The top three teams in the INCH Power Rankings
all won weekend tournaments despite missing some top players
at the World Junior Championships. Can it really be that when
they return to the lineup this week Notre Dame, Boston University
and Minnesota will be even better?
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. |
 Notre
Dame |
— |
Since being swept out of the first round of the 2006
CCHA playoffs by Alaska, the Fighting Irish are 7-0-1
against the Nanooks and have outscored them by a 26-9
margin. |
| 16-3-2 (10-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Union, 3-1; W vs. Minnesota Duluth,
3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska, vs. Alaska |
| 2. |
 Boston
University |
 1 |
Lots of people judge a team's worth by how it performs
outside of its league. BU is a perfect 7-0-0 in non-league
games this season including wins over Michigan and Denver.
Its only remaining non-leaguers are in the Beanpot, in
which they have traditionally done quite well. |
| 13-4-1 (6-4-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Rensselaer, 6-2; W at Denver,
4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Maine |
| 3. |
 Minnesota |
2 |
Taking over in Cade Fairchild's absence, freshman defenseman
Aaron Ness had a goal and two assists in the Gophers'
wins against Brown and Northeastern and was named MVP
of the Dodge Holiday Classic. |
| 10-3-5 (7-2-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Brown, 6-2; W vs. Northeastern,
3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at North Dakota, at North Dakota |
| 4. |
 Cornell
|
5 |
This season is shaping up to be one of the best ever
at Cornell, and fans will get to relive
past glories when the team dons sweaters bearing names
of Big Red greats this weeekend against Niagara.
|
| 9-1-3 (6-0-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Massachusetts, 5-2. THIS
WEEK: vs. Niagara, vs. Niagara |
| 5. |
 Denver |
 3 |
One goal on 34 shots in a loss to BU meant the Pioneers
didn't get a fourth consecutive Denver Cup title. And
they hope it's not a preview of life without Tyler Bozak. |
| 13-6-2 (9-4-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Holy Cross, 2-2 ot; L vs. Boston
University, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech, vs. Michigan
Tech |
| 6. |
 Northeastern |
1 |
Consistent teams win the games they are favored in and
take care of home ice. Northeastern's four losses have
all come against ranked opponents — BU, Minnesota,
Princeton and UNH — and none of them have come at
Matthews Arena, where the Huskies are 4-0-1. |
| 12-4-2 (8-2-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 3-1; L
at Minnesota, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Merrimack, at Merrimack |
| 7. |
 Princeton |
1 |
Two of Princeton's three losses this season were shutouts
at home by Cornell and Dartmouth. That's especially surprising
when you see that the Tigers have scored four goals or
more in 11 of their 16 games. |
| 13-3-0 (8-2-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota State, 5-2; W
vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 5-1; W vs. Harvard, 5-1; L vs. Dartmouth,
4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Union, vs. Rensselaer |
| 8. |
 Vermont |
2 |
Freshman goalie Rob Madore made 29 saves in his first
career shutout in his eighth career start in the Catamount
Cup championship game. Vermont is 7-1-0 in its last eight
games. |
| 11-4-2 (6-3-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Colgate, 6-4; W vs. St.
Lawrence, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston College, vs. Boston
College |
| 9. |
 Miami |
5 |
You know it's not your weekend when you outshoot your
opponents by a 100-38 margin, but lose twice. That's what
happened to the RedHawks against Clarkson and Army at
the Ohio Hockey Classic. |
| 12-5-3 (10-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Clarkson, 4-2; L vs. Army, 3-2.
THIS WEEK: at Michigan, at Michigan |
| 10. |
 Boston
College |
2 |
BC's 3-2 win at home against Vermont back
in November was just one of just two times that the Catamounts
have lost a one-goal game — Vermont is 7-2-0 in
the close ones — and the Eagles are 4-0-1 in their
last five games against UVM, this week's opponent. |
| 9-5-2 (5-4-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at New Brunswick, 5-3 (Ex.);
W at New Brunswick, 4-2 (Ex.). THIS WEEK: at Vermont,
at Vermont |
| 11. |
 Michigan |
1 |
The Wolverines, who scored one goal against Miami in
a RedHawk sweep in November in Oxford, have tallied five
or more goals in five of their last six games heading
into this weekend's rematch at Yost. |
| 13-7-0 (7-5-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Miami, vs. Miami |
| 12. |
 Colorado
College |
2 |
Tiger fans hope that the New Year, and the three weeks
their team has had to rest and refuel, will finally bring
an end to the Friday night funk (2-5-4 in series openers)
that plagued CC in the first half. |
| 11-6-5 (7-5-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota State,
vs. Minnesota State |
| 13. |
 Ohio
State |
2 |
Winners of eight in a row and 11 of 12, the Buckeyes'
next
three series are palatable (at Bowling Green, at Ferris
State, vs. Western Michigan); the last five weeks are
torturous (at Alaska, vs. Notre Dame, at Michigan State,
vs. Michigan, home-and-home with Miami). |
| 13-6-1 (6-5-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Army, 6-1; W vs. Clarkson, 2-0.
THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green, at Bowling Green |
| 14. |
 Dartmouth |
2 |
The week started and ended positively for Dartmouth
- with a tournament title in the Ledyard Bank Classic
and a 4-0 win over Princeton on Sunday evening. The middle
game against Quinnipiac? Not so much. |
| 9-5-0 (6-3-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bemidji State, 4-2; L at
Quinnipiac, 6-0; W at Princeton, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Yale,
vs. Brown |
| 15. |
 Air
Force |
4 |
You can bet that the Falcons won't be spending this
week planning next year's holiday trip to Connecticut
after going 1-2-1 on its trip to the Constitution State.
After starting 13-0-0, Air Force has gone 2-4-1 in its
last seven games. |
| 15-4-1 (12-1-1
Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: T at Connecticut, 2-2 ot;
L vs. Quinnipiac, 4-2; W at Connecticut, 4-3; L at Yale,
3-2. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 16. |
 New
Hampshire |
NR |
Senior co-captain Greg Collins had two goals in Sunday's
comeback win at Maine but his best play might have been
the sneaky takedown of a Maine defenseman late in the
third that drew an interference call, nullified the Maine
power play and turned momentum in UNH's favor. |
| 9-6-3 (6-4-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Maine, 5-4. THIS WEEK: at
Massachusetts, vs. Massachusetts |
| 17. |
 Quinnipiac |
NR |
The Bobcats won four straight games in a busy week of
action and are one of the hottest teams in the nation
with a 9-2-0 record in their last 11. The only two losses
came at Princeton, which is nothing to be ashamed of. |
| 11-6-1 (6-3-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Merrimack, 4-3 ot; W vs.
Air Force, 4-2; W vs. Harvard, 5-2; W vs. Dartmouth, 6-0.
THIS WEEK: vs. Rensselaer, vs. Union |
| 18. |
 Wisconsin
|
5 |
Home cooking is nice, but sometimes it's also nice to
dine out. After eight straight home games (and a rough
0-2-1 mark in their last three) the Badgers head to Anchorage
for a pair – their first road games since before
Thanksgiving. |
| 10-9-3 (7-5-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Northern Michigan, 3-2; L vs. Northern
Michigan, 6-5 ot. THIS WEEK: at Alaska Anchorage, at Alaska
Anchorage |
| 19. |
 Minnesota
Duluth
|
— |
The Bulldogs have dominated St. Cloud State this season
with a pair of 5-1 wins. Fresh from a runner-up finish
in suburban Chicago they hope to continue that trend when
they visit the Huskies this weekend. |
| 9-5-6 (5-4-5
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. UMass Lowell, 2-1; L vs. Notre
Dame, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at St. Cloud State, at St. Cloud
State |
| 20. |
 Nebraska-Omaha
|
2 |
The Mavs play their first home games in a month when
Northern Michigan visits. UNO fans would like to see more
scoring than they did in the team's last home series –
0-0 and 1-1 ties with Alaska. |
| 12-6-3 (7-4-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Yale, 8-3; L at Princeton, 5-1;
L at Minnesota State, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan,
vs. Northern Michigan |