Inside College Hockey | INCH Power Rankings

January 4, 2004
INCH Power Rankings

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The World Junior Championship took 17 players and one head coach off campus, but most of the teams that were missing players seemed to weather the storm. Massachusetts, which falls from this week's poll, was an exception, but in addition to Stephen Werner the Minutemen also lost Greg Mauldin (he suffered a concussion on Saturday) and Chris Capraro (he has left the team for the time being).

Others, including our top three of North Dakota, Boston College and Wisconsin, welcome their players (and coach) home in the same – or even better – position than when they left.

Here's how the Inside College Hockey editors and staff ranks the nation's top teams (along with movement since last week and a note). You can let us know what you think, including your name and hometown, and we'll share your thoughts below.

No.	Team		Of Note
1.	North Dakota	–	Ralph Engelstad Arena is under new ownership. First change – rip out marble flooring, put in linoleum.
14-2-1 (8-1-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: T at St. Cloud State, 4-4 ot; W at St. Cloud State, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska Anchorage.
2.	Boston College	–	The Eagles stay at No. 2, although the hottest teams in Hockey East are Northeastern and Merrimack. Really.
13-3-3 (6-1-2 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: L at Northeastern, 3-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Merrimack.
3.	Wisconsin	–	Bucky's least heralded freshman – walk-on Ross Carlson – gets a goal and two assists in the series against Mankato.
13-4-5 (7-2-5 WCHA). LAST WEEK: T at Minnesota State, 3-3 ot; W at Minnesota State, 6-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech, vs. Michigan Tech.
4.	Colorado College	–	Do Tiger fans jeer Don Lucia when his Gophers come to World Arena? Don't ask the coach – he's got two national championship rings in his ears.
11-4-3 (4-4-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Wayne State, 7-1; W vs. St. Lawrence, 2-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota, vs. Minnesota.
5.	Maine	–	First things first: three players scored their first career goals in Sunday's 6-1 rout of Vermont.
13-4-1 (6-2-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. Vermont, 6-1. THIS WEEK: at Merrimack, vs. Sacred Heart.
6.	Denver	–	Note to self – one way to keep teams from coming back on you is by not letting them score at all.
15-6-3 (5-6-3 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Lawrence, 2-0; W vs. Wayne State, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota Duluth, vs. Minnesota Duluth.
7.	Cornell	1	Is Harvard-Brown still the toughest trip in the league when the Crimson are decidedly average? The Big Red will see this weekend.
6-2-5 (4-0-2 ECAC). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Harvard, at Brown.
8.	St. Cloud State	1	The school is installing video boards in the National Hockey Center next season. Highlights from last weekend's North Dakota series will likely not be shown.
12-7-3 (8-5-3 WCHA). LAST WEEK: T vs. North Dakota, 4-4 ot; L vs. North Dakota, 3-1. THIS WEEK: Off.
9.	Michigan	1	Al Montoya, at the World Junior Championship, on Michigan teammate Jeff Tambellini: "He always goes for one spot, but I'm not going to tell you where."
12-7-1 (7-4-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Ohio State, vs. Ohio State.
10.	Ohio State	1	Thanks to that ESPN commercial, we'll have the appalling image of the Ohio State guy kissing the Michigan girl in our heads all week.
12-8-0 (8-5-0 CCHA). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Quinnipiac, at Michigan, at Michigan.
11.	New Hampshire	2	The first word of the game story in Sunday's Unoin Leader might say it all: "Yikes."
11-7-2 (5-3-2 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: L vs. Yale, 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Providence, vs. Providence.
12.	Miami	–	After two weeks off, RedHawks learn that they can't avoid a second-half swoon just by not playing.
11-7-2 (8-3-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Northern Michigan, at Northern Michigan.
13.	Minnesota	–	Just another normal weekend at Mariucci. If you call 20 goals, 134 shots on goal, four goalies six power play goals, a SHG and two ties normal.
9-8-3 (4-7-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: T vs. Boston University, 5-5 ot; T vs. Boston University, 5-5 ot. THIS WEEK: at Colorado College, at Colorado College.
14.	Dartmouth	1	The Big Green has given up 10 goals in their last two games, and they are 2-0-0. When did Hanover become Edmonton in the mid '80s?
6-2-5 (4-0-3 ECAC) LAST WEEK: W vs. Vermont, 7-5. THIS WEEK: at Vermont.
15.	Brown	1	Add Brown to the list of teams that felt like their old selves once they got home from Grand Forks. Of course, the others played the Sioux while they were there.
8-3-3 (8-2-1 ECAC). LAST WEEK: W at Rensselaer, 1-0; W at Union, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Colgate, vs. Cornell.
16.	Notre Dame	1	The Irish have scored two goals in their last two games, and they are 2-0-0. When did South Bend become just another NHL city in the mid '00s?
10-6-2 (7-5-2 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Findlay, 1-0. THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green, vs. Bowling Green.
17.	Minnesota Duluth	2	Use the force, Luke. The 'Dogs Luke Stauffacher picks up 5-2--7 in sweep of Bowling Green.
11-8-2 (7-5-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Bowling Green, 6-1; W vs. Bowling Green, 5-4. THIS WEEK: at Denver, at Denver.
18.	UMass Lowell	NR	Waiting for Godoy: Sophomore Elias Godoy leads the River Hawks in scoring, including 3-0—3 this weekend.
10-8-3 (6-3-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. Massachusetts, 3-0; W at Massachusetts, 1-0. THIS WEEK: at Michigan State, at Michigan State.
19.	Michigan State	1	Strange but true: the last two times UMass Lowell faced MSU at Munn, they were the higher seed in the NCAAs, and therefore the home team.
11-10-1 (8-5-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Northern Michigan, 7-2; L vs. Northern Michigan, 6-5. THIS WEEK: vs. UMass Lowell, vs. UMass Lowell.
20.	Holy Cross	–	If defenseman J.R. Walker's nickname isn't J.J., something's wrong. Dyn-o-mite!
12-4-2 (11-1-1 Atlantic Hockey). LAST WEEK: W vs. Alabama-Huntsville, 5-4; T vs. Alabama-Huntsville, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Connecticut, at Northeastern.

Dropped out: Massachusetts

Bubble-licious: Massachusetts, Ferris State, Niagara, Alaska Anchorage, Providence, Boston University

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