Ice Level Weekend Recap: 10/9-10/10/2026
Is that who you think it is?
Let’s get down to business. Not to defeat the huns, but to start seeing who are the best teams in this young season.
WRITTEN BY JAMES BLENNAU
Disney and “The Terminator” references aside, I am as excited as you are to experience this season. After two weeks, we’ve already seen coaching debuts and retirement announcements, tournaments, upsets, and of course a mountain of goals. This week, in case you can’t tell from the featured image, we have quite some news to report on from our friends across the college hockey scene, so grab your concessions and slap that glass, because the season is here.
Hakstol behind the bench at North Dakota. | The Hockey News
Hakstol reportedly taking Arizona state interim job
You heard it here definitely not first, Dave Hakstol is nearing a college hockey return, according to College Hockey News. If you’re like me, and only started following this sport recently, Hakstol was North Dakota’s head coach from 2004-2015, earning seven Frozen Four appearances and a national championship. Hakstol developed future NHL stalwarts like Brock Nelson, TJ Oshie and Jonathan Toews. He left the program in 2016 to coach the Philadelphia Flyers, and is now an assistant coach for the Colorado Avalanche.
Meanwhile in Tempe, assistants Mike Corbett and Alex Hicks are also being placed on administrative leave. You may also notice the “Interim” tag on his title. This exists because while he is on administrative leave, Greg Powers still remains technically the program’s head coach, even though he will not be behind the bench for any games during the investigation. New offseason hire Jimmy Mullin remains part of the staff, according to reports, but nothing is finalized currently.
Hakstol and the Sun Devils need to navigate the tricky contract situation with the Avalanche, where he is currently serving in the midst of the NHL season. He was also reportedly favored over former assistant and Fighting Hawks head coach Brad Berry, and former Northern Michigan boss Grant Potulny.
The three Plante brothers all pose for a photo in UMD Bulldogs gear. | Instagram/@mdplante10
Plant(e)s flowering together
Despite Max’s injury keeping him out in Minnesota Duluth’s series against Augustana, brothers Zam and Victor will play alongside him on a line together with the Bulldogs. Head Coach Scott Sandelin has a wealth of talent to choose from in his forward corps, however, none may have more chemistry than these three.
Zam, the oldest, ironically leads the three in production through four games, with a pair of goals and an assist on top of a +2 rating and three blocked shots. He featured on Guy Gadowsky’s debuting U.S. Collegiate Selects Spengler Cup team, and enters his junior season with Duluth ready to make a championship run. He was drafted in the 2022 fifth round by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who will be watching closely for the next young impact player after Ben Kindel’s surprising season.
Max, the middle child, is in no way overshadowed by his two Bulldog brothers. A 2024 Detroit Red Wings second-round draftee, Max is a two-time USA World Junior Championship team selection, earning gold with David Carle’s squad in 2025. He also wore an “A” alongside Teddy Stiga and Cole Hutson on the 2026 team. His season debut against LIU came with two assists, and there will be plenty more to come when the two-way weapon returns from injury.
Victor, the youngest of the bunch, starts his freshman season in Duluth with high expectations following his brothers’ legacy, and also following Max to Detroit as a 2026 Red Wings’ second-round draftee. He spent two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program, including a point-per-game performance in the 2026 IIHF World U-18 Championship. He earned his first collegiate point in Friday’s loss at Augustana on the power play.
The Plante brothers and No. 9 Minnesota Duluth return to action this weekend at home against a hungry No. 20 Minnesota squad for Brett Larson’s first in-state rivalry matchup.
Captain Breck McKinley celebrates the Ice Breaker Tournament win with his team. | Hailey Pettit-Mastroianni/BGSU Athletics
Falcons win ice breaker tournament
No. 18 Bowling Green is gaining momentum to start this season, beating co-hosts Sacred Heart and No. 16 UConn to earn the program’s first-ever Ice Breaker tournament championship. After two losses to No. 2 Michigan to start the season, the Falcons first took on the Pioneers to begin tournament play.
Brody Waters’ late-third period power-play goal sealed the Falcons’ 3-2 win in Fairfield, sending the team to Storrs to take on the Huskies after a 3-1 NCAA Regional Final rematch win. This time, it was yet another power-play game-winning goal, as Noah Morneau scored his second goal this year, pushing him to a team co-leading six points in four games. Two more on the empty net would make it 5-2 as the Falcons move to 2-2, heading home for one final non-conference series against Niagara before NCHC play begins.
Kyle Chyzowski battles in the net-front in Saturday’s win over Alaska-Anchorage. | Stephanie Burgoon/Alaska-Anchorage Athletics
Clash of the blue bloods
Grab your popcorn. No. 2 Michigan. No. 1 Denver. Magness Arena. Banner raising ceremony Friday night. Need I say more? Yeah, probably.
The Pioneers started their season in dominant fashion with +7 goal differential in two wins at Alaska-Anchorage, and show no signs of slowing down as defending National Champions. Johnny Hicks returns as the team’s undisputed top netminder, and talent from up and down the lineup will look to fill the shark-bite sized hole left by Eric Pohlkamp’s San Jose departure.
In the other corner, the defending Big Ten champions come off the program’s 29th (yes, you read that right) Frozen Four appearance. The Wolverines start this year 4-0 after two wins at Bowling Green and came home for another pair against Alaska-Anchorage, topping the Pioneers’ numbers posting a +14 goal differential. Despite losing TJ Hughes to the Colorado Avalanche system, the star power at the top of this lineup is not to be messed with.
The two young minds at head coach, Denver’s David Carle and Michigan’s Brandon Naurato are some of the brightest in the sport. Ivankovic vs. Hicks. Hage vs. Rudolph. Spence vs. Ashcroft. This could be the best matchup we see all regular season. Strap in.
Terriers celebrate a goal in an exhibition at home versus Brown. | Lexi Pline/BU Athletics
Conference play is soon underway
Good thing this isn’t basketball, right? Week 4 marks our first intra-conference games this season, as both the Hockey East and Atlantic Hockey America will see their first familiar matchups on Friday and Saturday, including two Hockey East Quarterfinal rematches.
In the Hockey East, No. 11 Boston University looks to continue its 2-0 start as it travels to Burlington to take on Vermont in its home-opening weekend on Friday and Saturday night. The Catamounts surged into conversations with upsets across the Hockey East late last season, while the Terriers look to put a disappointing 2025-26 campaign in the rearview.
Back in the Commonwealth, No. 19 UMass looks to flip the script after a 1-2-1 start this year as it faces Northeastern at Mullins Center. Greg Carvel’s squad lost both star goaltender Michael Hrabal and dynamic forward Cole O’Hara to professional contracts, while the Huskies begin their first of potentially two full seasons without a permanent home arena.
Saturday marks AHA’s first conference game as Army meets Holy Cross in Worcester after the Crusaders split series with Maine and Arizona State. The Black Knights mark their second contest of the season this weekend, and first conference series under Head Coach Zack McKelvie. Both teams look to set the tone early in their seasons given the likelihood of only one NCAA tournament bid for the conference.
That’s it! It’s no essay, but I sure hope you caught up on all the most important information from this week in college hockey. Keep watching, keep talking, and keep cheering for your teams. Who knows, maybe it’ll show more people how awesome this sport is? We’ll be back here next week with more stories from across the country, and maybe even a new No. 1!
