The top teams in the nation faced unique motivations
last weekend. Some were playing for regular-season titles,
some were playing for their playoff lives, and some weren't
playing at all.
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. |
 Notre
Dame |
— |
The CCHA regular-season champions open league postseason
play against Alaska, the team that knocked them out of
the first round of the playoffs last season. |
| 27-6-3 (21-4-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK:Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska (best of three) |
| 2. |
 Minnesota |
 1 |
We’re guessing the Gophers weren’t bragging
much about that WCHA
title on Sunday morning when Coach Lucia had them up early
for a "pucks optional" skate. |
| 26-8-3 (18-7-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan Tech, 3-1; L vs. Michigan
Tech, 5-4. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska-Anchorage (best of three) |
| 3. |
 St.
Cloud State |
 1 |
Which is the greater indicator of Bobby Goepfert’s
value to the Huskies: the six saves he had in overtime
on Friday, or the seven goals his backup surrendered on
Saturday? |
| 20-7-7 (14-7-7
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. North Dakota, 3-3 ot; L vs. North
Dakota, 7-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota Duluth (best of
three) |
| 4. |
 Clarkson |
2 |
The Golden Knights have lost just three times since
Thanksgiving, and all three of those came on the road. |
| 21-8-5 (13-5-4
ECACHL) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Harvard (best of
three) |
| 5. |
 North
Dakota |
3 |
Ryan Duncan got just one point over the weekend, but
still became the first Fighting Sioux player to stand
alone atop the WCHA scoring chart since Jeff Panzer did
it in 2001. |
| 19-12-5 (13-10-5
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at St. Cloud State, 3-3 ot; W at St.
Cloud State, 7-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota State (best
of three) |
| 6. |
 New
Hampshire |
2 |
The Wildcats head into the playoffs 1-4-1 in their last
six games. It's inspiring that the one win was against
quarterfinal opponent Providence. One of the four losses,
however, was a 7-1 beatdown by the Friars. |
| 23-9-2 (18-7-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Boston College, 4-1; L at
Boston College, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Providence (best of
three) |
| 7. |
 Boston
College |
3 |
The Eagles are the early favorite to win the Hockey
East tourney. |
| 22-11-1 (18-8-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at New Hampshire, 4-1; W vs.
New Hampshire, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Northeastern (best
of three) |
| 8. |
 Boston
University |
3 |
The Terriers split a home series with Vermont two weekends
ago. A split this weekend is impossible. |
| 18-7-9 (13-6-8
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Northeastern, 4-2. THIS WEEK:
vs. Vermont (best of three) |
| 9. |
 Miami |
— |
A CCHA quarterfinal series win against Lake Superior
State this weekend would give the RedHawks their first
back-to-back trips to Joe Louis Arena since 1994-95. |
| 23-11-4 (16-8-4
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Lake Superior State
(best of three) |
| 10. |
 Denver |
3 |
The Pioneers won the NCAA title and didn’t get
an invite to the playoffs the following year. Two wins
this weekend and they hand Wisconsin the same fate. |
| 21-13-4 (13-11-4
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Colorado College, 3-0; T at Colorado
College, 5-5 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Wisconsin (best of three) |
| 11. |
 Michigan |
— |
The Wolverines enter their conference quarterfinal series
against Northern Michigan hoping to keep intact its streak
of 17 consecutive appearances in the CCHA semifinals. |
| 23-12-1 (18-9-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan
(best of three) |
| 12. |
 St.
Lawrence |
— |
If the Saints win Friday's game 2-1, beware. They did
that against Colgate in both 2003 and 2004, before losing
the series in three games. |
| 20-12-2 (16-5-1
ECACHL) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Colgate (best of
three) |
| 13. |
 Michigan
State |
2 |
The Spartans and Nebraska-Omaha have met in the CCHA
playoffs on two previous occasions and MSU has yet to
allow the Mavs to score, winning 6-0 in the 2000 league
championship and 5-0 in a Super Six first-round match
in 2005. |
| 19-12-3 (15-10-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Nebraska-Omaha (best
of three) |
| 14. |
 Massachusetts |
6 |
The Minutemen are making a serious case to earn their
first ever spot in the NCAA Tournament. |
| 18-11-5 (15-9-3
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Maine, 3-1; W vs. Maine,
5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Maine (best of three) |
| 15. |
 Dartmouth |
1 |
Dartmouth and Princeton have never played against each
other in a playoff series before. |
| 16-10-3 (12-7-3
ECACHL) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Princeton (best
of three) |
| 16. |
 Maine |
3 |
Dave Wilson certainly wasn't the problem
in Amherst over the weekend, but you can bet the Black
Bears are hoping Ben Bishop recovers for the playoffs. |
| 21-12-2 (14-12-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Massachusetts, 3-1; L at
Massachusetts, 5-3. THIS WEEK: at Massachusetts (best
of three) |
| 17. |
 Nebraska-Omaha
|
NR |
A study in contrasts in East Lansing this weekend: The
Mavericks have the CCHA's second-best scoring offense,
while Michigan State ranks second in the league in scoring
defense. |
| 18-14-8 (13-11-4
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bowling Green, 3-2 ot; W vs. Bowling
Green, 7-5. THIS WEEK: at Michigan State (best of three) |
| 18. |
 RIT |
— |
The Tigers lone win outside of Atlantic Hockey play
came against Quinnipiac on Jan. 4. |
| 21-11-2 (20-7-1
Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 19. |
 Quinnipiac |
NR |
The Bobcats' eight goals over the weekend were scored
by eight different players. |
| 18-13-5 (10-8-4
ECACHL) LAST WEEK: W vs. Union, 3-1; W vs. Union, 5-4
ot. THIS WEEK: at Cornell (best of three) |
| 20. |
 Colorado
College |
NR |
The Tigers finished the season 3-0-1 versus their archrivals
from Denver, and were within five seconds of a 4-0-0 mark. |
| 17-15-4 (13-12-3 WCHA) LAST
WEEK: W at Denver, 3-0; T vs. Denver, 5-5 ot. THIS WEEK:
vs. Michigan Tech (best of three) |