January 2, 2007
INCH Power Rankings

Most of the teams in the INCH Power Rankings competed in holiday tournaments over the weekend, and of those 13 teams, six were victorious. One of them was the Gophers, who remained in our top spot. Maine, St. Cloud State, Denver, Clarkson, and Michigan State got trophies for their work, and bumps in the Power Rankings.

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.	Minnesota	—	Happy holidays, indeed: Junior Alex Goligoski scored 3-10—13 in eight games between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Day.
17-1-3 (9-0-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Alabama-Huntsville, 3-1; W vs. Ferris State, 5-2. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, vs. Minnesota State.
2.	Notre Dame	1	Goaltender David Brown gets a lot of attention, but the Irish have scored four or more goals in 10 of their last 11 wins.
16-3-1 (11-2-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Northern Michigan, 4-3; W vs. Northern Michigan, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Robert Morris, vs. Robert Morris.
3.	Maine	2	The Black Bears won the Florida College Classic for the first time since 2002 and will defend next year against a strong field that includes Boston College, Clarkson, and Cornell.
12-3-2 (5-3-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 8-4; W vs. Cornell, 6-3. THIS WEEK: at UMass Lowell, at UMass Lowell.
4.	St. Cloud State	2	The Huskies, winners of 10 straight, have allowed a total of 11 goals during that span.
12-3-3 (6-3-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Union, 4-2; W at Vermont, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska-Anchorage, vs. Alaska-Anchorage.
5.	New Hampshire	3	The Wildcats have nine players who have 11 points or more this season.
14-3-1 (10-1-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Cornell, 5-2; W vs. Western Michigan, 5-2. THIS WEEK: at Vermont, at Vermont.
6.	Miami	2	Good news: Senior forward Matt Christie has nine points in his last six games. Bad news: Junior Nathan Davis, who had at least one point in 15 of the RedHawks' first 19 games, is scoreless in his last three.
15-6-1 (10-3-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bowling Green, 3-2; L vs. Ohio State, 5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan State, vs. Michigan State.
7.	Boston College	—	Dan Bertram doesn't have a point for Canada through their four round-robin wins at the World Junior Championship.
9-5-1 (6-3-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Northeastern, vs. Providence.
8.	Denver	2	A goal by UMass Lowell's Frank Stegnar with five seconds left in regulation of the Denver Cup title game ended a Pioneer shutout streak that spanned four games and 193:30.
14-6-2 (8-4-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Mercyhurst, 3-0; W vs. UMass Lowell, 2-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Wisconsin, vs. Wisconsin.
9.	Clarkson	4	Clarkson's seven-game winning streak is its longest in six years, and the Badger Showdown title was its first regular-season tournament title since 1995.
13-5-1 (5-2-0 ECACHL) LAST WEEK: W at Wisconsin, 6-2; W vs. Lake Superior State, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. McGill (Ex.)
10.	Boston University	1	Karson Gillespie earned the shutout with 21 saves in Saturday's win over Dartmouth, and the Terriers killed off a major penalty early in the third period.
7-4-5 (4-3-4 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. St. Lawrence, 4-3 ot; W at Dartmouth, 3-0. THIS WEEK: at Providence, vs. Northeastern.
11.	Colorado College	3	The Tigers split with non-conference foe Bemidji State despite outshooting the Beavers by a combined 82-34 margin.
12-7-1 (8-4-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Bemidji State, 3-2; W vs. Bemidji State, 5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. North Dakota, vs. North Dakota.
12.	Michigan	1	The Wolverines' loss to Michigan State in the Great Lakes Invitational final not only keeps U-M out of the GLI winner's circle for the 10th straight season, but allows MSU to match the Maize and Blue's 11 GLI titles.
13-8-0 (8-5-0 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan Tech, 4-1; L vs. Michigan State, 4-1. THIS WEEK: Off.
13.	Cornell	1	Cornell's win over New Hampshire was its first game against the Wildcats since losing to UNH in the 2003 Frozen Four.
9-4-1 (5-2-1 ECACHL) LAST WEEK: W vs. New Hampshire, 5-2; L vs. Maine, 6-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Sacred Heart.
14.	Michigan State	2	GLI MVP Bryan Lerg, who scored six points in wins against Harvard and Michigan, has 5-5—10 in MSU's last six contests.
11-7-1 (7-5-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Harvard, 5-2; W vs. Michigan, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Miami, at Miami.
15.	Vermont	1	Sophomore Corey Carlson had three goals in the Catamount Cup, after scoring just twice in his first 14 games.
11-6-1 (6-2-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Rensselaer, 3-0; L vs. St. Cloud State, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. New Hampshire, vs. New Hampshire.
16.	Quinnipiac	1	The Bobcats won all three meetings against RIT last year, and the Tigers visit on Thursday.
8-4-4 (5-2-3 ECACHL) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. RIT, at Princeton.
17.	Lake Superior State	1	December was kind to the Lakers, who went 4-1-1 during the month. With six of their next eight at home, January could be just as nice.
12-6-2 (6-4-2 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Providence, 2-1; L vs. Clarkson, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Nebraska-Omaha, vs. Nebraska-Omaha.
18.	Niagara	1	The Purple Eagles are 8-1-2 in their last 11 games, but stern tests against Colgate, RIT, Denver, and Quinnipiac loom over the next three weekends.
11-6-3 (6-1-3 CHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Canisius, 6-2. THIS WEEK: at Colgate, at RIT.
19.	Alaska Anchorage	NR	The Seawolves, having just claimed their first Governor's Cup since 2001, head out on a tough road trip at St. Cloud State and North Dakota. No matter, coach Dave Shyiak told the Anchorage Daily News: "We have 25 guys that believe in one another."
10-8-2 (6-8-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska, 4-1; W vs. Alaska, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at St. Cloud State, at St. Cloud State.
20.	Bemidji State	—	After making 40 saves in a 3-2 win at Colorado College Friday, junior goalie Matt Climie is 7-0-2 with one no-decision in his last 10 starts dating back to Nov. 11.
10-5-3 (5-2-3 CHA) LAST WEEK: W at Colorado College, 3-2; L at Colorado College, 5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Wayne State, vs. Wayne State.

Dropped out: Massachusetts

Bubble-licious: Sacred Heart, Massachusetts, North Dakota