We'll admit it – as we drew up this week's
Inside College Hockey Power Rankings, we threw up our hands
more often than a CCHA referee calling an Ultimate Fighting
Championship match. But we think we've made some sense of
all the splits and head-scratching upsets.
Here's how the Inside College Hockey editors
and staff rank the nation's top teams (along with a note for
each team).
| No. |
Team |
|
Of
Note |
| 1. |
 Michigan |
 1 |
Since the start of last season, Michigan has scored
three or more goals 43 times in 53 games. The Wolverines
are 40-1-2 in those contests, including a pair of wins
at Northern Michigan last weekend. |
| 9-1-1
(5-1-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Northern Michigan, 3-1;
W at Northern Michigan, 4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 2. |
 Wisconsin |
2 |
No cover jinx at INCH. Brian Elliott follows his appearance
on our front page with a shutout of the nation's former
No. 1 team, as Bucky holds the Tigers' scary offense to
43 shots for the weekend. |
| 7-1-2
(6-0-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: T vs. Colorado College, 2-2 ot;
W vs. Colorado College, 3-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota
State, vs. Minnesota State. |
| 3. |
 Colorado
College |
 2 |
Look for "Lost Cat" fliers with Marty Sertich's
mug shot on them. The Tigers started strong in Madison,
then couldn't score for the final 108 minutes of the series. |
| 9-2-1
(4-1-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: T at Wisconsin, 2-2 ot; L at
Wisconsin, 3-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech, vs. Michigan
Tech. |
| 4. |
 Maine |
1 |
"I really, really like this Maine team," Blaise
MacDonald said after UMass Lowell's 9-2 loss. He just
doesn't like facing them, having lost seven straight in
the series. |
| 9-3-0
(4-2-0 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W at UMass Lowell, 9-2;
L at New Hampshire, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. U.S. Under-18
Team (Ex.). |
| 5. |
 Vermont |
2 |
Despite the loss, the Catamounts looked good Sunday
vs. BC. And those yellow ESPNU shirts looked especially
sharp. |
| 8-2-0
(2-2-0 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. Providence, 6-2;
L vs. Boston College, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at Merrimack. |
| 6. |
 Boston
College |
5 |
The last three times BC visited Vermont an Eagle had
a hat trick. But nobody's complaining that freshman Nathan
Gerbe (both BC goals) came up just short. |
| 4-2-1
(3-1-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W at Vermont, 2-1. THIS
WEEK: vs. Harvard, vs. Northeastern. |
| 7. |
 North
Dakota |
2 |
Sioux get back on track with a dozen goals at the DECC.
And just for good measure, the NoDak football team eliminated
the Bulldogs from the D-II playoffs on Saturday too. |
| 7-4-1
(3-3-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Minnesota Duluth, 5-3; W
at Minnesota Duluth, 7-4. THIS WEEK: at St. Cloud State,
at St. Cloud State. |
| 8. |
 Minnesota |
2 |
Gopher totals for the weekend – four WCHA points,
13 goals, one blowout, one shutout, one comeback and several
terse "no comment" answers for the Fox News
reporter that visited Mariucci on Saturday night. |
| 5-3-2
(5-2-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 9-0;
W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 4-3. THIS WEEK: at Denver, at
Denver. |
| 9. |
 Cornell |
3 |
The Red's fickle fans are already calling for Mike Schafer
to consider giving backup goalie Louis Chabot more playing
time. Dave McKee allowed five goals on 14 shots Saturday. |
| 4-2-0
(3-1-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: W at Harvard, 4-3; L at Dartmouth,
6-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Union, vs. Rensselaer. |
| 10. |
 New
Hampshire |
3 |
The top line of Brett Hemingway, Jacob Micflikier and
Daniel Winnik keeps leading the Wildcats, with 7-15—22
in the team's four-game winning streak. |
| 6-3-1
(5-1-0 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W at Boston University,
3-2; W vs. Maine, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. UMass Lowell, at
UMass Lowell. |
| 11. |
 Denver |
3 |
Pioneers' annual long, strange trip to Mankato ends
with one point, no even strength goals, and star forward
Gabe Gauthier watching from the sick bay on Saturday. |
| 5-4-1
(3-2-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: T at Minnesota State, 3-3 ot;
L at Minnesota State, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota, vs.
Minnesota. |
| 12. |
 Miami |
– |
RedHawks earn the split against a vastly improved Lake
Superior State team despite getting no points from Matt
Christie, Mitch Ganzak, Andy Greene, Marty Guerin and
Chris Michael. |
| 6-2-0
(5-1-0 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Lake Superior State, 3-0
;L at Lake Superior State, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Notre Dame,
vs. Notre Dame. |
| 13. |
 Michigan
State |
10 |
After three-plus years, we finally pump the Spartans'
tires. Unfortunately, they didn't see the large sign that
read – Do Not Back Up: Severe Tire Damage. |
| 5-3-2
(2-2-2 CCHA). LAST WEEK: T at Ferris State, 2-2 ot; L
vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 7-4; L vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 3-2 ot.
THIS WEEK: at Ohio State, vs. Western Michigan, at Western
Michigan. |
| 14. |
 Bemidji
State |
1 |
They've only lost once in their first eight games, but
the Beavers are the second hottest team in this weekend's
series against Ferris (one loss in nine games). |
| 7-1-0
(3-1-0 CHA). LAST WEEK: W at Wayne State, 4-1; W at Wayne
State, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at Ferris State, at Ferris State. |
| 15. |
 Alaska-Fairbanks |
1 |
Road trips to the contiguous U.S. have never been the
Nanooks' strong suit...except when they play at Nebraska-Omaha,
this weekend's opponent. UAF is 6-5-1 all-time in the
dusty old cowtown. |
| 4-2-2
(2-1-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Nebraska-Omaha,
at Nebraska-Omaha. |
| 16. |
 Colgate
|
– |
This split won't look bad at all later in the season,
as every team in the ECACHL already has at least one
loss after just two weekends of league play.
|
| 6-2-1
(3-1-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: W at Dartmouth, 3-2; L at Harvard,
4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Rensselaer, vs. Union. |
| 17. |
 St.
Lawrence |
2 |
The Saints scored seven goals against Yale despite getting
just one assist from its top line. That early-season win
at Wisconsin looks especially good now. |
| 7-3-0
(3-2-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: W at Yale, 7-5; L at Brown,
3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Quinnipiac, vs. Princeton. |
| 18. |
 Harvard |
2 |
Rivalry week continues for the Crimson as games against
Boston College and Yale follow Friday's loss to Cornell. |
| 3-2-0
(3-2-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: L vs. Cornell, 4-3; W vs. Colgate,
6-4. THIS WEEK: at Boston College, vs. Yale, vs. Brown. |
| 19. |
 Northern
Michigan |
1 |
We'll admit that the Wildcats are here by default, but
they didn't embarrass themselves against No. 1 Michigan. |
| 5-5-0
(2-4-0 CCHA). LAST WEEK: L vs. Michigan, 3-1; L vs. Michigan,
4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green, at Bowling Green. |
| 20. |
 Lake
Superior State |
NR |
The Lakers are scoring just over a half-goal a game
more than they did a year ago. They've got 28 goals in
10 games this season after scoring 84 in 38 games last
season. |
| 4-3-3
(3-3-2 CCHA). LAST WEEK: L vs. Miami, 3-0; W vs. Miami,
3-2. THIS WEEK: at Ohio State, at Ohio State. |