This past weekend saw the first NCAA hockey games of the season, a healthy split between intra-Division I exhibitions and real games that count in the standings.

It was eventful, to say the least, and coming off a trying season devastated by COVID, it’s fair to say there weren’t many questions answered. One of the biggest ones looming over the whole season is who, exactly, deserves to be considered among the best teams in the country.

It’s more of an open question this season, and one probably shouldn’t draw too many conclusions based on this weekend’s results. Ask any reasonably informed people in the college hockey scene and they’ll tell you there’s a fairly strong consensus around who makes up the five best teams in the country. Pick your own personal preferred order here, but it probably