey could have hoped for since he came over from St. Cloud State in 2018. Almost. Yes, the 2023 Gophers will take their place alongside the 1998 Minnesota Vikings among the truly great teams that somehow didn’t win a title, but after spending some time in the college hockey doldrums, the folks at the U of M are selling out their rink, attracting top talent and hanging banners, with the promise of making a run at the Frozen Four a realistic every year expectation again.
Jim Rosvold / Special to The Rink Live
3. Quinnipiac, 23 points (National championships: 1, National runners-up: 0, Frozen Fours: 1, NCAA tournament appearances: 4, ECAC regular season titles: 4, ECAC playoff titles: 0, Hobeys: 0, Richters: 0, Taylors: 0) – Their magical 10-second overtime that knocked off Minnesota and gave the Bobcats their first NCAA championship in 2023 is the moment that will forever be remembered among hockey fans in the Nutmeg State. But Rand Pecknold’s program has been far from a one-hit wonder, having suffered overtime heartbreak in the 2021 and 2024 NCAA tournaments themselves, and dominating their conference in the regular season. Having appeared in the last two NCAA title games played in Tampa, the Bobcats and their legion of fans are eager to see college hockey back in the Sunshine State.
Clint Austin / The Rink Live
2. Denver, 25 points (National championships: 2, National runners-up: 0, Frozen Fours: 2, NCAA tournament appearances: 3, NCHC regular season titles: 2, NCHC playoff titles: 1, Hobeys: 0, Richters: 0, Taylors: 0) – In the past 20 years, the Pioneers have now won five NCAA titles (giving them a best-in-the-game 10) under three different head coaches, including two out of the last three. As we noted in April, as they were parading around Xcel Energy Center with their latest national crown, it would be hard to argue that Denver routinely has the best team, top to bottom, but more importantly they have
found the formula needed
to win the last four games of the season. Only their lack of individual awards keeps them from the top spot for the half-decade according to our formula.
Jason Wachter / The Rink Live
1. Minnesota State, Mankato, 28 points (National championships: 0, National runners-up: 1, Frozen Fours: 2, NCAA tournament appearances: 3, WCHA/CCHA regular season titles: 4, WCHA/CCHA playoff titles: 2, Hobeys: 1, Richters: 0, Taylors: 0) – Luke Strand inherited the keys to a pretty nice ride in the spring of 2023, when former Mavericks coach Mike Hastings went from Mankato to Madison. While running the MSU program, Hastings’ defense-first system – backstopped by 2022 Hobey winner Dryden McKay – dominated the conference standings, first in the WCHA and then in the new CCHA, with four of the five regular season titles in the half-decade. Add to that a few playoff titles, the program’s first two Frozen Four trips and a lead in the third period of the NCAA title game two years ago, and the 2020s, so far, have been the best of times for college hockey in southern Minnesota.
Contributed / Jim Rosvold
The next dozen: 11. St. Cloud State (10 points), 12. RIT (9 points), 13. Wisconsin (8 points), 14. (tie) Cornell (7 points), 14. (tie) Minnesota Duluth (7 points), 14. (tie) Northeastern (7 points), 17. Michigan State (6 points), 18. Michigan Tech (5 points), 19. (tie) Harvard (4 points), 19. (tie) Bemidji State (4 points), 21. (tie) Canisius (3 points), 21. (tie) Western Michigan (3 points).
