Non-UND College Hockey 2026-27

[cberkas]

A start to a new season as the portal opens. 

• Good to see Miami get their 1st win in over a year. Really liked their team last year and expect them to have success this year
• Denver just does Denver things time to take that top spot from them and start the run to get 12 first.
• St. Thomas joining will make the conference stronger 
• Oliver with a tough task at St. Cloud to keep them competitive.
• I think the conference can get 5 possibly 6 teams to the NCHC Invitational 
• Another season of @gfhockey asking the simple question and not liking the simple answers.
• NCHC keeps the tradition going and if UND doesn't get 9th at least someone gets their 1st in the conference or CC finally ends the drought 
• Hopefully no more teams end their program this year after AIC and Mercyhurst ended their programs. At least NCAA gained Maryville 
• Still nothing on Tennessee State
• I think we hear from 3 new programs coming in and 5 new NHL/NCAA Feasibility Studies being done.

[cberkas]

https://x.com/GabbyJChernoff/status/2043924892912103746?s=20

ASU hockey roster overhaul reflects economic challenges, desire to improve defense (if the first link doesn't work)

Some interesting stuff here. Sounds like most of the guys in the portal were told to look somewhere else to play. 

Quote

Powers outlined the financial challenges of the endeavor in an email obtained by Sun Devil Source, which was sent following the season. In the email,  he invited boosters to a private meeting at his home on March 16 to help generate more resources for his program.

 

"We are often up against teams with payrolls of $1M+, when ours has been just north of $100k, entirely fundraised by myself," Powers wrote in the email. "Some teams we play have one player making more than our entire roster."

Because the hockey team's players received none of the roughly $18 million paid to athletes by the school in 2025-26, Powers and the Sun Devils are entirely reliant on name, image and likeness money from local businesses and boosters to fund their roster, in addition to their 26 full-cost-of-attendance scholarships, the maximum allowed for Division I teams.

As much as other teams' fans say they have money to pay players. When the Football coach is out there saying they need to get people in Pheonix to donate to NIL. There is probably a NIL/revenue share issue in the Athletic Department, and the AD replaced both basketball coaches. So, the money probably isn't there for the hockey team even though there are more people at the Mullett Arena than Desert Financial Arena (which is getting renovated when they want to replace it). I know Arizona State has money, with the roughly $1 billion they are putting into the Poly Campus right now.

Quote

"With as young as we were, we probably internally set the bar a little too high for ourselves," Powers said, toward the end of last season. "I haven't been able to get through to this team and convince them what it takes to win games." 

You could see when their play changed during the season almost like they didn't care. As much as Powers gets the blame and people want him fired. He does have capable assistant coaches on the staff for them to not be competitive. Can't say he's that bad of a coach when he made 2 NCAAs as an independent and finished 2nd in the first season in the NCHC. For Powers to get fired they'd have to finish last the next 4 years. 

WMU fans disrespecting the great Gowz by calling Powers the ASU version of him. Come on Gowz has titles and a really good coach I wish was still coaching 

[Johnny Five]

Duluth is going to be a problem.  

[cberkas]

In no particular order my top 5 in the NCHC as of right now.

1. Denver
2. North Dakota
3. Duluth
4. Miami
5. St. Thomas

Edit I forgot there will be 5 teams with home ice (think Red Barron Final Five)

[cberkas]

GPL: UND fans think they are getting all the top tier defensemen

Also, GPL: we are getting all the top tier defensemen and players.

🤣🤣