• Five Big Ten teams are in action this week as the hockey calendar turns to the second month of the season. A pair of conference series will take place this weekend, starting Thursday evening with No. 1/1 Wisconsin traveling to #18/17 Minnesota for an 8 p.m. ET puck drop on the Big Ten Network. The Border Battle continues Saturday in Minneapolis. Wisconsin is the new consensus No. 1/1-ranked team after out-scoring Notre Dame, 16-2, in a weekend sweep. Minnesota is coming off an overtime win against Penn State that saw L.J. Mooney score just 17 seconds into the extra frame for the third-fastest OT winner in program history. Notre Dame heads to Penn State, having split its first 20 games (8-8-4) at Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions, however, have won four-straight at home against the Irish and are unbeaten in their last seven (5-0-2) in the series at Hockey Valley. In nonconference play, No. 3/3 Michigan State will host No. 13/13 Boston University of Hockey East at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans are fresh off a top-10 win over North Dakota, which bumped the Big Ten’s nonconference record this season to 24-16-1 (.598). No. 2/2 Michigan and Ohio State are idle this week.

• The Big Ten has taken over the top three spots in the USCHO.com and USA Hockey national polls. Wisconsin has earned its first No. 1/1 ranking since Nov. 13, 2024. Michigan occupies the No. 2/2 position and Michigan State stands at No. 3/3. It is the second time in 2026 that the Big Ten has occupied the top three spots in both polls. On January 5, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin stood 1-2-3 respectively in the top 20 surveys.

• Wisconsin junior defenseman Logan Hensler is the latest Big Ten addition to the U.S. Collegiate Selects (USCS) squad that will compete at the 2026 Spengler Cup. A first round draft pick of the Ottawa Senators, Hensler is averaging over a point per game this season with two goals and five assists in six contests. He is no stranger to representing the United States in international competition, having played for two U.S. Junior National Teams. Hensler’s selection gives the Big Ten five players on the USCS squad which also features Michigan forwards Michael Hage and Jayden Perron along with Minnesota forward Brodie Ziemer and Minnesota defenseman Evan Murr. Nine rosters spot remain open for the college all-star team that will compete against professional players, Dec. 26-28, in Davos, Switzerland. 

• The U.S. Collegiate Selects figure to have plenty of offensive firepower with Hage and Perron ranking 1-2 in NCAA scoring. Hage has surged into the top spot with 20 points (4G-16A) in nine games, bolstered by a six-point series at Ohio State that landed him Big Ten First Star of the Week honors. Perron, twice named a First Star this season, owns 19 points (10G-9A) in nine contests. He has five more points than the next highest scorer on the NCAA list.