1985–86 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season

The 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season began in October 1985 and concluded with the 1986 NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament's championship game on March 29, 1986 at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. This was the 39th season in which an NCAA ice hockey championship was held and is the 92nd year overall where an NCAA school fielded a team.

The 1985–86 season was the first for the Great West Hockey Conference.

Pre-season polls
The top teams in the nation.

The WMPL poll was voted on by coaches before the start of the season. The College Hockey Statistics Bureau (CHSB) / WMEB poll was voted on by media after the season started.

Radio station WMEB of Orono, Maine, took over the College Hockey Statistics Bureau poll in 1985.

Final regular season polls
The final top 10 teams as ranked by coaches and the media before the conference tournament finals.

1986 NCAA Tournament
Note: * denotes overtime period(s)

Scoring leaders
The following players led the league in points at the conclusion of the season.

GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes

Leading goaltenders
The following goaltenders led the league in goals against average at the end of the regular season while playing at least 33% of their team's total minutes.

GP = Games played; Min = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; OT = Overtime/shootout losses; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; SV% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average

1986 NHL Entry Draft
† incoming freshman