Inside College Hockey | INCH Power Rankings

February 1, 2004
INCH Power Rankings

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Sometimes what gets people talking isn't always the teams that win all the time – witness the New England Patriots compared to Janet Jackson. None of the top five teams in our INCH Power Rankings lost this weekend, but there was plenty of excitement around the world of college hockey, from UMass Lowell to Colgate to Miami.

Here's how the Inside College Hockey editors and staff rank the rest of 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	–	Jordan Parise has taken over the No. 1 role in goal, and allowed a total of four goals in three straight starts.
19-3-3 (13-2-3 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Denver, 6-1; T vs. Denver, 1-1 ot. THIS WEEK: at Wisconsin, at Wisconsin.
2.	Boston College	–	Matti Kaltiainen has had to make just 14 saves in each of his two shutouts this year, including Friday vs. Providence.
19-3-3 (12-1-2 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. Providence, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Harvard (Beanpot); at Merrimack.
3.	Michigan	–	Wolverines have outscored opponents 36-6 during current seven-game winning streak.
18-7-1 (13-4-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Lake Superior State, 5-1; W vs. Lake Superior State, 4-0. THIS WEEK: at Alaska-Fairbanks, at Alaska-Fairbanks.
4.	Maine	–	Maine's sweep of UNH was about as lopsided as comparing the two states' coastlines.
19-6-1 (11-4-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. New Hampshire, 5-4; W vs. New Hampshire, 5-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Alabama-Huntsville, vs. Alabama-Huntsville.
5.	Minnesota	–	Is anyone in the nation playing better than defenseman Keith Ballard (1-3—4 vs. Wisconsin this weekend)?
16-9-3 (11-8-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Wisconsin, 4-2; W vs. Wisconsin, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Bemidji State, vs. Bemidji State.
6.	Minnesota Duluth	1	Bulldogs spend bye week battling snow (more than two feet fell in a 24-hour span) and cold (Thursday's overnight low was -30).
17-8-2 (13-5-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, at Minnesota State.
7.	Miami	3	Miami's like a smell that won't go away. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
16-9-3 (13-5-2 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Michigan State, 2-1; W at Michigan State, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Notre Dame, vs. Notre Dame.
8.	New Hampshire	2	Wildcats return from Orono with plenty of questions, and a looming series with yet another team ahead of them in the standings: Massachusetts.
15-9-3 (7-5-3 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: L at Maine, 5-4; L at Maine, 5-0. THIS WEEK: at Massachusetts, vs. Massachusetts.
9.	Wisconsin	1	Badgers are 1-5-1 in their last seven, and North Dakota visits Madison this weekend.
15-9-6 (9-6-5 WCHA). LAST WEEK: L at Minnesota, 4-2; L at Minnesota, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. North Dakota, vs. North Dakota.
10.	Denver	1	Maybe this losing thing runs in the Badger family – George Gwozdecky (Wisconsin '77) and his Pioneers are 1-4-1 in their last six.
16-10-4 (6-10-4 WCHA). LAST WEEK: L at North Dakota, 6-1; T at North Dakota, 1-1 ot. THIS WEEK: Off.
11.	Colgate	3	Goalie Steve Silverthorn shuts out Cornell, gets in a fight, then watches his backup post a 2-1 win over the Big Red the next night.
15-8-3 (10-4-0 ECAC). LAST WEEK: W at Cornell, 2-0; W vs. Cornell, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at Vermont, at Dartmouth.
12.	St. Cloud State	1	Mush! Huskies travel to Houghton to help Michigan Tech celebrate Winter Carnival.
14-9-3 (10-7-3 WCHA). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Michigan Tech, at Michigan Tech.
13.	Massachusetts	3	When was the last time a team had an eight-point weekend?
15-5-5 (11-3-2 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. Northeastern, 4-2; W vs. Merrimack, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. New Hampshire, at New Hampshire.
14.	Brown	1	Yeah, we know you had Colgate and Brown pegged for the top two spots in the ECAC. And you had Carolina in the Super Bowl, too.
12-5-4 (10-3-1 ECAC). LAST WEEK: W vs. Harvard, 2-1 ot. THIS WEEK: at Princeton, at Yale.
15.	Notre Dame	–	Fighting Irish and Alaska-Fairbanks combine for 140 shots on goal – and nine goals – at Joyce Center last weekend.
13-9-4 (9-8-3 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska-Fairbanks, 3-2; T vs. Alaska-Fairbanks, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Miami, at Miami.
16.	Colorado College	4	Sunshine in Houghton: The Huskies' win Saturday was their first against CC in 36 tries (1-28-7).
13-10-3 (6-8-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Michigan Tech, 6-0; L at Michigan Tech, 5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska Anchorage.
17.	Mercyhurst	3	Lakers get three points in a great series with Quinnipiac, but they still need to catch Holy Cross – and have seven of their last nine on the road.
14-9-2 (11-3-1 Atlantic Hockey). LAST WEEK: W vs. Quinnipiac, 5-1; T vs. Quinnipiac, 1-1 ot. THIS WEEK: at Sacred Heart, at Sacred Heart.
18.	Bemidji State	NR	Welcome to the Power Rankings, Beavers. Your reward? A non-conference series at Minnesota.
15-7-2 (12-2-0 CHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Findlay, 4-0; W vs. Findlay, 5-3. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota, at Minnesota.
19.	Dartmouth	2	Yes, that was Union – who hadn't won an ECAC game since Nov. 15 – handing the Big Green a 7-0 home loss.
9-6-6 (7-3-4 ECAC). LAST WEEK: W vs. Rensselaer, 4-3; L vs. Union, 7-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Cornell, vs. Colgate.
20.	Rensselaer	NR	Engineers went 6-3-0 in January, allowed a total of five goals in their six victories, and their three losses were by a combined four goals.
14-10-2 (8-5-1 ECAC). LAST WEEK: L at Dartmouth, 4-3; W at Vermont, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Lawrence, vs. Clarkson.

Dropped out: Cornell, Michigan State

Bubble-licious: Michigan State, Ohio State, Cornell, Holy Cross

Feedback

Clearly ND and BC are 1&2, but Michigan at #3 is questionable. Their 7 game winning streak against bad & mediocre teams is no real accomplishment. They are 1-4 against top 10 teams with the only win coming against Miami. The CCHA is not very strong this year, so a good record in that league is like leading the ECAC....Maine deserves #3 after sweeping a good UNH team, Minnesota continues to play well and deserves #4. I put Michigan at #5 or 6 with another unthrilling CCHA showdown against AK-Fairbanks coming up.

Mike, Woodbury, Minn.

how does North Dakota, who did beat up on denver on friday, but almost lose
to denver on saturday when they tied in ot stay at number one, while the
gophers, who looked and played convincingly all weekend, not move at all?
this doesn't make sense, also because the gophers moved up to number 3 in
the polls.

Patrick, Austin, Minn.

Of all the conference of College Hockey, the WCHA is by far the toughest, most competitive, with 6 of 10 teams in the top 15 of the PairWise, and most other polls. With that said, everyone is talking about how hot the Gophers are. North Dakota is still playing very well despite tying a team that plays quite well on the road, and Minnesota-Duluth has been playing very well with a 9 game winning streak. Right now I would have to say that North Dakota, BC, Minnesota-Duluth, and Minnesota have to be the top team right now, with Minnesota-Duluth with the most to gain or loose. They have, in my opinion, the toughest schedule remaining among top contention teams (2 @ Minnesota State-Mankato, 2 vs. North Dakota, 2 @ Colorado College, 2 vs. Minnesota and 2 @ Wisconsin). If they sweep MSU and CC, and at least split with ND, MN, and Wisconsin if not sweeps, or a better than .500 record, they should have home ice in WCHA Tourney locked up. A strong showing there it would only increase their confidence, along with their positioning in the NCAA's and being a team that plays very sound, fundamental hockey, is very quick, and plays well once they get rolling, this might be the team to watch out for around Tourney Time.

Mike Duluth, Minnesota

Of course Michigan is going to outscore there opponents 36-6. When you play teams like Lake Superior, Western Michigan Ohio St. and Michigan Tech you better score that many goal. These are teams that Michigan should either beat or tie (at most), there last lost came against Boston College. You are overlooking Maine who beat a very tough New Hampshire team. The reason the Sioux are still number one is because they keep beating the top teams in the nation week in and week out. Hey Patrick how about you don't knock down a team that has beaten your team 3 out 4 times this year.

Ryan, Grand Forks

The only reason that North Dakota beat the Gophers this season was because the Gophers lost Chris Harrington, and one of the nation's best defenseman, Keith Ballard, to injuries.

Kelsey, Brooklyn Park, MN

The first 2 times that North Dakota beat the gophers was during the beginning of the season, back when the gophers had trouble getting started. however, that is just like last year, the gophers didn't have a very strong beginning to their season, but they still made it to the championship and won the second in a row. and also, the gophers were without Harrington and Ballard. i'd also like to add that the 3 game between the gophers and sioux was a close one, where each team played well. they gophers just got beat. i also forgot to mention something about the comment that was said about the gophers, who hired the ice crew at marriachui??? it was a great call, and there is no way u can overturn an illegal move when it was clearly shown that the stick was above the shoulders. but thanks a lot for ur commentary Ryan!

Patrick, Austin, MN

Alright, stop your Wolverine bashing. For starters, the CCHA is in fact a far more formidable conference than many of you are inferring. Yes, the WCHA may be the best conference this year due to its consistent ranking of at least 5 teams in each poll. However the CCHA is certainly in a close second since it consistently ranks at least three teams (as of late Michigan, Miami, Notre Dame -- and in the past Ohio State and Michigan State) in each poll. Furthermore, the Michigan Wolverine's are traditionally coined as the "January-March" team due to the program's [namely Red Berenson's] ability to pull out long win streaks in the second half of the season. In September Michigan’s talent was younger and more inexperienced than usual; consequently the team had only an above average (and not exceptional) first half of the season. However, recent team accomplishments are a testament to the perseverance of these young men. And therefore, win-streaks -- such as the seven-game streak Michigan is currently boasting -- are simply a tribute to the resiliency of the program. Look for this streak and others to continue, as Ann Arbor’s “January-March” team is much more talented than many want to believe. Go Blue!

Dave Dudek, Ann Arbor, MI

Compensation for the Gophers losing to the Sioux shouldn't come from the excuse of injuries. Minnesota has a very talented team full of stars, who are more than able to beat the Sioux. I have to admit that losing there top defensemen did attribute some, but not to the extent of blaming injuries for losing the game. Excuses are excuses. Just face it, North Dakota is just too good of a team.

Ty, Grafton, ND

I agree that Michigan is overrated. Minnesota dug themselves into a hole early into the season, but based on recent play, they're as good as North Dakota and Boston College. Look for these 3 teams at the end of the season. Don't count the Gophers out of a 3-peat.

Dean, Springfield, VA

Can someone give UMass some respect? We split our season series with Maine (with 2 games in Orono), tied New Hampshire. UMass went on a slump, I agree, and the two wins we picked up from UMass-Lowel was lucky, and they deserve better than that. But you have to understand that we were missing Werner, Capraro, and Mauldin for those games. Take any teams top players and leaders on the ice and see how they do in one of the best conferences in the country. If shutting out Maine in Maine wasn't enough, then look at tonights 4-1 beating on New Hampshire, maybe then you will say that we deserve to be up there.

Sam, Amherst, MA

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