2025–26 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season

2025–26 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season
DurationOctober 31, 2025–
March 29, 2026
NCAA tournament2026
National championshipAdirondack Bank Center
Utica, New York
List of NCAA Division III men's ice hockey seasons
← 2024–25 2026–27 →

The 2025–26 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey season began on October 31, 2025, and will conclude on March 29, 2026. This is the 53rd season of Division III college ice hockey.

Regular season

Realignment

Carrying through on an announcement that had been made in the summer of 2024, the Little East Conference formally supported ice hockey beginning with this season.[1] The return of Keene State's program a year earlier gave the conference six active ice hockey programs, the minimum number required to secure an automatic qualifying bid for the NCAA tournament. The five other active teams, Plymouth State, Southern Maine, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth and Vermont State Castleton, announced their departure from their previous conferences for this season. The six full Little East members were subsequently joined by three other teams, Babson, New England College and Norwich, as affiliate members while a seventh full member, Western Connecticut, announced that their ice hockey program would be starting this season.[2]

The majority of the new LEC members had come from the New England Hockey Conference and left the NEHC severely reduced. While the league still had enough members (seven) to retain the league's automatic NCAA qualifier, the remaining clubs started looking for their own way out. In the spring of '25, Hobart and Skidmore agreed to join SUNYAC for this season while Albertus Magnus and Elmira departed for UCHC.[3][4] Around the same time, Salem State also left the NEHC, joining its primary conference, MASCAC. The lone remaining team, Salve Regina, was unable to find a home for this season, however, they did eventually reach a deal to rejoin the Conference of New England in 2026.[5]

Beloit - Northland

With the closure of Northland College following the 2024-25 academic year, the entire ice hockey program was transferred to Beloit College. The eligible players, staff and administration were all moved and Beloit assumed Northland's place in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.[6]

New programs

Aside from Western Connecticut and Beloit, two other Division III programs were founded this season. Both Hiram College (independent) and St. John Fisher University (UCHC) played their first games this year. Additionally, Roger Williams University revived its ice hockey program, having last fielded a varsity team in 1998. The +4 change brought up the number of active programs to 91. Because the ratio of programs to NCAA seeds had recently been changed from 6.5:1 to 6:1,[7] this meant that there were now enough active teams to merit fifteen spots for the 2026 tournament, increasing the number of at-large bids from four to five. Despite this, the NCAA tournament was not expanded and remained at 14 teams.

Standings

2025–26 Conference of New England ice hockey standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T OTW OTL SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
University of New England † 20 17 3 0 0 0 0 51 85 32 28 21 7 0 121 54
Endicott * 20 14 3 3 0 1 1 47 82 32 28 21 4 3 116 47
Suffolk 20 15 4 1 1 0 0 45 85 37 27 17 9 1 108 59
Curry 20 13 6 1 0 0 0 40 78 47 26 16 9 1 101 62
Nichols 20 7 12 1 0 0 0 22 46 64 26 11 14 1 63 82
Johnson & Wales 20 6 12 2 0 1 2 22 49 70 26 8 15 3 62 93
Wentworth 20 5 14 1 1 3 0 17 41 70 25 6 17 2 54 91
Roger Williams 20 4 15 1 1 1 1 14 34 91 25 6 18 1 48 111
Western New England 20 4 16 0 4 1 0 10 36 93 25 6 19 0 49 116
Championship: March 7
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champions
2025–26 NCAA Division III Independent ice hockey standings
Overall record
GP W L T GF GA
Hiram 22 1 20 1 25 141
Salve Regina 24 19 5 0 113 42
2025–26 Little East Conference ice hockey standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T OTW OTL SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Norwich †* 18 13 2 3 0 1 3 46 71 35 30 20 6 4 111 59
Babson 18 14 3 1 1 0 0 42 70 35 27 20 5 2 100 56
Plymouth State 18 11 6 1 1 0 0 33 72 59 27 15 11 1 106 93
Southern Maine 18 10 7 1 1 0 1 31 65 66 26 12 13 1 83 93
Massachusetts Boston 18 9 7 2 1 2 0 30 64 50 27 15 10 2 94 75
Vermont State Castleton 18 9 8 1 1 2 0 29 70 56 26 13 11 2 95 84
New England College 18 8 10 0 1 0 0 23 49 54 25 9 16 0 62 83
Massachusetts Dartmouth 18 7 11 0 0 0 0 21 58 75 25 12 13 0 81 93
Keene State 18 3 14 1 1 2 1 12 43 74 25 7 17 1 67 103
Western Connecticut 18 1 17 0 0 0 0 3 34 92 25 2 23 0 45 126
Championship: March 7
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
2025–26 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference ice hockey standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T OTW OTL PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Anna Maria †* 14 12 1 1 0 0 37 65 27 28 20 6 2 101 65
Fitchburg State 14 10 4 0 1 0 29 58 29 26 17 9 0 104 64
Westfield State 14 9 3 2 0 0 29 45 32 28 18 8 2 96 69
Salem State 14 6 5 3 0 0 24 43 39 26 8 14 4 68 96
MCLA 14 5 8 1 0 0 16 39 40 27 8 16 3 71 82
Worcester State 14 3 8 3 0 2 14 33 46 26 10 12 4 76 78
Framingham State 14 4 10 0 1 0 11 28 60 25 7 18 0 70 110
Rivier 14 2 12 0 0 0 6 28 66 25 2 22 1 54 137
Championship: March 7
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champions
2025–26 Middle Atlantic Conferences ice hockey standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Neumann †* 21 14 5 2 0 0 2 46 74 48 28 17 9 2 94 75
Stevenson 21 14 6 1 3 0 1 41 71 43 27 16 10 1 89 63
Wilkes 21 12 7 2 0 1 2 41 63 46 26 15 8 3 82 59
Alvernia 21 13 8 0 1 0 0 38 63 46 26 15 11 0 73 63
Lebanon Valley 21 8 10 3 0 1 1 29 57 67 25 8 14 3 62 86
Arcadia 21 6 12 3 0 1 1 23 46 57 25 9 13 3 58 65
King's 21 4 13 4 0 0 1 17 44 77 25 4 17 5 57 100
Misericordia 21 5 15 1 0 1 0 17 41 75 25 5 19 1 46 91
Championship: March 7
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champions
2025–26 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ice hockey standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T OTW OTL SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Saint John's †* 16 10 3 3 1 1 2 35 60 38 28 17 7 4 103 75
Saint Mary's 16 10 5 1 0 1 1 33 61 42 26 14 10 2 97 78
Gustavus Adolphus 16 12 4 0 4 1 0 33 60 38 27 18 8 1 104 69
Bethel 16 9 7 0 0 3 0 30 51 43 27 14 12 1 82 73
St. Olaf 16 8 6 2 1 1 0 26 47 39 26 12 9 5 76 71
Concordia (MN) 16 6 9 1 2 0 1 18 40 41 25 11 12 2 70 67
Hamline 16 4 10 2 1 1 2 16 34 66 25 4 18 3 53 105
Augsburg 16 4 10 2 0 1 0 15 35 51 25 7 15 3 73 82
St. Scholastica 16 3 12 1 0 0 0 10 37 67 25 6 18 1 56 96
Championship: March 7
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
2025–26 New England Small College Athletic Conference ice hockey standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T OTW OTL SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Hamilton † 18 14 3 1 3 1 1 42 63 27 28 21 5 2 105 51
Bowdoin 18 13 4 1 2 0 0 38 57 33 26 18 7 1 88 50
Tufts 18 9 9 0 0 3 0 30 55 45 25 12 12 1 76 66
Middlebury 18 9 7 2 1 0 0 28 46 45 27 15 9 3 70 67
Wesleyan 18 8 10 0 0 1 0 25 41 54 25 9 16 0 53 76
Williams * 18 8 10 0 2 2 0 24 52 65 28 12 14 2 84 100
Amherst 18 7 10 1 0 0 0 22 42 49 25 12 11 2 60 61
Connecticut College 18 6 11 1 0 1 1 21 43 63 24 9 14 1 65 83
Trinity 18 6 11 1 1 2 1 21 51 58 24 12 11 1 83 63
Colby 18 6 11 1 2 1 1 19 44 55 23 9 12 2 59 68
Championship: March 8
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
2025–26 Northern Collegiate Hockey Association standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T OTW OTL SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Adrian † 18 14 4 1 0 1 1 45 91 31 28 20 7 1 139 56
St. Norbert * 18 13 3 2 1 0 1 41 76 33 31 22 7 2 129 64
Trine 18 12 4 2 1 1 1 39 70 43 28 18 8 2 99 64
Aurora 18 13 4 1 3 0 1 38 86 48 31 25 5 1 146 69
MSOE 18 7 8 3 0 1 0 25 53 59 27 10 14 3 72 91
Marian 18 8 10 0 3 1 0 22 53 70 27 9 16 2 71 105
Lake Forest 18 6 11 1 0 1 1 21 54 84 27 6 19 2 77 141
Concordia (WI) 18 6 11 1 0 0 0 19 52 76 27 10 16 1 84 107
Dubuque 18 3 13 2 0 1 1 13 46 82 25 6 17 2 67 109
Lawrence 18 1 16 1 0 1 0 4 34 89 25 6 18 1 57 109
Championship: March 7
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion
2025–26 State University of New York Athletic Conference ice hockey standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T OTL PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Hobart †* 18 18 0 0 0 36 100 16 29 29 0 0 153 26
Oswego State 18 14 4 0 0 28 73 36 28 19 7 2 108 65
Skidmore 18 11 6 1 1 24 59 41 28 15 10 2 90 72
Cortland State 18 10 7 1 3 24 63 43 27 14 12 1 89 69
Canton State 18 8 9 1 2 19 48 52 26 12 13 1 67 72
Plattsburgh State 18 9 9 0 0 18 48 49 26 13 13 0 74 69
Buffalo State 18 6 11 1 0 16 43 60 26 9 16 1 68 83
Fredonia State 18 4 13 1 4 13 35 64 26 4 21 1 48 103
Potsdam State 18 4 12 2 1 11 46 75 25 7 16 2 63 97
Morrisville State 18 1 14 3 0 5 19 98 25 2 20 3 31 131
Championship: March 7
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champions
2025–26 United Collegiate Hockey Conference standings
Conference record Overall record
GP W L T OW OL SW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Utica †* 16 13 2 1 0 1 1 42 85 32 29 20 8 1 127 67
Geneseo State 16 12 4 0 1 1 0 36 64 35 27 18 8 1 104 69
Chatham 16 10 5 1 1 0 0 30 59 43 27 20 6 1 136 66
Nazareth 16 9 6 1 1 0 0 27 50 44 27 16 8 3 85 71
Albertus Magnus 16 8 8 0 0 0 0 24 49 52 26 16 10 0 92 78
Brockport State 16 6 10 0 0 2 0 20 43 58 26 10 16 0 72 91
St. John Fisher 16 5 11 0 0 0 0 15 30 53 25 12 13 0 65 71
Elmira 16 4 11 1 0 0 1 14 50 70 25 6 18 1 76 113
Manhattanville 16 3 13 0 1 0 0 8 26 69 25 4 20 1 43 105
Championship: March 7
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champions
2025–26 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ice hockey standings
Conference Overall
GP W L T OTW OTL SOW PTS GF GA GP W L T GF GA
Wisconsin–Stout †* 15 12 2 1 1 0 1 37 48 25 29 23 5 1 110 65
Wisconsin–Eau Claire 15 11 3 1 2 0 1 33 54 31 26 16 8 2 79 62
Wisconsin–River Falls 15 7 8 0 1 1 0 21 51 45 27 14 12 1 93 77
Wisconsin–Superior 15 6 8 1 0 2 0 21 37 42 26 13 11 2 70 64
Wisconsin–Stevens Point 15 6 8 1 0 1 0 20 46 39 27 12 13 2 78 68
Beloit 15 1 14 0 0 0 0 3 20 74 25 4 20 1 51 114
Championship: March 7
† indicates conference regular season champion
* indicates conference tournament champion

Note: Mini-games are not included in standings

NCAA Percentage Index

The NCAA Percentage Index (NPI) are a statistical tool designed to approximate the process by which the NCAA selection committee decides which teams get at-large bids to the 13-team NCAA tournament.

The NCAA committee began using the NPI for Division III ice hockey in 2024–25, having previously used a similar metric called the PairWise Rankings (PWR). The PWR remained in use for the Division I level.

The NCAA Percentage Index is the tool used to select teams for the national collegiate ice hockey tournament for Men's and Women's Division III. Only results from games between Division III teams are used. The contribution of each individual game is weighted by a factor of 1.1 for a road win or home loss and 0.9 for a home win or road loss. Factors involved are 1) the team's weighted winning percentage; 2) the weighted average percentage of the team's opponents NPI;

A team's record is based only on games against other Division III hockey schools which are eligible for the NCAA Tournament.[8]

NCAA Division I Men's Hockey PairWise Rankings[9]
Rank Team NPI SOS Conference
1 Hobart 66.668* 49.435 SUNYAC
2 Endicott 59.211* 49.851 CNE
3 Hamilton 58.493* 52.665 NESCAC
4 Utica 58.428 53.525 UCHC
5 Wisconsin–Stout 57.778* 50.637 WIAC
6 Salve Regina 57.667* 47.141 Independent
7 Aurora 57.636 50.371 NCHA
8 St. Norbert 57.627 51.253 NCHA
9 University of New England 57.497* 50.645 CNE
10 Adrian 57.478* 50.694 NCHA
11 Bowdoin 57.383 53.644 NESCAC
12 Geneseo State 56.641 52.130 UCHC
13 Babson 56.625 49.791 LEC
14 Oswego State 56.315* 51.242 SUNYAC
15 Norwich 56.271* 49.947 LEC
16 Saint John's 55.484 50.421 MIAC
17 Middlebury 55.409 53.748 NESCAC
18 Trine 55.244 50.485 NCHA
19 Chatham 55.088* 47.818 UCHC
20 Anna Maria 54.887* 46.753 MASCAC
21 Nazareth 54.669 51.959 UCHC
22 Curry 54.274 50.647 CNE
23 Tufts 54.167 54.272 NESCAC
24 Suffolk 54.154 49.888 CNE
25 Gustavus Adolphus 54.061 50.449 MIAC
26 Wisconsin–Eau Claire 53.800 50.950 WIAC
27 Williams 53.277 54.144 NESCAC
28 Neumann 53.010 48.583 MAC
29 Amherst 52.841 53.695 NESCAC
30 Trinity 52.793 52.292 NESCAC
31 Saint Mary's 52.583 49.932 MIAC
32 Wilkes 52.417 48.221 MAC
33 Massachusetts Boston 52.414 49.079 LEC
34 Bethel 52.221 50.588 MIAC
35 Cortland State 52.121 50.427 SUNYAC
36 Plymouth State 51.923 50.528 LEC
37 Skidmore 51.899 50.672 SUNYAC
38 Wisconsin–Superior 51.864 50.284 WIAC
39 St. Olaf 51.740 50.839 MIAC
40 Albertus Magnus 51.723 49.768 UCHC
41 Wisconsin–Stevens Point 51.340 51.079 WIAC
42 Westfield State 51.315 46.674 MASCAC
43 Stevenson 51.282 48.886 MAC
44 Fitchburg State 51.225 47.619 MASCAC
45 Canton State 50.923 50.708 SUNYAC
46 Wisconsin–River Falls 50.873 50.748 WIAC
47 Connecticut College 50.805 53.365 NESCAC
48 Alvernia 50.688 48.475 MAC
49 Colby 50.455 53.895 NESCAC
50 Vermont State Castleton 50.208 49.049 LEC
51 MSOE 50.082 51.327 NCHA
52 Wesleyan 50.041 54.098 NESCAC
53 St. John Fisher 49.717 50.211 UCHC
54 Brockport State 49.315^ 51.740 UCHC
55 Nichols 49.250 51.242 CNE
56 Plattsburgh State 49.027^ 51.054 SUNYAC
57 Southern Maine 48.917 50.372 LEC
58 Concordia (MN) 48.593 50.221 MIAC
59 Concordia (WI) 48.442 50.617 NCHA
60 Johnson & Wales 47.936 51.233 CNE
61 Massachusetts Dartmouth 47.875 48.568 LEC
62 Augsburg 47.278 50.347 MIAC
63 Marian 46.818 51.250 NCHA
64 Buffalo State 46.791^ 50.336 SUNYAC
65 Lebanon Valley 46.563 48.352 MAC
66 New England College 46.453 49.854 LEC
67 Salem State 46.196 49.955 MASCAC
68 Arcadia 46.180 48.754 MAC
69 Elmira 46.121^ 53.415 UCHC
70 Wentworth 46.066 51.941 CNE
71 Dubuque 45.682 51.941 NCHA
72 Potsdam State 45.682^ 50.110 SUNYAC
73 Lake Forest 45.672 51.867 NCHA
74 Worcester State 45.307 46.877 MASCAC
75 Hamline 45.095 51.567 MIAC
76 Lawrence 44.689 50.311 NCHA
77 Manhattanville 44.592^ 53.388 UCHC
78 MCLA 44.477 46.498 MASCAC
79 Roger Williams 44.421 50.265 CNE
80 St. Scholastica 44.278 50.012 MIAC
81 Keene State 44.268 50.037 LEC
82 Misericordia 43.243 49.702 MAC
83 Fredonia State 43.227^ 51.633 SUNYAC
84 Western New England 43.067^ 50.817 CNE
85 King's 43.054 48.772 MAC
86 Framingham State 41.669 48.024 MASCAC
87 Beloit 41.499^ 49.601 WIAC
88 Morrisville State 41.000^ 51.779 SUNYAC
89 Western Connecticut 39.849^ 50.695 LEC
90 Rivier 39.114^ 49.240 MASCAC
91 Hiram 36.628^ 49.973 Independent
* A team's RPI has been adjusted to remove negative effect from defeating a weak opponent.
^ A team's RPI has been adjusted to remove positive effect from losing to a strong opponent.
Note: A team's record is based only on games against other Division III hockey schools which are eligible for the NCAA Tournament.

2026 NCAA Tournament

Main article: 2026 NCAA Division III men's ice hockey tournament
First round
March 14 		Quarterfinals
March 21 		Semifinals
March 27 		National Championship
March 29
            
E1 Hobart (1) 2
W3 St. Norbert (8) 1
W3 St. Norbert (8) 5
E6 University of New England (9) 4
E1 Hobart (1)
W1 Wisconsin–Stout (5)
W1 Wisconsin–Stout (5) 4
E8 Anna Maria (12) 1
W1 Wisconsin–Stout (5) 5
E4 Utica (4) 1
E4 Utica (4) 3
E9 Williams (13) 0
 
 
E2 Endicott (2) 2
W2 Aurora (7) 3**
W2 Aurora (7) 6
W4 Saint John's (10) 1
W2 Aurora (7)
E3 Hamilton (3)
E5 Salve Regina (6) 1
E7 Norwich (11) 6
E7 Norwich (11) 1
E3 Hamilton (3) 2*
E3 Hamilton (3) 6
E10 Neumann (14) 2

Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

See also

References

  1. ^ "LEC Announces Men's Ice Hockey as Conference's 22nd Championship Sport". Little East Conference. July 24, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  2. ^ "LEC Announces Addition of Babson and Norwich as Men's Ice Hockey Affiliates for 2025-26". Little East Conference. March 6, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
  3. ^ "SUNYAC adds Hobart, Skidmore to men's hockey conference, William Smith to women's hockey conference". USCHO. April 10, 2024. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
  4. ^ "Albertus Magnus, Elmira, Hilbert, St. John Fisher to join UCHC men's, women's hockey conferences for 2025-26 season". USCHO. May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  5. ^ "Salve Regina Ice Hockey Reunites with CNE Membership". Salve Regina Seahawks Athletics. September 12, 2025. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  6. ^ "Beloit adds men's, women's NCAA Division III hockey teams for 2025-26 season". USCHO. February 28, 2025. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  7. ^ "NCAA D-III hockey men's national tournament going from 12 teams to 14 teams, while women's tournament moving from 11 teams to 12 teams". USCHO. April 18, 2024. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
  8. ^ "Men's Division III NCAA Percentage Index". USCHO. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  9. ^ "Men's Division I PairWise Rankings". Retrieved August 23, 2022.
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