| 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) |