Half of the teams in the INCH Power Rankings
maintained their ranking spot from our last publishing in
mid-December, but that's not to say it was an uneventful weekend
of holiday tournament action. Hockey East clubs made the strongest
statements with tournament wins at Tampa (UMass), Wisconsin
(Northeastern), Florida (UMass Lowell), and Minneapolis (Boston
College). UNH also earned a split at North Dakota, and Minnesota
fell out of the INCH Power Rankings for the first time since
Nov. 23, 2003.
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. |
 Michigan |
— |
The weekend totals for Great Lakes Invitational MVP
Billy Sauer: two shutout wins (one in double overtime)
and 87 saves in 142:28 of work. Yeah, that Billy
Sauer. |
| 18-2-0 (11-1-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Providence, 6-0; W vs. Michigan
Tech, 1-0 2ot. THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 2. |
 Denver |
— |
Minus Rhett Rakhshani and Tyler Ruegsegger, forward
Brock Trotter played like Bryan Trottier, scoring 2-4—6
in leading the Pioneers to the Denver Cup crown. |
| 16-4-0 (11-3-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Sacred Heart, 5-0; W vs. Dartmouth,
5-3. THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 3. |
 Miami |
— |
How many ways can the RedHawks beat you? Sophomore forward
Jarod Palmer — the team’s eighth-leading scorer
— notches an OT goal in Miami’s win over St.
Cloud State, then gets a shorthanded marker in a victory
over Ohio State to take the Ohio Hockey Classic |
| 18-2-0 (10-2-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Cloud State, 2-1 ot; W vs.
Ohio State, 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green, at Bowling
Green. |
| 4. |
 Massachusetts |
 6 |
A sure sign that things are different these days in
Amherst: Sunday's win gave the Minutemen their first tournament
title in team history. |
| 9-3-5 (4-2-4 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Notre Dame, 4-3; W vs. Colorado
College, 5-4 ot. THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 5. |
 Notre
Dame |
— |
We’re not certain, but we feel fairly safe in
saying the Fighting Irish are the first team in history
of organized sports to follow a trip to Tampa with two
games in Marquette, Mich., the following weekend. |
| 17-5-0 (10-2-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Massachusetts, 4-3; W vs. Renssealer,
3-1. THIS WEEK: at Northern Michigan, at Northern Michigan. |
| 6. |
 Colorado
College |
— |
Just two more games remaining in the Tigers’ marathon,
nine-game stretch away from the Springs, and then they
get eight of their next 10 at World Arena. |
| 12-6-0 (11-3-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Rensselaer, 3-2; L vs. Massachusetts,
5-4 ot. THIS WEEK: at Wisconsin, at Wisconsin. |
| 7. |
 New
Hampshire |
— |
Four of Mike Radja's five points Saturday night came
in the decisive third period. |
| 10-5-1 (6-4-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at North Dakota, 3-1; W at North
Dakota, 7-4. THIS WEEK: at Merrimack, vs. St. Lawrence. |
| 8. |
 North
Dakota |
— |
Jean-Philippe Lamoureux, who gave up three goals the
entire month of October, allowed that many goals during
a four-minute stretch of the third period in a 7-4 loss
to visiting New Hampshire Saturday. |
| 9-7-1 (6-6-0 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: W vs. New Hampshire, 3-1; L vs. New Hampshire,
7-4. THIS WEEK: at St. Cloud State, at St. Cloud State. |
| 9. |
 Northeastern |
2 |
You've got to think the Huskies will be able to draw
upon a pair of one-goal wins on a big stage when they
look to snap their Beanpot drought in five weeks. |
| 9-4-2 (6-3-1 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bowling Green, 4-3; W vs. Colgate,
2-1. THIS WEEK: at Maine. |
| 10. |
 Boston
College |
2 |
The once-floundering Eagles have won five
in a row, averaging more than six goals per game in the
process. |
| 8-4-5 (4-3-4 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Air Force, 8-2; W vs. RIT, 6-0.
THIS WEEK: at Clarkson. |
| 11. |
 Michigan
State |
 7 |
Embarrassed by his team’s lack of effort in Saturday’s
loss to Providence in the GLI third-place game, coach
Rick Comley ordered his team to a Sunday morning skate.
If he really wanted to punish ’em, he’d make
’em skate at, say, 7 a.m. Jan. 1. |
| 12-5-2 (8-2-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Michigan Tech, 4-1; L vs. Providence,
5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Lake Superior State, vs. Lake Superior
State. |
| 12. |
 Clarkson |
3 |
Four players missed the loss to Maine due to disciplinary
action, but returned to the lineup on Saturday. Another
injury struck the Golden Knights, as backup goalie Tim
Potter had to leave the Cornell game in the third period.
|
| 10-6-1 (6-2-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Maine, 5-3; T vs. Cornell,
3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston College. |
| 13. |
 UMass
Lowell |
NR |
Winners of seven of their last eight, the River Hawks
are now home for 11 of their next 14 games. |
| 9-4-4 (4-4-4 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Cornell, 3-2; W vs. Maine, 6-0.
THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 14. |
 Quinnipiac |
2 |
Quinnipiac goalie Bud Fisher returned to the impressive
form he showed in his first two seasons. He stopped 34
of the 36 shots he faced, allowed just one goal each night,
and was named as the Most Valuable Player at the Catamount
Cup. |
| 10-5-2 (3-3-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 2-1; W
at Vermont, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Harvard, vs. Dartmouth. |
| 15. |
 Wisconsin |
— |
The lack of goals wasn't all that was wrong with Friday's
eight-round Colgate-Wisconsin shootout. The teams also
didn't follow the NCAA's approved protocol that calls
for repeating the first five shooters if it's still tied. |
| 8-7-3 (4-5-1 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: T vs. Colgate, 2-2 ot; W vs. Bowling Green,
5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Colorado College, vs. Colorado College. |
| 16. |
 Minnesota
State |
NR |
Jason Wiley likes the Ivy League. He had two goals in
37 career games before producing a pair of two-goal efforts
at Princeton and Yale. |
| 9-7-3 (3-6-3 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: W vs. Princeton, 6-1; W vs. Yale, 4-1. THIS
WEEK: Off. |
| 17. |
 Rensselaer |
— |
Eight of Rensselaer's nine losses this season have come
against teams also listed in these Power Rankings. The
other was at Minnesota. |
| 8-9-3 (3-2-2 ECAC
Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Colorado College, 3-2; L vs.
Notre Dame, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Maine (at Portland). |
| 18. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
— |
The Bulldogs and Bemidji State will both be looking
to get above .500 as they take the three-hour trip past
Ball Club and Blackberry, Minn., for a home-and-home series
this weekend. |
| 6-6-4 (5-6-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK:
Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Bemidji State, at Bemidji State. |
| 19. |
 St.
Cloud State |
NR |
The Huskies have scored one or two goals in eight of
their nine losses, and seven of the nine have been by
one goal. |
| 9-9-2 (4-7-1 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: L vs. Miami, 2-1 ot; W vs. Harvard, 4-1. THIS
WEEK: vs. North Dakota, vs. North Dakota. |
| 20. |
 Harvard |
6 |
The Crimson have scored two goals or less in their last
six games, and are 1-4-1 in that stretch. |
| 6-6-2 (5-3-1 ECAC Hockey) LAST
WEEK: L at Ohio State, 4-2; L vs. St. Cloud State, 4-1.
THIS WEEK: at Quinnipiac, at Princeton. |