February 15, 2009
INCH Power Rankings

Boston University is on top of the Inside College Hockey Power Rankings for a third straight week, but you probably already figured that out. Should the Terriers falter in the near future, however, there are a trio of CCHA teams primed to vault into the no. 1 position. North Dakota and Yale are other positive movers this week.

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.	Boston University	—	The Terriers scored seven goals on just 21 shots in Friday's win at Maine, then managed just two goals on Saturday despite firing 36 shots at Black Bears goalie Dave Wilson.
23-5-2 (14-5-2 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Northeastern, 5-2 (Beanpot Championship); W at Maine, 7-2; T at Maine, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Northeastern, at Northeastern
2.	Notre Dame	—	We don’t announce our player of the week until tomorrow, but you can bet that Erik Condra (2-5—7 in the Irish’s sweep of Northern Michigan) will be in the mix.
23-5-3 (17-4-3 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Northern Michigan, 9-5; W vs. Northern Michigan, 5-2. THIS WEEK: at Nebraska-Omaha, at Nebraska-Omaha
3.	Michigan	—	Due to a backloaded home schedule and a handful of home-and-home engagements, the Wolverines’ set at Ohio State this weekend is their first true road series since Nov. 21-22.
23-9-0 (17-7-0 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 8-3; W vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Ohio State, at Ohio State
4.	Miami	2	The RedHawks, who extended their unbeaten streak to seven games with a sweep at Lake Superior State last weekend, have outscored their opponents during that span by a 29-8 margin.
18-8-4 (16-5-3 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Lake Superior State, 2-1; W at Lake Superior State, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan, vs. Northern Michigan
5.	Northeastern	1	Northeastern's quest for their first Beanpot since 1988 short-circuited against BU, and then they lost at home for just the second time all season. This weekend's home-and-home with BU is a chance to get things back on track.
20-8-2 (15-5-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Boston University, 5-2 (Beanpot Championship); W at Massachusetts, 5-3; L vs. Massachusetts, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Boston University, vs. Boston University
6.	Vermont	1	Vermont is 8-0-2 in its last 10 home games, and just 2-4-0 in its last six road games. Fortunately for them, four of their final six games are at the Gut, as well as a likely first-round Hockey East playoff series.
17-7-4 (12-6-3 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Merrimack, 3-2; W at Merrimack, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. UMass Lowell, vs. UMass Lowell
7.	North Dakota	3	Senior defenseman Brad Miller, the Sioux’s third-leading scorer, netted two goals against Minnesota State Friday, snapping a 15-game goal drought that dated back to Dec. 5.
18-11-3 (13-6-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota State, 4-1; W vs. Minnesota State, 4-3. THIS WEEK: at Alaska Anchorage, at Alaska Anchorage
8.	Denver	—	TGIF: The Pioneers’ Joe Colborne scored twice against Colorado College Friday, giving him at least one point in nine straight Friday contests.
17-9-4 (13-7-3 WCHA) T at Colorado College, 3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: at Wisconsin, at Wisconsin
9.	Yale	3	Playing Yale is like playing against the computer in video game hockey. You feel comfortable, things go well, then you realize you just lost the game. Yale keeps winning, and is 11-1-1 since the calendar flipped to 2009.
19-5-1 (14-3-1 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Union, 4-2; W at RPI, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Quinnipiac, at Princeton
10.	Princeton	3	Go ahead and make plans for after the game if Princeton or Michigan is involved. They're the only two teams in the country without a tie this season. Just two of Princeton's games have gone into overtime. Michigan hasn't had a single game go longer than 60 minutes.
18-7-0 (12-6-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Clarkson, 5-3; L vs. St. Lawrence, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Brown, vs. Yale
11.	Wisconsin	—	A lot has changed since mid-October, which is the last time Denver and Wisconsin met, but the Badgers and Pioneers combined for 22 goals in that series, a DU sweep.
16-11-3 (13-7-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Denver, vs. Denver
12.	Cornell	3	Beware the Ides of February. Cornell is currently mired in a three-game losing streak and suffered the same fate last year in losses to Clarkson, St. Lawrence and Union from Feb. 8-15.
15-6-4 (10-5-3 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L at Dartmouth, 5-4 ot; L at Harvard, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Rensselaer, vs. Union
13.	New Hampshire	1	UNH scored two goals in a 16-second span of the third period in Saturday's win at Providence. Friday, they allowed two third-period goals and let a 4-2 lead turn into a 4-4 tie.
14-9-5 (10-7-4 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T vs. Providence, 4-4 ot; W at Providence, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston College, at Boston College
14.	Minnesota	1	The Gophers’ top line of Ryan Stoa, Jordan Schroeder, and Jay Barriball combined for four goals, five assists, and a plus-minus rating of +4 in the win and tie against Alaska Anchorage this past weekend.
13-9-6 (10-8-4 WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Alaska Anchorage, 2-2 ot; W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Colorado College, at Colorado College
15.	Ohio State	2	Is the pressure getting to the young Bucks? OSU is 2-4-3 in its last nine games; the regular season ends with series at home against Michigan and a home-and-home with Miami.
18-10-4 (11-9-4 CCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Michigan State, 1-1 ot; L at Michigan State, 2-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan, vs. Michigan
16.	Minnesota Duluth	2	The Bulldogs are in seventh place in the WCHA, but have the upper hand on moving into the top five – games in hand against fourth-place Colorado College and St. Cloud State, an upcoming series against sixth-place Minnesota, and series with ninth-place Alaska Anchorage and cellar dweller Michigan Tech.
15-9-6 (9-8-5 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Michigan Tech, at Michigan Tech
17.	Colorado College	—	Two days after Denver rallied from a 3-1 deficit to escape the Springs with a tie, U.S. Under-18 Team goalie Adam Murray – a Pioneer recruit – made 44 saves in a 3-2 exhibition win over the Tigers.
14-9-8 (10-8-5 WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Denver, 3-3 ot; L vs. US NTDP Under-18s, 3-2 (Ex.). THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota, vs. Minnesota
18.	Boston College	2	Jerry York said, "The whole third period was dictated by Lowell," after Friday's 6-0 loss. Wonder if he was referring to the four straight UML goals, or the 21-6 River Hawks shot advantage?
13-10-5 (8-8-5 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Harvard, 4-3 (Beanpot Third Place); L vs. UMass Lowell, 6-0; T at UMass Lowell, 4-4 ot. THIS WEEK: at New Hampshire, vs. New Hampshire
19.	St. Cloud State	NR	It’s not just Lasch and Roe, you know. Defenseman Garrett Raboin, who ranks third among SCSU skaters in scoring, has a goal and six assists in the Huskies’ last four games.
17-13-2 (12-11-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan Tech, 3-2; W vs. Michigan Tech, 4-2. THIS WEEK: Off.
20.	St. Lawrence	NR	The Saints have wins over ranked teams Vermont, Princeton, Cornell and Yale this season and losses to sub-.500 teams Harvard, Rensselaer and Clarkson.
16-11-3 (8-7-3 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Quinnipiac, 4-3 ot; W at Princeton, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Harvard, vs. Dartmouth

Dropped out: Air Force, Niagara

Bubble-licious: Air Force, Dartmouth, RIT, Niagara, UMass Lowell