The regular season concluded in Hockey East
and the WCHA and eight teams in the latest INCH Power Rankings
had byes as their conference playoffs got underway. That means
little movement among the nation's top 20 teams.
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 |
— |
In Jeff Jackson’s three-plus seasons behind the
Notre Dame bench, the Fighting Irish are 7-1-2 against
Nebraska-Omaha, this weekend’s CCHA quarterfinal
opponent. |
| 27-5-3 (21-4-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Nebraska-Omaha (CCHA
Quarterfinal Series) |
| 2. |
 Boston
University |
— |
How's this for confidence? Needing to win on Sunday
to wrap up the team's eighth Hockey East regular-season
title, the Terriers started backup goalie Grant Rollheiser.
He made 16 saves and earned his first career shutout. |
| 27-5-4 (18-5-4
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Providence, 8-2; W vs. Providence,
3-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Maine (Hockey East Quarterfinal Series) |
| 3. |
 Michigan |
 1 |
Western Michigan, the Wolverines’ foe in a CCHA
quarterfinal series this weekend, is one of three visiting
teams to win at Yost Ice Arena this season, along with
Bowling Green and Notre Dame. |
| 26-10-0
(20-8-0 CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Western Michigan
(CCHA Quarterfinal Series) |
| 4. |
 Northeastern |
 1 |
Northeastern's 18 conference wins ties a school record
in Hockey East, set in 1985-86, when they played 34
league games. |
| 23-9-4 (18-6-3
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Boston College, 2-1 ot;
L at Boston College, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Massachusetts
(Hockey East Quarterfinal Series) |
| 5. |
 North
Dakota |
— |
On Dec. 28, the Fighting Sioux dropped a 2-1 decision
to Michigan Tech in the GLI consolation game. This weekend,
the WCHA champs host the Huskies in a first-round playoff
series. Would this be categorized as coming half circle? |
| 22-12-4
(17-7-4 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Wisconsin, 2-1; L at Wisconsin,
4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech (WCHA First Round Series) |
| 6. |
 Denver |
— |
Ninth-seed Alaska Anchorage isn’t as great a first-round
draw as one might think. The Seawolves are 7-6-3 since
mid-January and are the only WCHA team with a better record
on the road than at home. |
| 20-10-5
(16-8-4 WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Colorado College, 1-1 ot.
THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage (WCHA First Round Series) |
| 7. |
 Vermont |
— |
Brian Roloff scored his first collegiate hat trick in
Vermont's win on Friday. "When I came to the rink,
it seemed like another normal day, another game,"
Roloff said. "But it turned out to be something special." |
| 20-9-5 (15-8-4
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. New Hampshire, 6-4; L vs.
New Hampshire, 6-5 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. UMass Lowell (Hockey
East Quarterfinal Series) |
| 8. |
 Miami |
— |
The RedHawks’ opening playoff series is against
a Northern Michigan team that a) won and tied in Oxford
less than three weeks ago, b) pounded Michigan State in
its first-round playoff series, and c) has historically
saved its best performances for the CCHA postseason. |
| 19-10-5
(17-7-4 CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Northern
Michigan (CCHA Quarterfinal Series) |
| 9. |
 Yale |
— |
Yale scored 13 goals in their three regular-season wins
over Brown, but didn't face freshman goalie Mike Clemente,
who made 86 saves in back-to-back shutouts of Harvard. |
| 20-7-2 (15-5-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Brown (ECAC
Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |
| 10. |
 Princeton |
— |
Princeton and Union have never met in the
ECAC Hockey playoffs, and have split the two regular season
games in each of the last three seasons. |
| 20-9-0 (14-8-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Union (ECAC
Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |
| 11. |
 New
Hampshire |
— |
New Hampshire's overtime win at Vermont on Saturday
gave the Wildcats third place via a tiebreaker over the
Catamounts. The reward (?) is playing the defending national
champions in the first round of the playoffs. |
| 19-10-5
(15-8-4 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Vermont, 6-4; W at
Vermont, 6-5 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston College (Hockey
East Quarterfinal Series) |
| 12. |
 Cornell
|
— |
If the Lynah Faithful say it enough, it must come true.
Harvard, indeed, sucks. |
| 18-7-4 (13-6-3
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Rensselaer
(ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |
| 13. |
 St.
Lawrence |
— |
The Saints hold a 5-3-2 advantage in the all-time series
against this weekend's playoff opponent, Quinnipiac, since
the Bobcats joined ECAC Hockey. |
| 19-11-4
(11-7-4 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Quinnipiac
(ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |
| 14. |
 Ohio
State |
— |
The Bucks did win twice against Bowling Green in front
of sellout crowds of less than a thousand fans this past
weekend. Both games were played at the hoary OSU Ice Rink
because Value City Arena was hosting high school wrestling. |
| 22-12-4
(13-11-4 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bowling Green, 5-4; W
vs. Bowling Green, 7-1 (CCHA First Round Series). THIS
WEEK: at Alaska (CCHA Quarterfinal Series) |
| 15. |
 Colorado
College |
— |
Saturday’s 1-1 tie at Denver was the Tigers’
10th tie of the season. That’s the same number of
ties CC had in the previous four seasons combined. |
| 16-10-10
(12-9-7 WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Denver, 1-1 ot. THIS WEEK:
vs. Minnesota Duluth (WCHA First Round Series) |
| 16. |
 Minnesota |
— |
Sure, the Gophers closed the season with a 3-7-2 mark
in their last 12 games. But the last time they won consecutive
games was Jan. 16-17, and the opponent was St. Cloud State,
this weekend’s opening-round playoff combatant. |
| 15-12-7
(12-11-5 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Michigan Tech, 6-5 ot;
W at Michigan Tech, 2-0. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State
(WCHA First Round Series) |
| 17. |
 Boston
College |
2 |
Boston College finished sixth in Hockey East for the
first time since 2001-02, the only two times in the last
12 years they've been outside the top four. |
| 16-13-5
(11-11-5 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Northeastern, 2-1
ot; W vs. Northeastern, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at New Hampshire
(Hockey East Quarterfinal Series) |
| 18. |
 Wisconsin
|
2 |
Freshman Derek Stepan scored two short-handed goals
during the same penalty kill in a 4-1 win against North
Dakota Saturday, joining Norm Cherrey (1973) and Dan Gorowsky
(1978) as the only Badgers to notch two SHGs in the same
period. |
| 17-15-4
(14-11-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. North Dakota, 2-1; W vs.
North Dakota, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota State (WCHA
First Round Series) |
| 19. |
 St.
Cloud State |
1 |
Forward Garrett Roe finished the regular season as the
WCHA’s leading scorer with 46 points. The Huskies
will need a lot of Roe – and everyone else –
if they hope to get past Minnesota, which enters the weekend
with a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) against SCSU. |
| 18-15-3
(13-13-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota State, 5-1;
T vs. Minnesota State, 4-4 ot. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota
(WCHA First Round Series) |
| 20. |
 Air
Force |
NR |
Senior defenseman Greg Flynn has 30 assists this season
and ranks first nationally among blueliners in scoring
with 35 points. |
| 23-9-2 (20-6-2
Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Sacred
Heart (Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |