It's never easy getting back-to-back wins on
a college hockey weekend, but don't tell that to the teams
in the INCH Power Rankings. Nine of the 20 pulled off the
feat this weekend, moving up or moving into this week's list.
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 Wolverines, who earlier this season won 12 in a
row, extended their current win streak to seven by sweeping
Western Michigan. |
| 20-2-0 (13-1-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 6-1; W at Western
Michigan, 5-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Notre Dame, vs. Notre Dame
(Auburn Hills, Mich.) |
| 2. |
 Miami |
 1 |
Forwards Ryan Jones (19 goals), Justin Mercier (17),
and Tommy Wingels (12) have combined for more goals than
14 Division I teams. |
| 21-3-0 (13-3-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Nebraska-Omaha, 6-3; W at Nebraska-Omaha,
4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Lake Superior State, vs. Lake Superior
State. |
| 3. |
 Colorado
College |
1 |
The Tigers have outscored visitors to World Arena by
a 3-to-1 margin through nine home games this season. With
that ratio, it's no surprise CC is 9-0 in Colorado Springs. |
| 16-6-0 (15-3-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Alaska Anchorage, 6-1; W at Alaska
Anchorage, 5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Bemidji State, vs. Air
Force. |
| 4. |
 Denver |
 2 |
At least the Pioneers have the good fortune to really
stink it up all at once and get it out of their system.
Saturday's loss to Wisconsin was DU's fifth this season;
they've been outscored 23-7 in those defeats. |
| 17-5-0 (12-4-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Wisconsin, 3-2; L vs. Wisconsin,
7-2. THIS WEEK: at Air Force, vs. Bemidji State. |
| 5. |
 New
Hampshire |
3 |
UNH goalie Kevin Regan had 32 and 37 saves in weekend
wins over UMass, and moved into a tie atop the Wildcats'
career wins list with Michael Ayers (58). |
| 13-6-1 (9-4-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Massachusetts, 3-2; W vs.
Massachusetts, 5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Dartmouth (Manchester,
N.H.) |
| 6. |
 Notre
Dame |
— |
The Fighting Irish thoroughly outplayed Michigan State
at the Joyce Center Sunday in the finale of the teams'
home-and-home series, but ND needed a goal from forward
Ryan Thang with 38 seconds left in regulation to salvage
a point. |
| 18-7-1 (11-4-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Michigan State, 3-1; T vs. Michigan
State, 1-1ot. THIS WEEK: at Michigan, vs. Michigan (Auburn
Hills, Mich.) |
| 7. |
 Michigan
State |
3 |
The Spartans' win against Notre Dame in East Lansing
Friday — the deciding goal was accidentally poked
across the line by Irish goalie Jordan Pearce with less
than two minutes remaining in regulation — was MSU's
first against a ranked opponent this season. |
| 14-5-4 (10-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Notre Dame, 3-1; T at Notre Dame,
1-1ot. THIS WEEK: at Ohio State, at Ohio State. |
| 8. |
 North
Dakota |
1 |
Do I make you Chorney, baby? Defenseman Taylor Chorney
scored two goals and added two assists in the Fighting
Sioux's weekend sweep of visiting Michigan Tech. |
| 12-8-1 (9-7-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan Tech, 4-1; W vs. Michigan
Tech, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, at Minnesota
State. |
| 9. |
 Boston
College |
3 |
Nathan Gerbe continued his strong Hobey run with five
more points in a weekend sweep of Vermont. |
| 10-5-5 (6-3-4
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Vermont, 4-1; W vs. Vermont,
5-2. THIS WEEK: at UMass Lowell, vs. Boston University. |
| 10. |
 Massachusetts |
5 |
The Minutemen started the third period
of Friday's game with a 2-1 lead and a 5-on-3 power play
for a full 2:00. They didn't score on the 5-on-3, and
UNH scored a pair of goals later in the third to steal
a win at the Mullins Center. |
| 9-5-5 (4-4-4 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: L vs. New Hampshire, 3-2; L at New Hampshire,
5-3. THIS WEEK: at Providence, at UMass Lowell. |
| 11. |
 Northeastern |
4 |
The Most Dangerous Lead In Hockey, Part One: Northeastern
went up 2-0 on Merrimack, but the Warriors rallied for
the last four goals of the game on Friday. It snapped
an 11-game unbeaten streak for Northeastern, the second-longest
streak in team history. |
| 11-5-2 (8-4-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Merrimack, 4-2; W vs. Merrimack,
3-0. THIS WEEK: at Vermont, at Vermont. |
| 12. |
 Quinnipiac |
1 |
If loving you is Wong, I don't want to be right: Brandon
Wong had five points in a weekend sweep of Brown and Yale
that saw the Bobcats take over sole possession of second
place. |
| 13-5-3 (6-3-3
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Brown, 6-3; W at Yale, 3-0.
THIS WEEK: at Holy Cross. |
| 13. |
 St.
Cloud State |
3 |
With a win and tie against Minnesota this past weekend,
the Huskies extended their unbeaten streak against the
Gophers to seven (4-0-3). SCSU's last loss in the series
was Oct. 29, 2005, when Phil Kessel scored the game-winner
in a 3-1 triumph. |
| 11-10-3 (6-8-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Minnesota, 3-1; T vs. Minnesota,
4-4ot. THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 14. |
 Clarkson |
3 |
Steve Zalewski recorded a hat trick in the win at Harvard,
including the game-winner with 3:16 remaining and an empty-netter
to seal the victory. |
| 12-7-1 (7-3-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L at Dartmouth, 3-1; W at Harvard,
4-2. THIS WEEK: at Colgate, at Cornell. |
| 15. |
 UMass
Lowell |
1 |
Six of the last seven meetings between UMass Lowell
and Providence have gone to overtime; and in those six
games each team has two wins, two losses, and two ties. |
| 10-5-4 (5-5-4
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Providence, 4-3ot; W vs.
Providence, 3-2ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston College, vs.
Massachusetts. |
| 16. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
2 |
The Most Dangerous Lead In Hockey, Part Two: The Bulldogs
erased a 2-0 Minnesota State lead Friday en route to a
4-3 overtime win, but squandered a two-goal edge to the
Mavs Saturday and had to settle for a 2-2 draw. |
| 8-7-5 (6-6-4 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota State, 4-3ot; T vs. Minnesota
State, 2-2ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota, vs. Minnesota. |
| 17. |
 Princeton |
NR |
The Tigers have rebounded from a 2-8-0 stretch to win
five in a row and move into first place in ECAC Hockey.
They'll carry that win streak into a two-week academic
break, as they don't play again until Jan. 29. |
| 10-8-0 (8-4-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Yale, 4-3; W at Brown, 6-2.
THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 18. |
 Bemidji
State |
NR |
The CHA-leading Beavers, who've already played St. Cloud
State, Minnesota State, and Minnesota Duluth this season,
travel to Colorado College and Denver this weekend for
non-conference games. BSU also has a series at North Dakota
next month. |
| 11-9-2 (8-2-2 CHA) LAST WEEK:
W at Alabama-Huntsville, 4-0; W at Alabama-Huntsville,
7-1. THIS WEEK: at Colorado College, at Denver. |
| 19. |
 Air
Force |
NR |
Falcons defenseman Greg Flynn did something this season
that his brother, Ryan (a forward at Minnesota) didn't
— beat RIT. Greg Flynn had five assists in his team's
split with the Tigers this past weekend. |
| 11-7-4 (9-6-3
Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. RIT, 5-2; L vs. RIT,
4-3ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Denver, at Colorado College. |
| 20. |
 Cornell
|
3 |
The Big Red recorded just 13 shots on goal at Rensselaer
and Friday and managed to win. They improved the shot
total to 18 against Union, but lost. |
| 7-6-2 (5-3-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST
WEEK: W at Rensselaer, 2-1; L at Union, 2-1. THIS WEEK:
vs. St. Lawrence, vs. Clarkson. |