Wisconsin hockey falls outside top five in preseason USCHO Men's Poll

The first USCHO Division 1 Men’s Poll of the season is here, and the Wisconsin Badgers are in the top 10.

This is a program that made it to the national championship game a year ago, though they fell one goal short of matching the women’s team and winning a title.

The Badgersfell to Denver, who comes into the 2026-27 season ranked No. 1.

That ranking should come as no surprise, but it was a bit odd to see UW fall to No. 6.

The preseason @USCHO Division I Men’s Rankings are here‼️ #NCAAMHockeypic.twitter.com/h7FVRZBseB

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) September 21, 2026

There’s no denying they had a bit of a Cinderella run in the tournament last year, and while they did lose some quality skaters, head coach Mike Hastings is hungry for a national title.

Wisconsin is currently ranked behind Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota, Michigan State, Michigan, and Denver.

Denver led the way with 35 first-place votes while No. 2 Michigan had six, No. 3 Michigan State had seven, and No. 4 North Dakota had two.

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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin hockey falls outside top five in preseason USCHO Men’s Poll