The final edition of the INCH Power Rankings
salutes the 20 best teams through the course of the season,
headlined by national champions Boston College. We take a
positive look at the country's elite teams with their overall
and conference finishes, and a note on what went right for
each team this season.
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 |
|
What
Went Right |
| 1. |
 Boston
College |
 2 |
Following the lead of superstar forward Nathan Gerbe
and a reliable supporting cast, Boston College shook off
a regular season that peaked and valleyed to play its
best hockey over a three-week stretch and won the school's
third National Championship. |
| (25-11-8, NCAA
Champions; 11-9-7 Hockey East, Fourth) |
| 2. |
 Michigan |
 1 |
Other than a bad first period from goalie Billy Sauer
in last week's Frozen Four semifinal, everything. Not
bad for a team that, on paper, appeared to be a year away
from contending for a national title when the season started. |
| (33-6-4, Frozen
Four; 20-4-4 CCHA, First) |
| 3. |
 Notre
Dame |
3 |
A team that most people left for dead in early March
battled its way to within one win of a national championship.
The experienced gained by this season's run, plus the
return of a healthy Erik Condra, bodes well for the Irish. |
| (27-16-4, Frozen
Four; 15-9-4 CCHA, Fourth) |
| 4. |
 North
Dakota |
2 |
The Sioux advanced to the Frozen Four for the fourth
consecutive season and found a couple future stars in
forward Chris VandeVelde and defenseman Chay Genoway. |
| (28-11-4, Frozen
Four; 18-7-3 WCHA, Second) |
| 5. |
 Miami |
1 |
Carter Camper provided a glimpse of the future by scoring
41 points in 33 games as a freshman, part of the RedHawks'
impressive offensive depth – nine skaters recorded
more than 29 points. |
| (33-8-1, NCAA
Tournament; 21-6-1 CCHA, Second) |
| 6. |
 Colorado
College |
1 |
The Tigers have a few holes to fill next season. Goaltender
is not one of them, as freshman Richard Bachman exceeded
all expectations, coming out of nowhere to backstop the
team to a WCHA regular-season title. |
| (28-12-1, NCAA
Tournament; 21-6-1 WCHA, First) |
| 7. |
 Michigan
State |
— |
The team's core of juniors – forwards Justin Abdelkader,
Tim Crowder, and Tim Kennedy and goalie Jeff Lerg –
kept the Spartans from experiencing a post-championship
letdown. |
| (25-12-5, NCAA
Tournament; 19-6-3 CCHA, Third) |
| 8. |
 New
Hampshire |
— |
The Wildcats lost just five games in Hockey East this
season and were led by Hobey Baker finalist Kevin Regan,
who posted a 2.21 goals-against average and .930 save
percentage. Fellow seniors Matt Fornataro and Mike Radja
led the team in scoring. |
| (25-10-3, NCAA
Tournament; 19-5-3 Hockey East, First) |
| 9. |
 Denver |
— |
Coach George Gwozdecky's club bounced back from a bout
of mid-season turmoil and injuries to claim the WCHA playoff
title. Forwards Tyler Bozak, Rhett Rakhshani, Kyle Ostrow,
and Tyler Ruegsegger form a strong nucleus up front. |
| (26-14-1, NCAA
Tournament; 16-11-1 WCHA, Third) |
| 10. |
 Clarkson |
— |
The Golden Knights won the ECAC Hockey
regular season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for
the second straight year. They won their first-round game
against St. Cloud State before losing to top-seeded Michigan. |
| (22-13-4, NCAA
Tournament; 15-4-3 ECAC Hockey, First) |
| 11. |
 Princeton |
— |
Princeton improved its record for the fifth year in
a row. The ECAC Hockey playoff champions made their second
appearance in the NCAA Tournament and had their first
Hobey Baker finalist in junior forward Lee Jubinville. |
| (21-14-0, NCAA
Tournament; 14-8-0 ECAC Hockey, Second) |
| 12. |
 Minnesota
State |
— |
Junior Mike Zacharias seized the reins as the Mavs'
top goaltender, shaving nearly a full goal off his GAA
from his sophomore season and boosting his save percentage
from .892 to .924. |
| (19-16-4; 12-12-4
WCHA, t-Fourth) |
| 13. |
 St.
Cloud State |
— |
The emergence of freshman Garrett Roe allowed coach
Bob Motzko to cobble together two potent forward units
to keep opponents from focusing on sophomores Ryan Lasch
and Andreas Nodl. |
| (19-16-5, NCAA
Tournament; 12-12-4 WCHA, t-Fourth) |
| 14. |
 Minnesota |
— |
A season that appeared to be in ruins was salvaged by
the scintillating goaltending of freshman Alex Kangas,
who nearly led the Golden Gophers to the Broadmoor Trophy. |
| (19-17-9, NCAA
Tournament; 9-12-7 WCHA, Seventh) |
| 15. |
 Wisconsin |
— |
A pair of sophomores – forward Blake Geoffrion
and defenseman Jamie McBain – showed marked improvement
in their second seasons. |
| (16-17-7, NCAA
Tournament; 11-12-5 WCHA, Sixth) |
| 16. |
 Air
Force |
— |
Despite losing star forward Eric Ehn to injury for the
latter part of the season, the Falcons went 8-1-1 in their
last 10 games and ranked eighth nationally in scoring
offense. |
| (21-12-6, NCAA
Tournament; 14-9-5 Atlantic Hockey, Third) |
| 17. |
 Harvard |
— |
The Crimson broke out of a mid-season funk to finish
third in ECAC Hockey and played in the league's title
game. Harvard also won its first Beanpot semifinal game
in 10 years and took eventual champion Boston College
to overtime in the Beanpot final. |
| (17-13-4; 12-7-3
ECAC Hockey, Third) |
| 18. |
 Niagara |
— |
The Purps returned to the NCAA tournament after a four-year
absence. With 11 of its top 13 scorers and goaltender
Juliano Pagliero expected back next season, they'll be
the favorites to repeat in College Hockey America next
season. |
| (22-11-4, NCAA
Tournament; 12-6-2 CHA, Second) |
| 19. |
 Boston
University |
— |
BU went 12-4-0 down the stretch to finish second in
Hockey East and advanced to the league's championship
game. They missed out on the NCAAs, but showed that this
sleeping giant is heading back in the right direction. |
| (19-17-4; 15-9-3 Hockey East,
Second) |
| 20. |
 Cornell |
— |
A three-game losing streak in early February was the
only real blip on the Big Red's schedule and the future
is promising as the team's top two scorers were sophomore
Colin Greening and freshman Riley Nash. |
| (19-14-3; 12-9-1 ECAC Hockey,
t-Fourth) |