NCAA notebook: McKenna’s move, U.S. gold at WJC among top ten stories from 2025

The past 12 months have been good for college hockey. The product is as entertaining as it has ever been and there are more top NHL prospects on the ice than ever before.

With the calendar year coming to a close, we take a look at 10 notable stories from 2025:

Influx of CHL players

On Nov. 7, 2024, the NCAA voted that players in the Canadian Hockey League would be eligible to play men’s Division I hockey in the 2025-26 season.

That made the talent pool for NCAA hockey considerably deeper.

According to College Hockey Inc., 174 former CHL players are playing in the NCAA this season, 77 from the Western Hockey League, 59 from the Ontario Hockey League and 38 from the Quebec Maritime Junior Hockey League.

Unquestionably, the biggest name to make the move was Gavin McKenna, who left Medicine Hat to attend Penn State. The news was so big his college decision was made live on ESPN’s “SportsCenter” on July 8.

He is projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Another big name was Keaton Verhoeff (North Dakota), a projected first-round pick.

Also, five players from the CHL who were drafted in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft are playing college hockey this year. They are Porter Martone (Philadelphia Flyers/Michigan State University), Roger McQueen (Anaheim Ducks/Providence College), Jackson Smith (Columbus Blue Jackets/Penn State University), Cole Reschny (Calgary Flames/University of North Dakota), and Vaclav Nestrasil (Chicago Black Hawks/University of Massachusetts).

Title for Western Michigan

Western Michigan University won its first NCAA championship with a 6-2 victory against Boston University at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis, on April 12.

Owen Michaels, who scored twice in the title game, was named Most Outstanding Player.

Coached by Pat Ferschweiler, a former player at the school, Western Michigan defeated UMass and Minnesota State University in the Fargo Regional to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time. They then beat the University of Denver in two overtimes to reach the championship game.

Pipeline flowing

As has often been the case in recent years, the NHL Draft was a good day for college hockey.

Five NCAA players were selected in the first round and each remained in school for this season.

Boston College’s James Hagens went to the Boston Bruins at No. 7; University of Wisconsin’s Logan Hensler to the Ottawa Senators at No. 23; University of Michigan’s William Horcoff to the Pittsburgh Penguins at No. 24; Boston University’s Sascha Boumedienne to the Winnipeg Jets at No. 28; Arizona State University’s Cullen Potter to the Calgary Flames at No. 32.

Gold for USA

College players were front and center when the United States won its second straight gold medal at the World Junior Championship in Ottawa.

Boston College’s Teddy Stiga, drafted by the Nashville Predators in the second round (No. 55) in the 2024 NHL Draft, scored on a breakaway in overtime to lift U.S. to a 4-3 win against Finland in the championship game on Jan. 5.

Boston College’s Ryan Leonard, a rookie with the Washington Capitals this season, earned tournament MVP honors.

Boston University’s Cole Hutson led the tournament with 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in seven games. Hutson was selected in the second round (No. 43) by the Washington Capitals in the 2022 NHL Draft.

Howard wins Hobey

Junior Isaac Howard of Michigan State won the 2025 Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s best player.

Howard, who started his college career at Minnesota Duluth before transferring, scored 52 points (26 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games.

After signing an NHL deal in July, he is currently playing for the Bakersfield, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. His rights were traded to Edmonton by the Tampa Bay Lightning, who picked him in the first round (No. 31) in the 2022 draft.

Leonard and Zeev Buium (Denver University) of the Vancouver Canucks were the other two Hobey Baker finalists.

Fowler wins Richter

Boston College sophomore Jacob Fowler took home the Mike Richter Award, which goes to the country’s top goalie.

Fowler, who won his first NHL start for the Montreal Canadiens on Dec. 11, was 31-6-1 in 2024-25 with a .926 save percentage and a 2.14 goals-against average.

The other Richter finalists were Michigan State’s Trey Augustine, the University of Maine’s Albin Boija and Minnesota State University’s Alex Tracy.

Hall call for Parker

Jack Parker, the legendary former coach at Boston University, was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November as a Builder on Nov. 10.

Introducing Parker at his induction, fellow member of the Hall of Fame, Lou Lamoriello, called him, “a major contributor to the game’s development in America.”

Parker’s list of accomplishments is lengthy, including 897 wins, a record 24 NCAA tournament appearances, NCAA championships in 1978, 1995 and 2009, and 21 Beanpot titles.

Veteran coaches step down

The close of the 2024-25 season marked the end of an era at four schools.

Longtime coaches Jeff Jackson of the University of Notre Dame, Mike Schafer of Cornell University, Brian Riley of Army, and Bob Daniels of Ferris State University each retired.

In 26 seasons, Jackson had 601 victories at Notre Dame and Lake Superior State University, where he won NCAA championships in 1992 and 1994.

Schafer won 561 games in 25 seasons at Cornell.

Riley won 258 games in 21 years at Army.

Daniels won 510 games in 33 years at Ferris.

Replacing the four were Brock Sheahan (Notre Dame), Casey Jones (Cornell), Zach McKelvie (Army) and Brett Riley (Ferris State).

Farewell to Matthews Arena

Boston University scored twice late in the third period and beat Northeastern, 4-3, on Dec. 13, in the final game at 115-year-old Matthews Arena.

The first hockey games at the iconic rink, Northeastern’s longtime home, were played in 1910 when it was known as Boston Arena.

The Boston Bruins played their home games in the building during the 1920s before the Boston Garden was built.

The Beanpot tournament was played there in its early years. The New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association played in the building during their inaugural season, 1972-73.

Northeastern will be without a home rink for several seasons while a new facility is built. The new building, which will be constructed on the same site as Matthews, will reportedly cost more than $300 million.

New rink at St. Thomas

The hockey programs at the University of St. Thomas took a big step forward with the opening of the $175 million Lee & Penny Anderson Arena in October.

“You know, in hockey, we've never had a home on campus. And that's huge. I mean, just think about that, we’ve had hockey for over 100 years,” Rico Blasi, men’s coach at the St.Paul, Minnesota school, told USCHO.com.

A sellout crowd of 4,325 attended the first men’s game in the new building, a 2-2 tie with Providence College on Oct. 24.