The first full weekend of NCAA play provided
several exciting finishes and a number of upsets. Miami's
series sweep of St. Cloud State and losses by Notre Dame and
Denver make the RedHawks our new No. 1 team.
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 |
Preseason
Great 58 |
Of
Note |
| 1. |
 Miami |
3 |
You think a few fans at Goggin Version 2.0 had flashbacks
to last April in D.C. when St. Cloud State scored with
less than two minutes left in regulation to send Friday's
game into OT? |
| 2-0-0 (0-0-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Cloud State, 3-2 ot; W vs.
St. Cloud State, 2-0. THIS WEEK: at New Hampshire, at
New Hampshire |
| 2. |
 North
Dakota |
6 |
Fourteen of the 18 skaters who dressed for the Sioux's
sweep of Merrimack registered at least one point on the
weekend. |
| 2-0-0 (0-0-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Merrimack, 5-2; W vs. Merrimack,
3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota, vs. Minnesota |
| 3. |
 Denver |
1 |
Shootout at the DU Corral: Every period of the Pioneers'
weekend series with Vermont featured no fewer than three
goals. |
| 1-1-0 (0-0-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Vermont, 5-4; L vs. Vermont, 6-4.
THIS WEEK: at Ohio State, at Ohio State |
| 4. |
 Boston
University |
4 |
As if it hadn't proven its worth already, Agganis
Arena was especially needed Saturday night. Nobody's
sure all five banners that the Terriers raised would
have fit in old Walter Brown Arena. |
| 0-0-0 (0-0-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. USNTDP U-18, 3-2 (Ex.).
THIS WEEK: at Massachusetts |
| 5. |
 Notre
Dame |
2 |
The Fighting Irish likely helped Cameron Talbot pack
his bags and load the bus following their series split
with Alabama-Huntsville. Talbot, the Chargers' senior
goalie, stopped 87 of the 92 shots he faced. |
| 1-1-0 (0-0-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Alabama-Huntsville, 3-2; W vs.
Alabama-Huntsville, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Providence, vs.
Providence |
| 6. |
 Michigan |
5 |
When Ben Winnett scored less than two minutes into the
Wolverines' 6-1 win over Alaska Anchorage Saturday, it
ended a U-M goal drought of 140:29 that dated back to
the second period of the 2009 CCHA Tournament championship
game. |
| 1-1-0 (0-0-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Alaska, 2-0; W at Alaska Anchorage,
6-1 (Kendall Hockey Classic). THIS WEEK: Off |
| 7. |
 Cornell
|
7 |
The Big Red have two exhibitions scheduled for Oct.
23 and 24 but fans can get their first look at the 2009-10
team Saturday at 7 p.m. in the annual Red-White scrimmage. |
| 0-0-0 (0-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 8. |
 Princeton |
8 |
Princeton fans must get an early look at the Tigers.
Their first six games are at Baker Rink and then they
don't play another home game until January. |
| 0-0-0 (0-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 9. |
 Minnesota |
10 |
Guess we'll have a sense of what the Gophers are all
about early: After the upcoming trip to North Dakota,
Minnesota welcomes Denver to Mariucci Arena. |
| 0-0-0 (0-0-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at North Dakota, at North
Dakota |
| 10. |
 Yale |
11 |
High-end forwards get plenty of notoriety
for the Bulldogs, but they return seven defensemen from
last year's team. |
| 0-0-0 (0-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 11. |
 Vermont
|
15 |
Catamounts score a split on the road against our preseason
No. 1 and were only outplayed in one period all weekend.
Impressive start for a team that lost an awful lot up
front. |
| 1-1-0 (0-0-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Denver, 5-4; W at Denver,
6-4. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston College |
| 12. |
 UMass
Lowell |
9 |
Experience showed despite second-place finish in Omaha:
all six goals and 13 of 15 points were recorded by juniors
and seniors. |
| 1-1-0 (0-0-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Lawrence, 3-0; L vs.
Nebraska-Omaha, 4-3 (Icebreaker). THIS WEEK: Off |
| 13. |
 Wisconsin |
13 |
Odds are the influx of black-and-gold clad folks in
Madison this weekend aren't there for the Badgers' series
with Colorado College. The Badger gridders host No. 11
Iowa at Camp Randall Saturday. |
| 0-0-0 (0-0-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Colorado College,
vs. Colorado College |
| 14. |
 Boston
College |
16 |
Season ticket ad says to "Awake
Your Inner Eagle." Something tells us Coach York
can do better for his pregame speech Sunday. |
| 0-0-0 (0-0-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. USNTDP U-18, 6-3 (Ex.).
THIS WEEK: at Vermont |
| 15. |
 Alaska |
30 |
The Nanooks scored a total of seven goals in wins against
Michigan and Mercyhurst, a feat they accomplished during
just two weekend series last season. |
| 2-0-0 (0-0-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan, 2-0; W vs. Mercyhurst,
5-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Robert Morris, vs. Rensselaer |
| 16. |
 Bemidji
State |
20 |
How sharp were the Beavers in Saturday's 7-3 rout of
Air Force? BSU chased Falcon goaltender Andrew Volkening—the
only netminder to see game action for AFA last season—after
scoring six goals on 18 shots in a little more 32 minutes. |
| 2-0-0 (0-0-0
CHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Air Force, 3-1; W vs. Air Force,
7-3. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 17. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
24 |
The Dean Blais Era started with two unorthodox wins.
In both victories, starting netminder Jeremie Dupont was
relieved by backup John Faulkner … and in both cases,
Faulkner was the goalie of record. |
| 2-0-0 (0-0-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Army, 6-4; W vs. UMass Lowell,
4-3 (Icebreaker). THIS WEEK: at Colgate, at Colgate |
| 18. |
 St.
Cloud State
|
12 |
The Huskies battled Miami to the wire twice, but returned
home winless. A power play that failed to score during
any of its 10 man-advantage opportunities against the
RedHawks didn't help. |
| 0-2-0 (0-0-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Miami, 3-2 ot; L at Miami, 2-0.
THIS WEEK: vs. Union, vs. Union |
| 19. |
 Union |
27 |
Union is one of five teams nationally to light the lamp
10 times over their first two games of the year. Even
better news is that eight different players scored goals
in the sweep of Maine. |
| 2-0-0 (0-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs Maine, 4-1; W vs. Maine,
6-3. THIS WEEK: at St. Cloud State, at St. Cloud State |
| 20. |
 Michigan
State |
39 |
The Spartans scored 10 goals in series sweep of Clarkson
at Munn Ice Arena. Not bad considering MSU scored a total
of 15 goals in the last nine games of the 2008-09 season. |
| 2-0-0 (0-0-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Clarkson, 6-1, W vs. Clarkson,
4-3. THIS WEEK: at Maine, at Maine |