January 2, 2006
INCH Power Rankings

It's a new year, but the same four teams atop the INCH Power Rankings. Colorado College made its case to move up with an impressive Great Lakes Invitational, as 14 of the 16 teams ranked from 5 to 20 moved at least one spot.

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.	Wisconsin	–	The Badgers held a 90-37 shot advantage while dispatching Western and Northern Michigan.
16-2-2 (11-1-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 4-1; W vs. Northern Michigan, 5-1. THIS WEEK: Off.
2.	Miami	–	The RedHawks ran their unbeaten streak to 10 with a win and tie at the Ohio Hockey Classic. Now they face Northern Michigan in Oxford, where they've given up a total of nine goals in six league games.
13-2-3 (10-1-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Rensselaer, 3-2 ot; T at Ohio State, 1-1 (won shootout). THIS WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan, vs. Northern Michigan.
3.	Vermont	–	Joe Fallon, just a sophomore, is now just one shutout shy of Tim Thomas' school record of 10.
13-4-1 (5-3-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. Dartmouth, 1-0; W vs. Clarkson, 3-0. THIS WEEK: at New Hampshire, at New Hampshire.
4.	Minnesota	–	Ryan Potulny's Dodge Holiday Classic (3-2—5) bodes well for anyone worried about a second-half fade.
11-5-4 (8-4-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Union, 8-0; W vs. UMass Lowell, 5-4. THIS WEEK: vs. Niagara, vs. Niagara.
5.	Colorado College	1	Michigan men: After last year's regional in Grand Rapids and this year's GLI, the Tigers might even be willing to visit Yost for a regional. But it's still a good thing they don't have to.
17-6-1 (9-4-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan, 6-1; W vs. Michigan State, 6-3. THIS WEEK: Off.
6.	Boston College	2	Joe Pearce, who filled in for the suspended Matti Kaltiainen at the GLI two years ago, now has two holiday tournament titles to his credit.
10-4-2 (8-2-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: T vs. Ferris State, 3-2 (won shootout); W vs. Princeton, 5-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Northeastern, at Providence.
7.	Michigan	2	With all the players missing from Michigan's lineup, you've got to put an asterisk next to that 6-1 loss to Colorado College. Of course, judging from the Tigers' play at the GLI, having Johnson, Porter and Cogliano might not have mattered.
12-6-1 (7-3-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: L vs. Colorado College, 6-1; W vs. Michigan Tech, 5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Fairbanks, vs. Alaska Fairbanks.
8.	Maine	1	The balanced Black Bears have three players tied for the team lead in points and three more within two points of them.
12-6-0 (5-4-0 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota Duluth, 4-1; W vs. Northeastern, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. UMass Lowell, vs. UMass Lowell.
9.	North Dakota	–	Impressive effort Friday night snapped a run of six losses in seven home games.
13-8-1 (6-6-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: L vs. Harvard, 1-0; W vs. Harvard, 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Alaska Anchorage, at Alaska Anchorage.
10.	Cornell	4	The Big Red have quietly compiled the nation's second longest unbeaten streak (5-0-2).
9-3-2 (5-2-1 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: W vs. Northeastern, 3-0; T vs. Minnesota Duluth, 1-1 ot (won shootout). THIS WEEK: vs. RIT.
11.	Providence	6	The Friars take an impressive five-game winning streak into a key stretch in which seven of their next nine are against BC, Maine, UNH and Vermont.
11-6-1 (8-2-1 Hockey East). TWO WEEKS AGO: W vs. Colgate, 7-1; W vs. Sacred Heart, 5-2. THIS WEEK: at Boston University, vs. Boston College.
12.	Colgate	2	The Raiders are making their last week of non-conference action count, traveling to Bowling Green before hosting St. Cloud State for two.
10-3-4 (6-1-1 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: L at Providence, 7-1; T vs. Brown, 3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green, vs. St. Cloud State, vs. St. Cloud State.
13.	Clarkson	1	Seven of the 10 Knights with 10 or more points are freshmen or sophomores.
10-6-2 (5-2-1 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: T vs. Bemidji State, 3-3 ot (won shootout); L at Vermont, 3-0. THIS WEEK: vs. RIT, vs. St. Lawrence (in Ottawa).
14.	St. Lawrence	1	Expect junior Max Taylor, an Ottawa native, to enjoy this weekend's visit to the Corel Centre to face Clarkson.
12-6-1 (6-3-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Clarkson (in Ottawa).
15.	Harvard	1	The Crimson's last two wins were by 1-0 scores.
10-6-1 (6-4-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: W at North Dakota, 1-0; L at North Dakota, 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Union, at Rensselaer.
16.	Denver	5	Denver's opening-round loss to Princeton in the Denver Cup marked just the third time that the Tigers had ever beaten the defending national champs.
11-9-2 (8-4-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: L vs. Princeton, 4-1; L vs. Ferris State, 3-2. THIS WEEK: Off.
17.	New Hampshire	4	A loss to Niagara is bound to give Wildcat fans some bad flashbacks.
9-7-3 (7-3-2 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: L vs. Niagara, 6-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Vermont, vs. Vermont.
18.	Ohio State	1	Now's the time for the Buckeyes (8-1-2 in their last 11) to make a move in the CCHA: they play six of the next nine at home, then close the season with six of nine on the road.
10-6-3 (6-4-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Holy Cross, 4-0; T vs. Miami, 1-1 ot (lost shootout). THIS WEEK: vs. Bowling Green, at Bowling Green.
19.	Lake Superior State	1	Western Michigan travels to the Soo for a series this weekend, then it's a bye weekend for the Lakers. With an end-of-season slate that includes two-game sets with Ferris, UNO, Michigan, Northern Michigan and Michigan State, they'll need the down time.
10-6-4 (6-6-2 CCHA). LAST WEEK: at Bell Canada Varsity Cup (Ex.). THIS WEEK: vs. Western Michigan, vs. Western Michigan.
20.	Ferris State	–	Freshman goaltender Mitch O'Keefe had been the Bulldogs' hot hand, but sophomore Derek MacIntyre backstopped FSU to a tie against Boston College and a win over the defending national champions at the Denver Cup.
9-6-5 (4-4-3 CCHA). LAST WEEK: T vs. Boston College, 3-3 ot (lost shootout); W vs. Denver, 3-2. THIS WEEK: Off.

Dropped out: None

Bubble-licious: Niagara, Nebraska-Omaha, Holy Cross