Men's Ice Hockey

2026 WIAC Men’s Ice Hockey Preview

MADISON, Wis.--The Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) has announced its preview and predictions for the 2026 men’s ice hockey season. The predictions were voted on by the conference’s head coaches and sports information directors.
 
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point has been selected to claim the regular-season title. The Pointers enter the season ranked No. 11 in the USCHO.com Division III Preseason Poll and have collected 17 regular-season championships and five Commissioner’s Cup trophies.
 
UW-Superior, the defending regular-season champion, is slotted for second in the conference race. The Yellowjackets are ranked No. 13 by USCHO.com and compiled 11 WIAC wins a year ago – the most in program history. UW-Superior’s 19 wins last season were their most – the most since the 2008-09 squad had 23 victories.
 
The remaining order in the conference predictions feature:  UW-Eau Claire (third), UW-River Falls (fourth), UW-Stout (fifth) and Beloit College (Wis.) (sixth).
 
Beloit College begins its first season as an affiliate member with the conference. The Buccaneers are in their initial year as a collegiate program and will be coached by Shane Buckley, who was the head coach at Northland College (Wis.) the last two seasons.
 
WIAC teams will begin their non-conference schedules on Oct. 31, while the conference slate will start on Nov. 20. The top-five teams in the conference standings will qualify for the WIAC Tournament/Commissioner’s Cup (presented by Culver’s) with all games hosted by the higher-seeded team. A first-round game between the No. 5 and No. 4 seeds will take place Feb. 21, while semifinal games will be held Feb. 28. The championship contest is March 7 with the winner receiving an automatic NCAA bid.
 
 
2025-26 Preseason Predictions – Voted on by WIAC Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors
 
2024-25 Record
1. UW-Stevens Point (19-6-2 overall, 10-3-2 WIAC/32 pts.)
2. UW-Superior (19-5-3, 11-2-2/33 pts.)
3. UW-Eau Claire (14-16-1, 8-7/26 pts.)
4. UW-River Falls (17-12-1, 8-6-1/26 pts.)
5. UW-Stout (12-13-2, 5-9-1/18 pts.)
6. Beloit College NA

  
Team Capsules
 
Beloit College (Wis.)
Head Coach:  Shane Buckley, 3rd season (1st at BEL); 2-52 (overall); 0-0 (at BEL)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  NA
Goalies Returning/Lost:  NA
Returning All-WIAC:  NA
 
Notable Returning Players:  NA
 
 
UW-Eau Claire
Head Coach:  Matt Loen; 19th season at UWEC; 283-169-35
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  17/9
Goalies Returning/Lost:  2/1
Returning All-WIAC:  Leo Bacallao, Sr., F (2024-First); Max Gutjahr, Sr., G (2024-First/Co-Player of the Year, 2025-Honorable); Trenten Heyde, Sr., D (2024-First); Dayne Hoyord, Jr., F (2025-Honorable)
 
Notable Returning Players:  Max Dronen, So., F; Tyler Herzberg, Jr., F; Kade Peterson, So., F; Max Ruoho, Sr., D
 
 
UW-River Falls
Head Coach:  Steve Freeman; 30th season at UWRF; 467-283-67
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  21/7
Goalies Returning/Lost:  3/0
Returning All-WIAC:  Brennan Boynton, Sr., G (2025-First); Jonny Meiers, Jr., F (2024-Honorable, 2025-First); Dylan Smith, Sr., F (2023-Honorable, 2024-Honorable, 2025-Honorable); Cole Teleki, So., D (2025-First)
 
Notable Returning Players:  Alex Atwill, So., F; Max Collette, Sr., F; Tyler Lee, So., D; Reid Lune, So., F
 
 
UW-Stevens Point
Head Coach:  Tyler Krueger; 9th season at UWSP; 156-41-18
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  20/9
Goalies Returning/Lost:  3/0
Returning All-WIAC:  Nico Chmelevski, Jr., F (2025-First); Michael Eftimovski, Jr., D (2025-Honorable); Alex Proctor, Sr., G (2024-First, 2025-Honorable)
 
Notable Returning Players:  Sean Bunting, Sr., F; Owen Dean, Jr., F; Chris Engelbert, So., F; Blake Norris, So., D
 
 
UW-Stout
Head Coach:  Mike MacDonald; 6th season at UWST; 54-64-5
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  20/10
Goalies Returning/Lost:  2/1
Returning All-WIAC:  Gunner Moore, Sr., D (2025-Honorable); Nicolas Pigeon, Jr., F (2024-First, 2025-First)
 
Notable Returning Players:  Kullan Daikawa, Sr., F; Sam Kroon, Jr., D; Nicholas Stevens, So., F; Hayden Stocks, So., F
 
 
UW-Superior
Head Coach:  Rich McKenna; 10th season at UWS; 110-105-19
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  20/7
Goalies Returning/Lost:  3/0
Returning All-WIAC:  Jack Boschert, Jr., G (2024-First, 2025-First); Justin Dauphinais, Jr., F (2025-Honorable); Ikki Kogawa, So., F (2025-Newcomer of the Year); Daniel Rozsival, Jr., F (2025-Honorable); Tyler Ryder, Sr., D (2025-First)
 
Notable Returning Players:  Dusty Bergstrom, Sr., D; Sam Brennan, So., D; Chris Ishmael, Sr., F; Collin Pederson, Sr., F
 
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