COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After starting the 2022-23 season with five ranked teams, the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) finished the season with the same number of teams ranked, as the final USCHO.com Poll of the season was released on Monday. The five ranked teams tied with the Big Ten for the most from one conference in the USCHO Poll. Four NCHC teams finished 2022-23 ranked in the final USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll of the season, also released on Monday.

Four of the five NCHC teams to finish ranked in the USCHO Poll started the season there in St. Cloud State, Denver, Western Michigan and North Dakota. Omaha was the lone NCHC team to start the year unranked and finish in the top 20 of the USCHO.com Poll. The Huskies and Pioneers both finished in the top six of both national polls, while those two along with No. 11/12 Western Michigan were three of only nine teams to be ranked in the polls all 28 weeks this season.

St. Cloud State ended the season as the highest-ranked NCHC team at No. 5 in both polls with a 25-13-3 record. Despite placing fourth in the NCHC, the Huskies won the NCHC Frozen Faceoff and made the NCAA regional final in Fargo, N.D. before falling to eventual national runner-up and now No. 2 Minnesota. SCSU started the season ranked No. 13 in both national polls, making an eight-spot jump over the course of the season. The Huskies finish as the highest-ranked team not to make the Frozen Four, just behind No. 4 Boston University.

Denver, which won the Penrose Cup as NCHC regular-season champions for the second straight year, finished right behind SCSU at No. 6 in both polls. The Pioneers ended the season with a 30-10-0 record, with the 30 wins the second-most in the country behind only national champion Quinnipiac’s 34. DU started the season ranked No. 1 in both polls after winning the 2021-22 NCAA National Championship and held the No. 1 ranking for nine weeks during the season. However, Denver ended the year on a two-game losing streak with losses to Colorado College in the Frozen Faceoff semifinals and No. 9 Cornell in the NCAA regional semifinals, where DU was the No. 1 seed.

Western Michigan finished the season with a 23-15-1 record, good for No. 11 in the USCHO Poll and No. 12 in the USA Hockey Magazine Poll. The Broncos earned a runner-up finish in the NCHC this year, their best-ever in the 10-year history of the Conference, and made the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. WMU reached as high as No. 5 in both polls this season in February, but ended 2022-23 on a three-game losing streak, falling to CC in the NCHC Quarterfinals and now No. 4 Boston University in the NCAA regional semifinals. The Broncos started the season ranked No. 14 in the USCHO Poll and No. 12 in the USA Hockey Magazine Poll, good for a three-spot improvement on the season in the USCHO Poll.

North Dakota ended an up and down season at No. 17 in the USCHO Poll and No. 18 in the USA Hockey Magazine Poll. The Fighting Hawks posted an 18-15-6 record this year, making a run to the Frozen Faceoff semifinals after a sixth-place finish in the NCHC. UND started the season at No. 4 in both national polls, before falling out of the rankings in the Nov. 21 poll and eventually returning on March 13. The Fighting Hawks were ranked 13 weeks throughout the season.

Omaha snagged the final spot in the USCHO Poll to finish at No. 20 this season after going 19-15-3. The Mavericks placed third in the NCHC in 2022-23, tying their best-ever finish in the Conference, but fell to No. 17/18 North Dakota in three games in the NCHC Quarterfinals. Omaha climbed as high as No. 14 in the Feb. 20 USCHO Poll after starting the season unranked and was ranked in the polls for seven weeks during the season. The Mavericks just missed out on the USA Hockey Magazine Poll, earning 41 points to Colgate’s 42 points for the final ranking. UNO would be 21st in the poll if it extended.

In addition, Colorado College (13-22-3) received four points in the final USCHO Poll, which would rank them 27th if the poll continued. CC made a run to the NCHC Frozen Faceoff Championship game for the first time ever, before falling to No. 5 St. Cloud State in the final, which ended the Tigers bid for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

This marks the second straight season the NCHC finished with five teams ranked in the USCHO Poll.