October 29, 2006
INCH Power Rankings

Eight WCHA teams were among last week's top-20 in the INCH Power Rankings. Two dropped out and were replaced by Rensselaer and Cornell, giving the ECAC Hockey League five representatives in this week's poll.

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.	Maine	—	Jump on the Teddy Purcell bandwagon before it's too late. The freshman looks legit right now, with 5-3—8 through six games.
6-0-0 (1-0-0 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. UMass, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Merrimack, at Boston University.
2.	Minnesota	1	Key stat of the weekend: On Saturday the Gophers killed seven CC power plays, allowing just two shots on goal, and scoring two shorties.
6-1-0 (2-0-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Colorado College, 2-0; W vs. Colorado College 8-1. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota Duluth, at Minnesota Duluth.
3.	Boston College	2	Everyone in Chestnut Hill is breathing easier after sweeping Bucky on the road.
4-1-0 (1-0-0 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W at Wisconsin, 3-0; W at Wisconsin, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Providence (Tues.), vs. Vermont.
4.	Michigan State	2	The Spartans may want to shore up the defense with Michigan (three times), Notre Dame (twice), Minnesota, and Wisconsin on the horizon between now and the end of November.
3-1-0 (1-1-0 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Lawrence, 5-3; W vs. Sacred Heart, 7-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan, at Michigan.
5.	Miami	3	With seven points in his last three games and 14 points in eight games this season, junior forward Nathan Davis' name must be included on the list of early-season Hobey contenders.
6-2-0 (3-1-0 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Bowling Green, 4-3; W vs. Bowling Green, 3-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan, vs. Northern Michigan.
6.	Boston University	2	A power-play goal by Brian Strait late in the third period was all the Terriers could muster against the River Hawks.
2-1-1 (2-1-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: L vs. UMass Lowell, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at UMass Lowell, vs. Maine.
7.	Wisconsin	5	In the preseason, we wondered who would score consistently for the Badgers. We're still wondering.
3-3-2 (2-1-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: L vs. Boston College, 3-0; L vs. Boston College, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Alaska Anchorage, at Alaska Anchorage.
8.	North Dakota	1	No offensive droppoff as Sioux score a (Hobey) baker's dozen with Jonathan Toews still out of the lineup.
5-3-0 (3-1-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Minnesota State, 5-4; W at Minnesota State, 8-5. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State, vs. St. Cloud State.
9.	Dartmouth	1	Senior captain Tanner Glass and junior assistant captain David Jones are leading the way for the Big Green, with 1-4—5.
2-0-0 (1-0-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: W vs. Harvard, 5-2; W vs. Vermont, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Lawrence, vs. Clarkson.
10.	Michigan	3	Was Saturday's loss to Northeastern a case of the Wolverines running into a hot goalie (the Huskies' Brad Thiessen made 45 saves) or the visitors running into a cold one (UM's Billy Sauer allowed three goals on just 20 shots)?
4-2-0 (1-1-0 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Northeastern, 4-3 (OT); L vs. Northeastern 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Michigan State, vs. Michigan State.
11.	Notre Dame	2	It's not just the Irish football team that racks up wins against the service academies. If Navy would only join Division I hockey ...
5-1-0 (0-0-0 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Army, 3-0; W vs. Air Force, 2-0. THIS WEEK: at Ohio State, at Ohio State.
12.	Clarkson	—	Freshman goalie Matt Smith got his first start for the Golden Knights against the Under-18s. He only lasted 20 minutes, allowing four goals on 12 shots.
4-1-1 (0-0-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: L vs. U.S. Under-18 Team, 6-2 (Ex.). THIS WEEK: at Harvard, at Dartmouth.
13.	Michigan Tech	4	Red-hot Huskies do it the easy way (a 9-0 rout) and the hard way (rallying from a second-period deficit to win 5-3) to start the WCHA season 2-0-0 for the first time since 1993.
5-1-0 (2-0-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 9-0; W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 5-3. THIS WEEK: at Colorado College, at Colorado College.
14.	Harvard	—	Jimmy Fraser opened the scoring for Harvard, but it all went south from there against Dartmouth on Friday.
0-1-0 (0-1-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: L at Dartmouth, 5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Clarkson, vs. St. Lawrence.
15.	Denver	—	Pioneers use a blend of the old (Dingle) and the new (Rakhshani) in the final 20 minutes to earn a much-needed split on the road.
4-4-0 (2-2-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: L at Minnesota Duluth, 2-1 ot; W at Minnesota Duluth, 4-2. THIS WEEK: Off.
16.	Alaska	NR	The Nanooks are off to their best start in five seasons, but have played all six of their games at the Carlson Center. Playing six of their next eight on the road will provide a stern test.
4-1-1 (2-0-0 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Ferris State, 2-1; W vs. Ferris State, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Nebraska-Omaha, at Nebraska-Omaha.
17.	St. Cloud State	1	Halloween joke: The skeleton asked the werewolf to come out and play. The werewolf said, "Let me ask my mummy."
2-2-0 (2-2-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at North Dakota, at North Dakota.
18.	New Hampshire	7	The Wildcats have the consistency of the Detroit Tigers — win twice at Colorado College then get swept at home by UMass and Yale.
2-2-0 (0-1-0 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: L vs. Massachusetts, 3-2; L vs. Yale, 4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Northeastern, at Northeastern.
19.	Rensselaer	NR	Junior Dan Peace scored with 49 seconds left in Sunday's game to give RPI the Governor's Cup championship.
2-1-2 (0-0-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: T vs. Union, 3-3; W vs. Colgate, 2-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Princeton, vs. Quinnipiac.
20.	Cornell	NR	Gotta be the number: Freshman blueliner Brendon Nash wears the No. 24 sweater vacated by Matt Moulson and leads the team in scoring after two games.
2-0-0 (0-0-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: W vs. Robert Morris, 4-1; W vs. RIT, 5-3. THIS WEEK: at Brown, at Yale.

Dropped out: Northern Michigan, Alaska Anchorage, Colorado College

Bubble-licious: Nebraska-Omaha, Lake Superior State, Massachusetts