BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – All five spots in the 2026 MIAC Men's Hockey Playoffs have been clinched, but every seed remains up for grabs heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
PLAYOFF PICTURE
Saint John's inched closer to its first regular-season MIAC title since the 2019-20 campaign with a win over Concordia on Thursday night. With 32 points, the Johnnies hold a two-point lead over Saint Mary's in the conference standings heading into Friday. Another regulation win by SJU would force the Cardinals to need a regulation sweep of Augsburg for SMU to earn its first MIAC crown since 1988.
Should the Johnnies falter, the race to first-place will open up not only for Saint Mary's, but Gustavus and Bethel as well. With a six-point weekend ahead of them, Saint Mary's is well-positioned with 30 points in the standings, while Gustavus remains in contention at 27 points, and Bethel is right behind at 26. St. Olaf has 24 points – not enough to make a run at the conference title, but safely into the MIAC Playoffs with a mathematical possibility of rising as high as No. 2 in the field.
Due to the variety of possible outcomes in the MIAC hockey points system, specific tiebreaker scenarios remain difficult to project in advance, which will make for an exciting and unpredictable end to the regular season.
STAT PACK
The latest MIAC men's hockey Stat Pack as of Friday, February 20, 2026, can be viewed here.
IN THE POLLS
Gustavus received a vote in the latest USCHO.com Top 15 Poll, released on February 16.
The MIAC has three teams listed in the top 30 of the latest NCAA Power Index (NPI) rankings, posted on February 16. Saint John's is No. 23, Gustavus is No. 26, and Saint Mary's is No. 27. The NPI is used to select the four at-large bids to the NCAA Division III Tournament after the 10 automatic qualifiers have been determined on March 8. Last season's NPI cut line was 8.
NATIONAL NOTABLES
Augsburg senior forward Peyton Hanson (Hudson, Wis. / Hudson) and Concordia senior forward Caden Triggs (Moorhead, Minn. / Moorhead) are tied for the NCAA Division III lead with three short-handed goals apiece this season.
Saint Mary's sophomore forward Joona Juntunen (Hyvinkää, Finland) leads NCAA Division III with an average of 1.87 points per game this season. His 0.87 goals per game this season ranks second in the nation, and he is sixth in D-III with an average of 1.00 assists per game this season. Juntunen is tied with the University of Minnesota's Brodie Ziemer for the NCAA hockey lead with 11 power-play goals this season.
Saint Mary's junior forward Carter Newpower (Cottage Grove, Minn. / Park) recorded four assists against Bethel on 2/6, tied for the third-most in any D-III game this season.
AROUND THE MIAC
Augsburg senior forward Peyton Hanson (Hudson, Wis. / Hudson) has scored a goal in three of his last four games and four of his last six appearances. Hanson found the back of the net in both games of a split series with St. Olaf on 1/30-31 and provided half of the Auggies' offensive output in a 2-2 tie with Hamline on 1/23.
Bethel senior forward Tyler Kostelecky (Maple Grove, Minn. / Maple Grove) scored the game-winning goal with less than two minutes remaining in regulation to give the Royals a 2-1 win at Concordia on 2/14. Kostelecky also scored in a 3-1 win at Concordia on 2/13. He has scored four of his eight goals this season over his last six games.
Concordia senior forward Caden Triggs (Moorhead, Minn. / Moorhead) had a five-point weekend in helping the Cobbers sweep Hamline. Triggs had an assist and scored the game-winning goal in overtime in the Cobbers' 4-3 win on 2/7. That came one night after collecting a goal and two assists in Concordia's 5-2 win on 2/6.
Gustavus junior forward Grant Ellings (Bloomington, Minn. / Benilde-St. Margaret's) led the Gusties to two wins over Bethel by factoring into the scoring in both contests over the weekend. Ellings scored the first two goals and logged an assist in a 7-4 win on 1/30 before connecting on the game-winner in overtime of a 2-1 win on 1/31. Ellings has scored five of his eight goals this season over the last four games.
Hamline first-year goaltender Cade Chapman (Rogers, Minn. / Rogers) made two starts for the Pipers in their weekend series with Augsburg on 1/23-24. Chapman made 34 saves in regulation and overtime of a 2-2 tie on 1/23 before making a critical stop in a 3-1 shootout win to earn Hamline an extra point in the conference standings. He returned to the lineup on 1/24 and recorded a 29-save shutout, the first of his collegiate career, in a 2-0 win.
Saint John's junior forward Jackson Borst (Edina, Minn. / Edina) totaled four points and a plus/minus rating of +4 in the Johnnies' sweep of Augsburg on 2/12-13 to secure a spot in the five-time MIAC Men's Hockey Playoffs. Borst scored SJU's third goal and assisted its second in a 5-3 series-opening victory on 2/12. He assisted on two more goals in the Johnnies' 6-1 win at Augsburg the following night, including the game-winner. Borst is currently riding a four-game point streak with one goal and five assists during the stretch.
Saint Mary's first-year goaltender Adam Prokop (Wausau, Wis. / Wausau West) secured 66 saves and one shutout in two starts for the Cardinals in their weekend series with Bethel. Prokop had 29 saves in a 5-3 home win on 2/6 before posting 37 stops in a 2-0 road win for the first shutout of his collegiate career on 2/7. Prokop has won six of his last seven starts.
St. Olaf senior forward Jonathan Panisa (Irvine, Calif. / Beckman) tied his single-game career high with three points, including the game-tying and game-winning goals, in the Oles' 3-2 come-from-behind victory at Augsburg on 1/31. After picking up an assist late in the second period, Panisa tied the game inside the first five minutes of the third before scoring the game-winner with 3:49 to go as the Oles rallied from a 2-0 deficit.
St. Scholastica sophomore defender Wyatt Wurst (Edina, Minn. / Edina) scored the game-winning goal in a 4-3 upset of Gustavus on 2/14. The goal Wurst's third of the season and second in as many series.
UP NEXT
Friday, February 20
7:00 PM | Saint Mary's at Augsburg*
7:00 PM | Hamline at Gustavus*
7:00 PM | Bethel at St. Olaf*
Saturday, February 21
3:00 PM | Saint John's at Concordia*
5:00 PM | St. Olaf at Bethel*
6:00 PM | Gustavus at Hamline*
7:00 PM | Augsburg at Saint Mary's*
*MIAC game