UConn men’s hockey ranked No. 20 in latest USCHO Poll

For just the second time in program history, UConn men’s hockey is ranked. The Huskies came in at No. 20 in the USCHO Poll on Monday after a week in which they beat Merrimack (who received the fourth-most votes of any team outside the top 20) and Boston College by a combined score of 12-6.

UConn has won its last six Hockey East contests and seven of its last eight games overall. With the win on Friday, the Huskies improved to 16-11-0 on the year and 12-6-0 in the league — the most victories they’ve ever totaled in a single campaign during their Hockey East Era (2014-present).

Along with UConn, five other Hockey East teams are in the top 20: No. 10 UMass, No. 13 Northeastern, No. 16 UMass Lowell, No. 17 Boston University and No. 19 Providence.

With six games left in the regular season, UConn sits tied for third place in the conference with 18 points. The Huskies are even with Boston University but have two games in hand and are just two points back on UMass Lowell and UMass in first. UConn has two games in hand on UMass Lowell and is even with UMass but will play the Minutemen this weekend in a massive home-and-home series.

While there’s still roughly six teams in the mix for the Hockey East regular season title, the Huskies’ upcoming games against UMass will go a long way to determining whether they have a legitimate chance at taking the crown.

Following this weekend, UConn will finish up with a home-and-home with Northeastern before hosting Vermont for two games.

Last season, the Huskies were ranked for the first time ever on Feb. 8. They debuted at No. 20 following three straight wins over Merrimack (x2) and Northeastern but then lost their next four games to UMass Lowell, Providence, BU and Maine after cracking the top 20.

UConn women’s hockey earned its second-ever ranking this season as well when it appeared at No. 10 on Jan. 3.