Inside College Hockey | INCH Power Rankings

November 30, 2003
INCH Power Rankings

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In the College Hockey Showcase this past weekend, some old rivalries showed that the CCHA may be down this year, but Minnesota is far from down and out. That sets the stage for some even better rivalries this weekend: Boston College-Boston University, Michigan-Michigan State, and Cornell-Harvard among them.

Here's how the Inside College Hockey editors and staff ranks the nation's top teams. You can let us know what you think and we'll share your thoughts below.

No.	Team		Notes
1.	North Dakota	–	Son of Ralph: Engelstad Arena opened in late tycoon's hometown of Thief River Falls, Minn., Saturday.
9-2-0 (5-1-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. U.S. Under-18 Team (Ex.).
2.	Boston College	–	Once a major problem, the third period has been all Eagles lately: 7-1 in the last three games.
9-2-3 (5-0-2 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. Dartmouth, 4-1; W vs. Northeastern, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston University, at Providence.
3.	Maine	1	Black Bears have allowed 16 goals in 10 wins and 1 tie, while giving up 10 goals in two losses.
10-2-1 (5-2-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Merrimack, at Merrimack.
4.	Colorado College	1	Abraca-Zaba. Freshman goalie is 3-0-2 since stepping in for Curtis McElhinney.
8-1-3 (3-1-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Air Force, 4-2, W vs. Findlay, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State, vs. St. Cloud State.
5.	New Hampshire	2	You'd think a team averaging 4 goals in its last five games would be better than 3-2-0 during that stretch.
9-3-1 (5-2-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: L vs. UMass Lowell, 5-4; W vs. Rensselaer, 4-3. THIS WEEK: at Clarkson, at St. Lawrence.
6.	St. Cloud State	2	Adam Coole misses three games and the Huskies lose three straight. Coole returns to the lineup and SCSU takes three points from UAA.
9-3-2 (7-1-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 5-1; T vs. Alaska Anchorage, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Colorado College, at Colorado College.
7.	Brown	2	Bears, who've given up four goals in last six games, test their mettle at Cornell and Colgate this weekend, a road swing where the visitor rarely leaves with four points.
6-1-1 (6-1-0 ECAC). LAST WEEK: T at Providence, 1-1 ot; W vs. Clarkson, 4-1; W vs. St. Lawrence, 8-0. THIS WEEK: at Cornell, at Colgate.
8.	Denver	4	The Pioneers gained some much-needed confidence by beating Findlay and Air Force. They'll need it – and then some – against Wisconsin this weekend.
9-4-1 (3-4-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Findlay, 4-0; W at Air Force, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Wisconsin, vs. Wisconsin.
9.	Notre Dame	4	Irish, 8-1-2 in their last 11, are our highest-rated CCHA team. That doesn't mean as much as it once did.
8-3-2 (7-3-2 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Northern Michigan, 5-1; W vs. Northern Michigan, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Western Michigan, at Western Michigan.
10.	Wisconsin	4	Badgers got a Showcase sweep with a power-play goal in overtime Saturday night. Overtime power plays: the types of breaks you get when you are unbeaten in 10 straight.
8-3-3 (3-2-3 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Michigan, 3-1; W at Michigan State, 2-1 ot. THIS WEEK: at Denver, at Denver.
11.	Ohio State	–	Buckeyes beat Bowling Green by seven on Saturday. Ironically, OSU gridders did the same at Ohio Stadium 10 weeks ago (24-17).
11-5-0 (8-3-0 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Bowling Green, 7-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Miami, at Miami.
12.	Massachusetts	5	The Minutemen went 1-1-1 last week, but the 7-2 loss at Nebraska-Omaha seems like two defeats.
9-3-2 (5-2-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. Vermont, 4-2; L at Nebraska-Omaha, 7-2; T at Nebraska-Omaha, 1-1 ot. THIS WEEK: at Boston University.
13.	Michigan	7	Wolverines head into this weekend's "wounded animal" series with Michigan State with three straight losses. They haven't had a worse streak since 1988.
9-5-0 (5-3-0 CCHA). LAST WEEK: L vs. Wisconsin, 3-1; L vs. Minnesota, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan State, at Michigan State.
14.	Dartmouth	4	Is that the Big Green's record, or some bizarre soccer formation? Despite just one loss, they are 13th in the nation in winning percentage.
4-1-4 (3-0-3 ECAC) LAST WEEK: L at Boston College, 4-1; T at Boston University, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: Off.
15.	Rensselaer	2	RPI goaltender Andrew Martin, in his first appearance of the year, held UMass Lowell's Andrew Martin to 0-1—1 in Friday's win for the Engineers.
7-4-2 (2-1-1 ECAC). LAST WEEK: W at UMass Lowell, 2-1; L at New Hampshire, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Yale, vs. Princeton.
16.	Minnesota Duluth	NR	Bulldogs are unbeaten in five straight, with 5.0 goals per game in that time.
8-5-2 (6-2-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota State, 8-5; W vs. Minnesota State, 5-4 ot. THIS WEEK: at Michigan Tech, at Michigan Tech.
17.	Minnesota	NR	Looks like the Gophers are ready to hitch their wagon to freshman goaltender Kellen Briggs, who's started five of the team's last six games. Minnesota is 4-1-1 during that span.
6-7-1 (3-6-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Michigan State, 5-1; W at Michigan, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Alaska Anchorage, at Alaska Anchorage.
18.	Clarkson	NR	When you see this quote, remember that George Roll coached the Division III national runner-up last year: "I am as proud of this team’s effort tonight as any team I have been associated with."
6-4-3 (3-3-1 ECAC). LAST WEEK: L at Brown, 4-1; W at Harvard, 3-0. THIS WEEK: vs. New Hampshire, vs. UMass Lowell.
19.	Harvard	–	You can bet the fish markets in Ithaca won't let Friday's Cornell-Brown game overshadow Harvard's visit on Saturday.
4-3-1 (3-3-1 ECAC). LAST WEEK: W vs. Boston University, 5-2; W vs. St. Lawrence, 3-0; L vs. Clarkson, 3-0. THIS WEEK: at Colgate, at Cornell.
20.	Cornell	5	Big Red fans get to watch the conference's best goalie again – at least for one game – when Yann Danis and Brown visit Lynah Friday.
3-2-4 (3-0-1 ECAC). LAST WEEK: T vs. Mercyhurst, 3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Brown, vs. Harvard.

Dropped out: Michigan State, Holy Cross, Boston University

Bubble-licious: Miami, Michigan State, Union, UMass Lowell, Boston University

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