Inside College Hockey | INCH Power Rankings

January 11, 2004
INCH Power Rankings

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Nobody's perfect.

Seriously, when it comes to conference play, nobody's perfect any more. With losses Saturday night, Cornell, Dartmouth and Niagara ended their hopes of finishing league play without a loss. Still, the Big Red and Green, respectively, only fell one spot this week, and Niagara remains on the bubble.

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	–	Brandon Bochenski's four-goal show Friday night gives him the national lead with 18 goals on the year.
15-2-2 (9-1-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 6-2; T vs. Alaska Anchorage, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Michigan Tech, at Michigan Tech.
2.	Boston College	–	Date with the devil: Is it good or bad when your opponent, in this case BU this weekend, has a record of 6-6-6?
14-3-3 (7-1-2 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. Merrimack, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston University, at Boston University.
3.	Maine	2	Who needs to shoot when you can pass like this: Michel Léveillé got his first career goal Tuesday, but he's tied for third in the nation in assists (19).
15-4-1 (7-2-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W at Merrimack, 5-2; W vs. Sacred Heart, 6-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Massachusetts, vs. Massachusetts.
4.	Wisconsin	1	Twelve NDTP alums at Kohl Center this weekend as Bucky hosts Notre Dame. And that doesn't include coach Mike Eaves.
14-5-5 (8-3-5 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan Tech, 4-2; L vs. Michigan Tech, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Notre Dame, vs. Notre Dame.
5.	Michigan	4	Dwight Helminen scored four goals against Ohio State Saturday – one 5x5, one 4x4, one shorthanded and one on the power play.
14-7-1 (9-4-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Ohio State, 3-2; W vs. Ohio State, 7-1. THIS WEEK: vs. U.S. Under-18 Team (Ex.).
6.	Colorado College	2	Think many fans at World Arena last weekend were wondering how hometown boy Kellen Briggs ended up at Minnesota?
11-6-3 (4-6-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota, 2-1; L vs. Minnesota, 3-0. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota Duluth, at Minnesota Duluth.
7.	St. Cloud State	1	Brent Hill must crave a challenge. The 5-foot-7 forward left the 12-7-3 Huskies for the 14-26-3-2 Regina Pats.
12-7-3 (8-5-3 WCHA). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Alaska Anchorage, at Alaska Anchorage.
8.	Cornell	1	Brown hands Big Red first ECAC loss since Jan. 30, 2003, ending the team's 20-game conference unbeaten streak.
7-3-5 (5-1-2 ECAC). LAST WEEK: W at Harvard, 5-3; L at Brown, 2-1 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Union, vs. Rensselaer.
9.	Denver	3	Pioneers are now 0-6-1 at home against WCHA foes. In case you're counting.
15-8-3 (5-8-3 WCHA). LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota Duluth 1-0; L vs. Minnesota Duluth, 6-3. THIS WEEK: Off.
10.	Minnesota	3	Hey...wasn't it about this time last year that the Gophers began a 16-2-4 run that ended on a Saturday night in April in Buffalo?
11-8-3 (6-7-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Colorado College, 2-1; W at Colorado College, 3-0. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, at Minnesota State.
11.	New Hampshire	–	With the candidates campaigning in Iowa, the Granite State's focus shifts to Dartmouth-UNH in Manchester Tuesday night.
12-7-3 (6-3-3 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: T at Providence, 1-1 ot; W vs. Providence, 5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Dartmouth, vs. Brown.
12.	Miami	–	Maybe we've been watching too much of the NFL playoffs, but we can't be the only ones who see Greg Hogeboom (two goals Sat.) and think of Gary Hogeboom, the old backup for the Cowboys. Right?
12-8-2 (9-4-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: L at Northern Michigan, 5-2; W at Northern Michigan, 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Ferris State, at Ferris State.
13.	Minnesota Duluth	4	The lakes washed away the mountains this weekend, with UMD and Minnesota posting sweeps in the Rockies.
13-8-2 (9-5-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Denver, 1-0; W at Denver, 6-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Colorado College, vs. Colorado College.
14.	Brown	1	Redemption song: Mike Meech got the game-winner against Cornell after being whistled for a cross-checking penalty in the first minute of OT.
9-4-3 (9-3-1 ECAC). LAST WEEK: L vs. Colgate, 3-1; W vs. Cornell, 2-1 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Connecticut, at New Hampshire.
15.	Dartmouth	1	The Big Green, 0-2-2 against Hockey East teams this year, must've gotten spooked by last week's announcement.
6-3-5 (4-1-3 ECAC) LAST WEEK: L at Vermont, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. New Hampshire, vs. Clarkson, vs. St. Lawrence.
16.	Notre Dame	–	So Morgan Cey gives up five goals in an OT loss at Bowling Green Friday? Just come back with David Brown the next night (32 saves in a 3-0 shutout).
11-7-2 (8-6-2 CCHA). LAST WEEK: L at Bowling Green, 5-4 ot; W vs. Bowling Green, 3-0. THIS WEEK: at Wisconsin, at Wisconsin.
17.	Ohio State	7	Unfortunately for John Markell and the Buckeyes, the Michigan icers don't sit on a lead like Lloyd Carr would. Witness Saturday night's 7-1 dismantling.
13-10-0 (8-7-0 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Quinnipiac, 1-0; L at Michigan, 3-2; L at Michigan, 7-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Lake Superior State, vs. Lake Superior State.
18.	UMass Lowell	–	Ben Walter, who had scored just three goals since Nov. 15, picks up a pair (including the game-winner) at Michigan State Saturday.
11-9-3 (6-3-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: L at Michigan State, 2-0; W at Michigan State, 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Merrimack, vs. Merrimack.
19.	Michigan State	–	Dominic Vicari must've gotten restless playing behind Al Montoya at the World Junior Championship, but not rusty: he posted a 2-0 shutout in his return.
12-11-1 (8-5-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. UMass Lowell, 2-0; L vs. UMass Lowell, 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green, at Bowling Green.
20.	Massachusetts	NR	I'm lovin' it: Craig MacDonald power-play goal with five minutes left in regulation against BU ends eight-game Minutemen winless streak (0-4-4).
10-6-5 (6-4-2 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W at Boston University, 2-1; T at Trois Rivieres, 2-2 ot (Ex.). THIS WEEK: at Maine, at Maine.

Dropped out: Holy Cross

Bubble-licious: Holy Cross, Western Michigan, Niagara, Bemidji State

Feedback

UMD #12? Who is paying you guys. The swept your #10 Denver, #11 C.C. and the golden rodents at home. please don't insult our hockey knowledge.

— Paul Moe, Fairmont, Minn.

My question is, why is there not more love for Western Michigan? It seems to me that they are in a three way tie for second place in the CCHA with Ohio State and Alaska Fairbanks (Miami(OH) being first). So then I looked to the overall records and saw that the Broncos overall recond was only bettered by Miami and tied with Michigan. Now this means that conference foes Michigan State and Notre Dame should be ranked lower than Western. And Western's ranking should be around that of Ohio State and Michigan.

— Jeremiah Newhouse, Kalamazoo, Mich.

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