March 8, 2009
INCH Power Rankings

Related Links
Last week's rankings
USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll
USCHO.com/CSTV Poll

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)

Dropped out: Minnesota Duluth

Bubble-licious: RIT, UMass Lowell