November 23, 2008
INCH Power Rankings

Forget the Macy's parade, Black Friday sales and premature Christmas carols. There will be far too much on the line in college pucks this weekend, which sets up, as Jay-Z might say, as a perfect time for teams to "show me what you got." Unbeaten Air Force faces two powerhouses in state, Northeastern and Princeton meet in Troy, N.Y., Cornell visits the Ralph and the always entertaining College Hockey Showcase drops the puck on a weekend that will lend a lot more clarity to the INCH Power Rankings — we hope.

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	—	The Gophs dropped their first game of the season this past weekend, but don't expect a losing streak. Minnesota is 7-1-2 in its last 10 College Hockey Showcase matches.
7-1-4 (6-1-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Denver, 5-2; L at Denver, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan, vs. Michigan State (College Hockey Showcase)
2.	Notre Dame	2	The last time the Irish hung nine goals on an opponent? Why, it was Nov. 10, 2005, when Notre Dame beat Bowling Green by a 9-4 count at the Joyce Center.
9-3-1 (5-2-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bowling Green, 5-1; W vs. Bowling Green, 9-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Western Michigan, vs. Western Michigan
3.	Northeastern	2	Northeastern plays its first of two holiday tournaments this weekend; after New Year's Day they will take part in the Dodge Holiday Classic in Minnesota. All the better to prepare for that troublesome tourney that kicks off on Groundhog Day.
9-2-2 (7-2-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. New Hampshire, 3-2; W at UMass Lowell, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Princeton, vs. Mercyhurst/Rensselaer (RPI Holiday Tournament)
4.	Colorado College	1	Since making 84 saves in a win and tie vs. Denver earlier this month, goalie Richard Bachman has allowed 3+ goals in four of his last five starts.
8-3-3 (6-3-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Alaska Anchorage, 4-2; W at Alaska Anchorage, 4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: at Air Force, vs. Colgate
5.	Princeton	2	A telling game lies just after turkey day: Princeton meets Northeastern on Friday, just its second opponent among teams in these rankings. The Tigers lost the first to Cornell, 1-0.
7-1-0 (6-1-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at St. Lawrence, 2-1; W at Clarkson, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Quinnipiac, vs. Northeastern, vs. Mercyhurst/Rensselaer (RPI Holiday Tournament)
6.	Boston University	4	The Terrier offense, which had produced 20 goals during a three game winning streak, has combined for 10 in the four games since (1-3-0).
7-4-0 (4-4-0 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Vermont, 4-3; L vs. Vermont, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Holy Cross, vs. St. Lawrence
7.	Boston College	1	You can bet Benn Ferriero was well rested when he scored his second goal of the season Saturday night. It came just 38 seconds after he and seven other players — four per side — served 10-minute misconducts.
7-4-1 (5-3-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Massachusetts, 2-0; L at Massachusetts, 4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Harvard, at Dartmouth
8.	Denver	—	One night after getting yanked in a loss to Minnesota, goalie Marc Cheverie stopped all 34 shots he faced, blanking the Gophers for his first career shutout.
7-5-1 (5-4-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota, 5-2; W vs. Minnesota, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Colgate, vs. Air Force
9.	Minnesota State	—	The sample size is rather small, still, the Mavs head into this weekend's series at Bowling Green with a 3-0-2 road record.
7-3-2 (5-3-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Michigan Tech, 3-2 ot; W at Michigan Tech, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green, at Bowling Green
10.	Air Force	1	We're going to get a bit ahead of ourselves as we glance at the dominant Falcons, who have outscored opponents 62-15. If they could manage two wins this weekend, it's not too early to think about a perfect regular season.
12-0-0 (10-0-0 Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Sacred Heart, 8-1; W vs. Sacred Heart, 7-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Colorado College, at Denver
11.	Cornell	1	Name another team that could be undefeated while averaging two goals per game. Outside of soccer.
4-0-2 (4-0-2 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Harvard, 2-1; W vs. Dartmouth, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at North Dakota, at North Dakota
12.	Miami	1	The RedHawks allowed a total of 13 goals in their first four games this season; they've given up 11 goals in their last 10 contests.
8-3-3 (8-2-2 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan, 2-0; W vs. Michigan, 2-1. THIS WEEK: Off
13.	Vermont	2	Boston University doesn't host too many two-game weekend series, but Vermont can proudly lay claim to be the first team to sweep one since 1992.
7-3-2 (4-3-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Boston University, 4-3; W at Boston University, 4-3. THIS WEEK: at Massachusetts, vs. Maine
14.	Nebraska-Omaha	3	'Bout time we pump the tires of the goalie tandem of Jerad Kaufmann and Jeremie Dupont, who have combined for a .930 save pct. and a 1.81 GAA. Yet neither can spell their first names right.
9-2-1 (5-2-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan State, 7-1; W vs. Michigan State, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at Ohio State, at Ohio State
15.	New Hampshire	5	Getting home, where they are 5-0-1, was a tonic for the Wildcats, but it wasn't pretty. Providence fired 18 shots on goal in the third period and another that hit the crossbar.
5-5-3 (3-3-2 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Northeastern, 3-2; W vs. Providence, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Merrimack
16.	Michigan	2	In a week in which the hockey team played a ranked opponent in a key CCHA series and the football team took on arch-nemesis Ohio State, the Wolverines' athletic highlight was the basketball team beating UCLA. Yeah, that just happened.
8-6-0 (5-5-0 CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Miami, 2-0; L at Miami, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota, at Wisconsin (College Hockey Showcase)
17.	Dartmouth	1	PA announcers breathe a sigh of relief when the Big Green's top two scorers — Adam Estoclet and Joe Stejskal — are held off the board, as they were Saturday. Doug Jones scored that goal — phew.
5-3-0 (5-2-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Colgate, 1-0; L at Cornell, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at Providence, vs. Boston College
18.	St. Cloud State	—	Strange: Defenseman Garrett Raboin was on the ice for all six of the Huskies' goals against Wisconsin Friday. Stranger: SCSU was 0-for-6 on the power play, so Raboin's plus-minus was a gaudy +6.
8-5-0 (3-4-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Wisconsin, 6-2; L vs. Wisconsin, 1-0. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota Duluth
19.	UMass Lowell	—	In Hockey East, the River Hawks rank third in offense, fourth in defense, fourth on the power play and fourth on the penalty kill. Could add up to that trip to the Garden they are aiming for.
6-5-0 (4-3-0 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Providence, 6-1; L vs. Northeastern, 4-3. THIS WEEK: at Merrimack, vs. RIT
20.	Massachusetts	—	Hockey's easy: score goals. The Minutemen are 6-0-0 when they score more than one.
6-4-1 (4-3-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Boston College, 2-0; W vs. Boston College, 4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Vermont, vs. St. Lawrence

Dropped out: None

Bubble-licious: Alaska Anchorage, Alaska, Maine, Harvard