There are weekends when the INCH Power Rankings
are relatively static, with just minor shuffling here and
there. Then there are weekends like the one we just experienced,
when upsets nationwide cause the entire deck to spill on the
floor. Not to worry – we’re here to rebuild that
house of cards, starting with a new team holding the ace.
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. |
 Minnesota |
 1 |
How do you get to the top of the Power Rankings? Simple:
tie on Friday then win big on Saturday, as the Gophers
have done three weekends in a row. |
| 5-0-3 (4-0-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. New Hampshire, 2-2 ot; W vs. New
Hampshire, 6-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech, vs. Michigan
Tech |
| 2. |
 Boston
University |
2 |
After their most recent six-spot, the Terriers now have
scored at least five goals in five of their seven games.
We are pretty certain that UMass and Northeastern coaches will
be watching tape of BU's 2-1 loss at UNH to find some
ways to slow down the Terriers. |
| 6-1-0 (3-1-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at UMass Lowell, 6-4. THIS WEEK:
at Massachusetts, vs. Northeastern |
| 3. |
 Colorado
College |
 2 |
How do the Tigers recover from the first loss of the
season? Four Saturday goals by Eric Walsky on Saturday
helped them quickly forget the Friday night troubles.
Now five consecutive road games loom. |
| 6-1-3 (4-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. North Dakota, 3-1; W vs. North
Dakota, 7-4. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, at Minnesota
State |
| 4. |
 Denver |
2 |
Welcome to the party, rookie. Highly-touted freshman
Joe Colborne's first multi-point night spurs the Pioneers
2-1 win on Saturday, and a sweep of Minnesota Duluth. |
| 6-2-1 (4-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota Duluth, 5-1; W vs. Minnesota
Duluth, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at St. Cloud State, at St. Cloud
State |
| 5. |
 Northeastern |
3 |
Don't blame us for looking ahead. Intriguing in-season
tournament games loom for the Huskies, with a first-round
pairing against Princeton at the Rensselaer tournament
in November and a potential meeting against Minnesota
at the Gophers' event in early January. |
| 6-1-2 (4-1-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bentley, 4-1. THIS WEEK:
at Vermont, at Boston University |
| 6. |
 New
Hampshire |
1 |
UNH's last seven games have been against teams listed
in this week's edition of the INCH Power Rankings —
with four of those on the road — making a 2-2-3
record in that stretch not seem so shabby. |
| 4-2-3 (2-0-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T at Minnesota, 2-2 ot; L at Minnesota,
6-2. THIS WEEK: at UMass Lowell, at Boston College |
| 7. |
 Notre
Dame |
5 |
Fresh off impressive wins at Boston College and Providence,
the Irish embark on a 10-game stretch against CCHA opponents
with a combined record of 11-17-10. |
| 6-3-0 (2-2-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Boston College, 4-1; W at Providence,
4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Lake Superior State, vs. Lake Superior
State |
| 8. |
 Boston
College |
5 |
The Eagles had scored at least three goals in 15 straight
games dating back to last year, making this weekend's
paltry output the exception, not the rule. |
| 5-3-0 (3-2-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Notre Dame, 4-1; L at Maine,
2-1. THIS WEEK: at Merrimack, vs. New Hampshire |
| 9. |
 Princeton |
2 |
The Tigers didn't play an overtime game all of last
season, but it didn't bother sophomore forward Kevin Lohry,
who scored the game-winner against Colgate on Saturday. |
| 2-1-0 (1-1-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Cornell, 1-0; W vs. Colgate,
2-1 ot. THIS WEEK: at Quinnipiac, at RPI, at Union |
| 10. |
 Minnesota
State |
3 |
Opponents should forget the "usual
suspects" and shadow freshman Mike Louwerse, whose
team-leading fifth goal helped the Mavericks bring three
points home from Anchorage. |
| 4-2-2 (2-2-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Alaska Anchorage, 5-3; T at Alaska
Anchorage, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Colorado College, vs.
Colorado College |
| 11. |
 Michigan |
2 |
The Wolverines are 2-3-0 in games started by goalie
Billy Sauer, and 5-0-0 when Bryan Hogan gets the nod between
the pipes. |
| 7-2-0 (4-2-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Alaska, 4-1; W at Alaska, 3-2. THIS
WEEK: vs. Western Michigan, at Western Michigan |
| 12. |
 Air
Force |
2 |
The Falcons were off last weekend, which allows us to
pump the tires of the 8-2 Air Force football team, winners
of five in row after handling Colorado State Saturday. |
| 8-0-0 (6-0-0
Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Holy Cross,
at Holy Cross |
| 13. |
 Cornell
|
2 |
The Big Red set a team goal to be the best defensive
team in the nation. Starting the year with back-to-back
shutouts is a good jump on meeting that goal. |
| 1-0-1 (1-0-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Princeton, 1-0; T at Quinnipiac,
0-0 ot. THIS WEEK: at Colgate, vs. Colgate |
| 14. |
 Vermont |
3 |
Senior captain Dean Strong, he of the 30 career goals,
has yet to light the lamp in eight games for the Catamounts,
but his six assists are helping out the UVM offense. |
| 4-2-2 (1-2-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T at Providence, 2-2 ot; W at
UMass Lowell, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Northeastern, vs. Merrimack |
| 15. |
 Miami |
4 |
Surprised that Ferris State left Oxford with a tie and
win? You shouldn’t be – dating back to the
start of the 2002-03 season, the RedHawks lead this series
by a narrow 8-6-2 margin. |
| 4-3-3 (4-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Ferris State, 2-2 ot; L vs. Ferris
State, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at Michigan State, at Michigan
State |
| 16. |
 Nebraska-Omaha
|
NR |
A hearty INCH Power Rankings welcome to the Mavericks,
who, at 6-1-1 heading into this series with Ferris State,
are off to the best start in program history. |
| 6-1-1 (2-1-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Western Michigan, 2-2 ot; W at Western
Michigan, 5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Ferris State, vs. Ferris
State |
| 17. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
1 |
For a team that was reveling in offense a week ago,
two goals per weekend is not going to produce a northerly
move in the WCHA standings. With five straight home games
on tap, now is the time to show us something. |
| 4-3-2 (1-3-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Denver, 5-1; L at Denver, 2-1. THIS
WEEK: vs. Wisconsin, vs. Wisconsin |
| 18. |
 Michigan
State |
8 |
The Spartans are ranked eighth nationally in scoring
defense, allowing 1.80 goals per game. Unfortunately,
MSU ranks 56th in country in scoring offense with 1.60
goals per game. |
| 4-4-2 (2-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Ohio State, 3-0; L at Ohio State,
3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Miami, vs. Miami |
| 19. |
 St.
Lawrence |
NR |
The Saints led 1-0 and 2-1 in both of this weekend's
games. Brandon Bollig's OT winner on Friday night gave
the Saints a winning start in conference play. |
| 4-2-1 (1-0-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Yale, 3-2 ot; T vs. Brown,
2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Dartmouth, at Harvard |
| 20. |
 Massachusetts |
2 |
The Minutemen's success is special. They are the seventh-least
penalized team in the nation with just 12.6 penalty minutes
per game, and rank sixth nationally in power-play conversion
at 21.6 percent. |
| 4-2-1 (2-1-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Merrimack, 3-1. THIS WEEK:
vs. Boston University, vs. UMass Lowell |