The NCAA Tournament field is set and we've already
taken an in-depth look at every team in the tournament. Since
all but one of those teams are in this week's Inside College
Hockey Power Rankings, we'll present a highlight on what you
need to know. If you missed the tournament capsules (shame
on you), we'll provide a link to those too where you can familiarize
yourself with the sweet 16.
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 |
— |
Notre Dame wins when the Irish forget about playing
pretty and go straight to the net for dirty goals. It
paid off in the CCHA tournament and has made their offense
much more consistent this season. | Midwest
Region |
| 31-5-3.
LAST WEEK: W vs.Northern Michigan, 2-1; W vs. Michigan,
5-2 (CCHA Championship). THIS WEEK: vs. Bemidji State
(Midwest Regional; Grand Rapids, Mich.) |
| 2. |
 Boston
University |
— |
With their talent, it’s not uncommon for the Terriers
to rip off game-changing scoring runs — such as
their three goals in 44 seconds against Boston College
in the Hockey East semifinals. | Northeast
Region |
| 31-6-4.
LAST WEEK: W vs. Boston College, 3-2; W vs. UMass Lowell,
1-0 (Hockey East Championship). THIS WEEK: vs. Ohio State
(Northeast Regional; Manchester, N.H.) |
| 3. |
 Michigan |
— |
After playing extremely well throughout the second half
of the season, sophomore netminder Bryan Hogan had his
worst period of the season on Saturday, giving up four
third-period goals to Notre Dame. | East
Region |
| 29-11-0.
LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska, 3-1; L vs. Notre Dame, 5-2 (CCHA
Championship). THIS WEEK: vs. Air Force (East Regional;
Bridgeport, Conn.) |
| 4. |
 Denver |
 1 |
The good news is that, even though center Tyler Ruegsegger
is out for the season with an injury, another injured
center, Tyler Bozak, is expected to return to the lineup
this week. | West
Region |
| 23-11-5.
LAST WEEK: W vs. Wisconsin, 3-0; L vs. Minnesota Duluth,
4-0 (WCHA Final Five). THIS WEEK: vs. Miami (West Regional;
Minneapolis, Minn.) |
| 5. |
 Yale |
1 |
The surprise team in ECAC Hockey has achieved every
goal it set for itself throughout the year and has already
established 2008-09 as the best season in program history.
| East Region
|
| 24-7-2.
LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Lawrence, 4-3; W vs. Cornell, 5-0
(ECAC Hockey Championship). THIS WEEK: vs. Vermont (East
Regional; Bridgeport, Conn.) |
| 6. |
 North
Dakota |
 2 |
North Dakota has reached four straight Frozen Fours
coming out of the West (twice), Midwest and East regionals.
| Northeast Region
|
| 24-14-4.
LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota Duluth, 3-0; L vs. Wisconsin,
4-1 (WCHA Final Five). THIS WEEK: vs. New Hampshire (Northeast
Regional; Manchester, N.H.) |
| 7. |
 Northeastern |
2 |
The Huskies have to grind it out and play with more
toughness than their opponents, and they have to stay
smart in front of junior goalie Brad Thiessen. More than
anything, it’s all about how sound Thiessen can
be between the pipes. | Midwest
Region |
| 25-11-4.
LAST WEEK: L vs. UMass Lowell, 3-2 ot (Hockey East Championship).
THIS WEEK: vs. Cornell (Midwest Regional; Grand Rapids,
Mich.) |
| 8. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
11 |
The Bulldogs have been one of the nation's streakiest
teams all year long. They've got two three-game losing
streaks since the start of January and have also rattled
off an eight-game unbeaten streak in November and December
and four straight wins in January. | West
Region |
| 21-12-8.
LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota, 2-1; W vs. North Dakota, 3-0;
W vs. Denver, 4-0 (WCHA Final Five). THIS WEEK: vs. Princeton
(West Regional; Minneapolis, Minn.) |
| 9. |
 Cornell
|
2 |
After missing the NCAA Tournament in each of the last
two years, the Big Red are back behind a familiar formula
- excellent overall defense. They rank fourth nationally
in team defense, allowing just 2.00 goals per game. |
Midwest Region |
| 21-9-4.
LAST WEEK: W vs. Princeton, 4-3 2ot; L vs. Yale, 5-0 (ECAC
Hockey Championship). THIS WEEK: vs. Northeastern (Midwest
Regional; Grand Rapids, Mich.) |
| 10. |
 Princeton |
2 |
The Tigers have a balanced offense that
can get offensive contributions from a number of sources
– 11 players have scored at least nine goals on
the year. | West Region |
| 22-11-1.
LAST WEEK: L vs. Cornell, 4-3 2 ot; T vs. St. Lawrence,
2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota Duluth (West Regional;
Minneapolis, Minn.) |
| 11. |
 Vermont |
1 |
The Catamounts are averaging three-quarters of a goal
more per game than they did last year. Much of it comes
from the top two lines, which feature each of the team's
top five scorers. | East
Region |
| 20-11-5.
LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Yale (East Regional; Bridgeport,
Conn.) |
| 12. |
 Miami |
1 |
After a 6-0-1 stretch that put the Redhawks in a great
position to finish at least second in the regular season,
Miami finished the year 2-4-1, including a CCHA quarterfinal
series loss to Northern Michigan. | West
Region |
| 20-12-5.
LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Denver (West Regional;
Minneapolis, Minn.) |
| 13. |
 New
Hampshire |
3 |
Since advancing to back-to-back Frozen Fours in 2002-03,
including the national championship game in 2003, the
Wildcats are 1-5 in NCAA tourney games — with four
consecutive losses — and 0-2 in Manchester. | Northeast
Region |
| 19-12-5.
LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. North Dakota (Northeast
Regional; Manchester, N.H.) |
| 14. |
 St.
Lawrence |
3 |
The Saints won a shootout over Princeton in the third-place
game at the ECAC Hockey championship weekend. That
didn't mean Joe Marsh liked it. |
| 21-12-5.
LAST WEEK: L vs. Yale, 4-3; T vs. Princeton, 2-2 ot (ECAC
Hockey Championship). THIS WEEK: Off |
| 15. |
 Ohio
State |
1 |
The Buckeyes do most of their damage at even strength.
The power play ranks 45th nationally and no forward has
more than four PPGs. | Northeast
Region |
| 23-14-4.
LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston University (Northeast
Regional; Manchester, N.H.) |
| 16. |
 UMass
Lowell |
2 |
With a junior-laden roster, the experience of getting
to Boston and playing two games there makes them even
more prepared for big games next season. |
| 20-16-2.
LAST WEEK: W vs. Northeastern, 3-2 ot; L vs. Boston University,
1-0 (Hockey East Championship). THIS WEEK: Off |
| 17. |
 Wisconsin |
— |
We're not sure when or where it'll happen, but once
Blake Geoffrion and NoDak's Joe Finley run into each other
on a pro rink, fireworks will ensue. |
| 20-16-4.
LAST WEEK: L vs. Denver, 3-0; W vs. North Dakota, 4-1.
THIS WEEK: Off |
| 18. |
 Air
Force |
NR |
Defensemen Scott Mathis and Tim Kirby, both freshmen,
have played in all but one game for the Falcons. | East
Region |
| 27-10-2.
LAST WEEK: W vs. Bentley, 3-0; W vs. Mercyhurst, 2-0 (Atlantic
Hockey Championship). THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan (East Regional;
Bridgeport, Conn.) |
| 19. |
 Boston
College |
NR |
Ben Smith gave his team a second-period lead in the
Hockey East semifinal against BU, but it didn't hold up.
A bigger-picture problem for BC that it was just Smith's
sixth goal of the season. |
| 18-14-5.
LAST WEEK: L vs. Boston University, 3-2 (Hockey East Championship).
THIS WEEK: Off |
| 20. |
 Minnesota |
NR |
A roller-coaster season ends with a flu-ridden Alex
Kangas pulled after one period in the WCHA play-in game
and the Gophers unable to solve UMD goalie Alex Stalock. |
| 17-13-7.
LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota Duluth, 2-1 (WCHA Final Five).
THIS WEEK: Off |