Remember all the heat we generated about a month
ago when we declared that the balance of power may be shifiting
in college hockey? We don't relish another flood of e-mails
from angry WCHA fans (oxymoron?), so we'll just state the
facts — the top three teams in this week's rankings
and four of the top six belong to the CCHA. And a quick scan
of their schedules indicates that none of the wins came against
pee-wee teams, intramural squads, or this "Little Sisters
of the Poor" outfit our e-mailers continually reference.
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. |
 Miami |
— |
The RedHawks football team gave up 21 fourth-quarter
points in its loss to Central Michigan in Saturday's MAC
championship game. Miami's hockey team has allowed 19
goals in 14 games this season. |
| 13-1-0 (9-1-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska, vs. Alaska. |
| 2. |
 Michigan |
— |
The Wolverines' 12-game unbeaten streak was snapped
by Ohio State, the hoops team lost to Tommy Amaker's Harvard
squad, and Les Miles says he's staying at LSU, where the
Tigers will face the Buckeyes for football's national
titles. Otherwise, it was an uneventful weekend for Michigan
athletics. |
| 14-2-0 (9-1-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Ohio State, 3-2; W vs. Ohio State,
4-2. THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green, vs. Bowling Green. |
| 3. |
 Michigan
State |
 1 |
Speaking of football, maybe MSU coach Mark Dantonio
should ask Rick Comley for the blueprint for beating Boston
College — the Spartans will face the Eagles in the
Champs Sports Bowl in Orlando later this month. |
| 10-3-2 (6-2-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Lake Superior State, 3-2; W at Lake
Superior State, 5-2. THIS WEEK: at Ferris State, vs. Ferris
State. |
| 4. |
 Colorado
College |
1 |
Forward Chad Rau had an assist in each of the Tigers'
wins at Alaska Anchorage this past weekend, extending
his point streak to eight games in the process. |
| 10-4-0 (10-2-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Alaska Anchorage, 1-0; W at Alaska
Anchorage, 4-1. THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 5. |
 Denver |
 2 |
With both of the Pioneers' tallies in his team's split
with North Dakota, forward Tyler Bozak now has eight goals
this season, second among the nation's freshmen to Garrett
Roe of St. Cloud State, DU's opponent this weekend. |
| 10-4-0 (7-3-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. North Dakota, 1-0; L vs. North
Dakota, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at St. Cloud State, at St. Cloud
State. |
| 6. |
 Notre
Dame |
1 |
With their sweep of Nebraska-Omaha at the Joyce Center
last weekend, the Irish's home record against CCHA foes
since the start of the 2006-07 season improved to 16-1-2. |
| 14-4-0 (10-2-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 5-4; W vs. Nebraska-Omaha,
5-0. THIS WEEK: at Princeton, at Princeton. |
| 7. |
 New
Hampshire |
1 |
UNH has outscored its opponents 19-10 in the third period
this year and the Wildcats are 3-0-1 when tied after two
periods. |
| 8-3-1 (5-3-1 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: W vs. UMass Lowell, 3-2; L at UMass Lowell,
3-2. THIS WEEK: at Massachusetts. |
| 8. |
 North
Dakota |
1 |
In the games North Dakota has played to kick off the
months of October, November, and December, forward Ryan
Duncan has totalled 5-3—8. Don't say we didn't warn
you, St. Cloud State (January), Minnesota (February),
and Minnesota Duluth (March). |
| 7-5-1 (5-5-0 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: L at Denver, 1-0; W at Denver, 3-1. THIS WEEK:
vs. Minnesota, vs. Minnesota. |
| 9. |
 Clarkson |
1 |
Two of Clarkson's five losses on the season have come
at Appleton Arena, home of their archrival St. Lawrence
Saints. |
| 10-5-0 (6-2-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L at St. Lawrence, 4-2. THIS WEEK:
Off. |
| 10. |
 Northeastern |
1 |
Northestern's win over Brown was the Huskies'
second game in a row that they fell behind 2-0 before
rallying for a 4-3 win. |
| 7-4-1 (6-3-1 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Brown, 4-3. THIS WEEK: at Union. |
| 11. |
 Wisconsin |
3 |
Credit where it's due: We've been quick to call the
Badgers offensively challenged in the past, but Bucky
and St. Cloud State share the WCHA lead in scoring offense,
averaging 3.57 goals per game. Now, about that league-worst
scoring defense ... |
| 7-6-1 (4-4-0 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Cloud State, 3-2; W vs. St. Cloud
State, 4-3. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, at Minnesota
State. |
| 12. |
 Massachusetts |
1 |
The Minutemen outshot Cornell 45-24 but only came away
with a 0-0 tie at Lynah Rink on Friday. |
| 6-3-5 (3-2-4 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: T at Cornell, 0-0 ot; W vs. U.S. NTDP,
5-2 (exhibition). THIS WEEK: vs. New Hampshire. |
| 13. |
 Harvard |
4 |
The Crimson haven't scored many goals, but with the
nation's top overall defense (allowing just 1.11 goals
per game), it doesn't matter. |
| 6-2-1 (5-2-1 ECAC
Hockey) LAST WEEK: T at Yale, 3-3 ot; W vs. Dartmouth,
1-0. THIS WEEK: at Rensselaer, at Vermont. |
| 14. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
4 |
The Bulldogs, whose series with Alaska Anchorage starts
a stretch in which they play seven of their next at the
DECC, are 3-0-1 at home this season. Since Jan. 1, UMD
is 9-2-2 in Duluth. |
| 6-5-3 (5-5-2 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: T at Minnesota State, 2-2 ot; L at Minnesota
State, 2-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska
Anchorage. |
| 15. |
 St.
Cloud State |
3 |
The Huskies have lost five games this season, four of
them by one goal. In the fifth, Minnesota Duluth scored
a empty-net goal with 17 seconds left in the third period
en route to a 4-2 win. |
| 7-5-2 (3-4-1 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: L at Wisconsin, 3-2; L at Wisconsin, 4-3. THIS
WEEK: vs. Denver, vs. Denver. |
| 16. |
 Minnesota |
1 |
Three is a magic number: When the Gophers score
three or more goals this season, they're 7-0-1. On the
flip side, they're 1-7-0 when recording two or fewer goals. |
| 8-7-1 (4-6-0 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: L vs. Michigan Tech, 3-2 ot; W vs. Michigan
Tech, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at North Dakota, at North Dakota. |
| 17. |
 Boston
College |
1 |
Hat-Trickers: Nathan Gerbe (Friday) and Ben Smith (Saturday)
each scored three goals in wins over rival Boston University
on the weekend. |
| 5-4-5 (4-3-4 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Boston University, 6-2; W at Boston
University, 4-3. THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 18. |
 Bowling
Green |
2 |
The Falcons, who scored on six of their 12 power-play
chances against Wayne State last weekend, boast the country's
second-best power-play unit with a 27.8 percent success
rate. |
| 8-4-0 (5-3-0 CCHA) LAST WEEK:
W at Wayne State, 3-1; W vs. Wayne State, 6-1. THIS WEEK:
vs. Michigan, at Michigan. |
| 19. |
 Rensselaer |
3 |
The Engineers host Harvard in a nice mid-week matchup
between two of the pleasant surprises in ECAC Hockey.
Harvard blanked RPI 3-0 at Bright earlier this year. |
| 7-5-3 (2-2-2 ECAC
Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Princeton, 4-3; L at Quinnipiac,
3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Harvard. |
| 20. |
 Air
Force |
NR |
Forward Eric Ehn, last season's Hobey Baker finalist,
scored one goal and five points in the Falcons' first
seven games this season. He's got five goals and 14 points
in Air Force's last seven outings. |
| 9-4-1 (7-4-1 Atlantic Hockey)
LAST WEEK: W at American International, 6-3; W at American
International, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Bentley, vs. Bentley. |