by Noah Grant/Sports Director/@noahgrant_23

ST. CLOUD, Minn. – St. Cloud State men’s hockey was selected to finish eighth in the NCHC Preseason Media Poll on Wednesday. The Huskies received 102 points in the poll, finishing ahead of Arizona State and Omaha.

The reigning national champions, the Denver Pioneers, took the top spot in the poll, followed by North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth. Western Michigan, Miami (Ohio) and Colorado College rounded out spots four through six. Newcomer St. Thomas was picked seventh.

The poll was made up of 33 individual ballots from local media members representing each school, as well as national media members. A first-place vote is worth 10 points, a second-place vote is worth nine points and so forth.

This is the first season the NCHC will have 10 teams with the addition of St. Thomas. The conference previously expanded from eight to nine teams in 2024-25 when Arizona State entered.

St. Cloud State is coming off a 16-19-1 overall season in 2025-26. The Huskies went 9-14-1 in the NCHC and finished fifth in the conference before losing to Minnesota Duluth in the first round of the playoffs.

This will be the first season for Nick Oliver as the head coach of SCSU. Oliver most recently served as an assistant coach at the University of Wisconsin, helping lead the Badgers to a 2026 national championship game appearance. Oliver is working with a new-look Huskies roster, as just nine players return from last season.

The Huskies open their season on the road at Bemidji State on Oct. 3. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. from the Sanford Center.

Photo Credit: SCSU Athletics