By Bridget (Weide) Brooks
The National Collegiate Hockey Conference wrapped up its annual Media Day Wednesday, Sept. 23, with six more teams looking ahead to the 2026-27 season.
Day 2 featured Miami, Western Michigan, North Dakota, Colorado College, Arizona State, and Denver.
NCHC Media Days 2026 Insights (Day 1)
Miami Builds on Last Year’s Turnaround
Miami enters Anthony Noreen’s third season with something it didn’t have a year ago: continuity.
The RedHawks return 16 players from last season’s 18-16-2 team, including nine of their top 12 scorers and goaltender Matteo Drobac. Noreen said that experience has allowed Miami to build on what it established last season instead of essentially starting over.
“I just think it’s really clear what this program is about,” Noreen said. “And I think last year we were still building that, and you’re always building it. But now we’ve really got a group of returners that we trust.”
Noreen said the goal is for Miami to become a player-led program, with the returners helping establish the standards for the RedHawks’ 11 newcomers.
Senior captain Doug Grimes described Miami’s identity as one built around work ethic and a desire to improve.
“Every single guy in the room is a hard worker,” Grimes said. “The work ethic in our room is off the charts.”
Miami was picked fifth in the NCHC preseason media poll after posting its first winning season since 2014-15, but Noreen made it clear the RedHawks aren’t satisfied with last year’s improvement.
“There’s not a single person that’s satisfied or happy with the way things went last year,” Noreen said. “Like, not even close.”
“We see it as we need to be better,” he added. “Like, we need to be way better.”
The RedHawks will open NCHC play Oct. 30-31 against new conference member St. Thomas, bringing former Miami head coach Rico Blasi back to Oxford.
“He should be honored. He deserves to be honored,” Noreen said, pointing to Blasi’s role in building Miami’s hockey tradition and program.
Once the game begins, however, Noreen said the focus will be on the players on the ice.
“And that’s what it should be about.”
Western Michigan Embraces Change in Final Season at Lawson
Western Michigan enters the 2026-27 season with 11 newcomers, but head coach Pat Ferschweiler sees the changing college hockey landscape — particularly the addition of players from the Canadian Hockey League — as an opportunity.
“I think college hockey will never be better than it is in the next several years,” Ferschweiler said. “I think almost every other player will come through college hockey at some point.”
The Broncos have taken advantage of the expanded talent pool, adding four transfers and seven freshmen to a team that went 27-11-1 last season and advanced to the NCAA regional final.
There are some familiar faces returning, too. Ferschweiler said defenseman Joona Väisänen, who suffered a season-ending knee injury early last season, is back at 100 percent after spending the summer training in Finland.
“He looks as good as he did the day he went down last year,” Ferschweiler said.
Cole Crusberg-Roseen, who suffered a similar injury, is about six weeks behind Väisänen in his recovery. Ferschweiler said the Broncos hope he will be ready for the start of the season, but aren’t certain yet.
Western also has a new option in goal in Denver transfer Quentin Miller.
“He’s got a real presence about him,” Ferschweiler said. “Seems to be a great, great teammate, and just comes to work every day.”
This season will also mark the end of an era for Western Michigan, which will play its final season at Lawson Arena before moving into the new Kalamazoo Event Center in fall 2027.
Ferschweiler played at Western Michigan himself and said “a piece of my heart” will always remain at Lawson. He compared the transition to his time with the Detroit Red Wings, when the team played its final season at Joe Louis Arena before moving to Little Caesars Arena.
“We are going to enjoy every second of the last season of Lawson Arena, for sure,” he said.
The Broncos will also take hockey outside this season, hosting Michigan at Waldo Stadium on Jan. 30. For senior forward Zaccharya Wisdom, the game brings things full circle: he started skating on an outdoor rink behind his school as a kid.
What is he looking forward to most?
“Beating them, obviously,” Wisdom said.
He also called the chance to play Michigan outdoors at Waldo “such a privilege.”
Ferschweiler credited Michigan and head coach Brandon Naurato for agreeing to the game during what otherwise would have been a bye week for both teams.
“He just basically said yes, and then we’ll just make it work,” Ferschweiler said.
In his first year as head coach, Dane Jackson led North Dakota to 29 wins, a Penrose Cup, and the program’s first Frozen Four appearance in 10 years.
Now, the challenge is doing it again.
Jackson said the Fighting Hawks aren’t looking to change the approach that worked last season. Instead, they’re focused on the same day-to-day preparation that helped last year’s team, with 15 newcomers, come together faster than he expected.
“We really had an approach where every practice was important and led to good performance in our game,” Jackson said. “So I really want to kind of not have any complacency and just really stick with that mentality.”
Jackson said one of the lessons from last season was the importance of bringing the right people into the program. It’s an approach he traces back to former North Dakota coach Gino Gasparini, who coached Jackson during his playing career.
“You start with the player and the kind of the person, the character guy that he is,” Jackson said.
“I really felt last year we could become a good team by the end of the year,” Jackson said. “I was surprised by how we became a pretty good team early.”
One of those newcomers was Cole Reschny.
Reschny had 35 points (six goals, 29 assists) as a freshman and was named NCHC Rookie of the Year. This season, the sophomore will serve as North Dakota’s captain after being selected in a vote by his teammates.
He is the youngest captain by age in program history and only the third underclassman to wear the “C” for North Dakota.
“Honestly, it’s an honor,” Reschny said. “It’s a special feeling. You know, to know that they think that highly of me, it’s such an honor.”
“All the accolades are nice, but at the end of the day, it’s what we do on the ice as a team and what we can accomplish as a team,” Reschny said.
Jackson also talked about the influx of players from the Canadian Hockey League and how it has affected college hockey.
“I’m not sure the exact percentage, but I kind of said I think it’s one-third better, the level, than it was even just a few years ago,” Jackson said. “The depth, the high end, the overall competition is outstanding.”
“I don’t think college hockey has ever been higher.”
“We know the expectations are high,” Jackson said. “We’re trying to not just get by on the people before us, but really try to add to that tradition and continually kind of push and challenge to earn our spot near the top of college hockey.”
Arizona State’s Media Day session took place under difficult circumstances, with sophomore defenseman Matthew Mayich hospitalized since Aug. 20 following a team activity.
Head coach Greg Powers opened the session by saying Mayich and his family remain at the forefront of the team’s thoughts as the Sun Devils prepare for the season. Powers said an ASU police investigation is ongoing and declined repeated questions about the Aug. 20 activity and accountability for what occurred.
Junior forward Ben Muthersbaugh, a transfer from Union and one of ASU’s alternate captains, said the players have grown closer through the experience.
“We still have a season to play for, and we’re playing for him,” Muthersbaugh said. “It’s always bigger than hockey.”
On the ice, Arizona State enters its third NCHC season looking to rebound after winning seven conference games last year. Powers said the experience reinforced the need for more depth, balance, and stronger defensive play.
“You have to be deep. You have to be balanced. You have to be very committed to the defensive side of the puck,” Powers said. “You’ve got to keep the puck out of your net, and we didn’t do a really good job with that last year.”
Powers said increased size and depth at center were priorities in building this year’s roster. He also praised ASU’s transfer additions and said the team’s freshman class may be getting overlooked.
Denver’s Goal Is Another National Championship
Denver enters the season as the defending national champion and the preseason favorite in both the NCHC and national polls, but head coach David Carle made it clear there is only one trophy the Pioneers are focused on.
“I don’t really care about any trophies other than national championship,” Carle said. “And neither does our program.”
Carle said the other championships are opportunities to learn and grow toward the ultimate goal of playing on the final weekend of the season.
“Everybody’s back at base camp,” he said. “It’s a new climb. It’s a new challenge. Everybody’s back to square one.”
Senior forward Kieran Cebrian was named Denver’s captain shortly before the Media Day session. The Denver native has already won two national championships with the Pioneers and spent three seasons with the Tri-City Storm in Kearney, Neb., before returning home for college.
“My time in Kearney was amazing,” Cebrian said. “I had a great billet family who has helped me grow into who I am today.”
Denver has also made changes off the ice. The Pioneers added Amanda Kremer as chief of staff and former Omaha Lancer Angelo Ricci as director of skill development, while Tavis MacMillan has been named general manager. Carle said college hockey’s changing landscape requires programs and their staffs to adapt.
Carle also pointed to two areas where he believes college hockey itself needs to change. He said recruiting timelines have shifted because of the new CHL eligibility rules and that the recruiting calendar needs to “modernize.” He also supports expanding the number of games teams can play, saying Denver tries to play as many games as possible because players prefer games to practices.
On the ice, Denver welcomes eight NHL-drafted newcomers, including two first-round picks and two second-round picks. Carle said Denver had only five first-round picks in program history before this summer and has never previously had two on the same team.
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