Our top-ranked team suffered its first loss
of the year but it wasn't enough to knock these birds from
their perch since other contenders also suffered losses. Denver
moved higher with an impressive sweep of Minnesota.
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. |
 Miami |
— |
This week marks the start of an important stretch for
the RedHawks. Eight of the team's next 10 games are on
the road, including trips to Michigan, North Dakota, and
a date with Bemidji State in Grand Forks in a 2009 Frozen
Four semfinal rematch. |
| 4-1-1 (1-1-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan State, 2-1; L vs. Michigan
State, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Northern Michigan, at Northern
Michigan |
| 2. |
 North
Dakota |
— |
Fighting Sioux freshman goalie Aaron Dell pulled off
a unique feat against Alaska Anchorage Friday, shutting
out the Seawolves in his first career start and notching
an assist to boot. |
| 4-1-1 (2-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Alaska-Anchorage, 5-0; L at Alaska-Anchorage,
2-1. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 3. |
 Denver |
 1 |
Fun with round numbers: Saturday's 3-0 win at Minnesota
was the 500th of coach George Gwozdecky's career, and
his 350th behind the DU bench, his home for 15-plus
seasons following stints at Wisconsin-River Falls and
Miami. |
| 4-2-0 (2-0-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Minnesota 3-0; W at Minnesota, 3-0.
THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota State, vs. Minnesota State |
| 4. |
 Boston
University |
1 |
It's too early to say this weekend's home-and-home set
with UMass Lowell is a crucial Hockey East series, but
it will serve as a measuring stick for a BU team plugging
some holes and a UML club seeking a perch among the league's
elite teams. |
| 1-2-0 (0-1-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Notre Dame, 3-0; W vs. Michigan,
3-2. THIS WEEK: at UMass Lowell, vs. UMass Lowell |
| 5. |
 Michigan |
1 |
In its win against Niagara at Yost Ice Arena Thursday,
the Wolverines scored three goals in the game's first
10 minutes and held on for a 3-2 win. |
| 2-2-0 (0-0-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Niagara, 3-2; L at Boston University,
3-2. THIS WEEK: at Lake Superior State, at Lake Superior
State |
| 6. |
 Vermont
|
 3 |
This week's trip to Maine is Vermont's third straight
weekend with just one game. |
| 2-2-0 (1-1-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Merrimack, 5-2. THIS WEEK:
at Maine |
| 7. |
 Cornell
|
— |
Rookie blueliner Nick D'Agostino scored twice in his
first game for the Big Red in Friday's 7-0 win over Windsor. |
| 0-0-0 (0-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Windsor, 7-0 (Ex.); L vs.
USNTDP U-18, 3-2 (Ex.). THIS WEEK: vs. Niagara |
| 8. |
 Princeton |
— |
Following up on last week's note regarding the scrimmage
against Morrisville: The Tigers won, 7-0, outshooting
the Mustangs by a 58-15 margin. |
| 0-0-0 (0-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Morrisville, 7-0 (Ex.);
L vs. Winsdor, 5-3 (Ex.). THIS WEEK: vs. Brown, vs. Yale |
| 9. |
 Notre
Dame |
— |
Boston College handed Notre Dame its third loss of the
season last Friday. In all three cases, the Irish have
been on the short end of a 3-2 score. |
| 3-3-0 (0-0-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Boston University, 3-0; L vs. Boston
College, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Ohio State; vs. Ohio State |
| 10. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
— |
Nick Fanto, the team's leading scorer with
six points in four games, entered his senior season with
30 points in 101 career games. |
| 3-0-1 (0-0-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK:Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Bowling Green, vs.
Bowling Green. |
| 11. |
 UMass
Lowell |
1 |
Might want to think twice before taking that thoughtless
penalty against the RiverHawks—UML was 4 for 12
with the man advantage against Colgate and Northeastern
last weekend. |
| 3-1-0 (1-0-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Colgate, 5-3; W vs. Northeastern,
3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston University, at Boston University |
| 12. |
 Yale |
1 |
Saturday night's Halloween opener at Princeton is a
non-league game. Yale will formally begin its defense
of its ECAC Hockey the following weekend at RPI and Union. |
| 0-0-0 (0-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Ontario Institute
of Technology (Ex.); at Princeton |
| 13. |
 Alaska |
— |
This weekend's pair of games with Ferris State mark
the first of two home series against CCHA competition
for the Nanooks, who were 8-4-2 against league foes last
season. |
| 3-0-1 (0-0-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Ferris State, vs.
Ferris State |
| 14. |
 Bemidji
State |
1 |
Freshman goalie Mathieu Dugas earned his first career
shutout in his first start, turning aside all 13 shots
he faced in a 5-0 rout of Northern Michigan. |
| 3-0-1 (0-0-0
CHA) LAST WEEK: T at Northern Michigan, 3-3 ot; W at Northern
Michigan, 5-0. THIS WEEK: at Alabama-Huntsville, at Alabana-Huntsville |
| 15. |
 Boston
College |
1 |
Public address fail: At Saturday's BC-Notre Dame football
game, it was announced that the Irish had been defeated
by the defending national champion Eagles the previous
night. |
| 1-1-0 (0-1-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Notre Dame, 3-2. THIS WEEK:
vs. Merrimack, at Merrimack |
| 16. |
 Massachusetts
|
2 |
Nice weekend for the UMass hockey program—the
Minutemen improve to 3-0 by beating Maine in Amherst,
and ex-goalie Jon Quick, now with the L.A. Kings, signs
a three-year contract extention worth a reported $5.4
million. |
| 3-0-0 (2-0-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. vs. Maine, 5-3. THIS WEEK:
at Providence, vs. Providence |
| 17. |
 St.
Cloud State |
— |
Among those inducted into the school's athletic hall
of fame this past weekend were Jeff Saterdalen, the leading
scorer in Husky hockey history with 179 points in 148
career games played from 1988-92. |
| 2-2-2 (1-0-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Minnesota Duluth, 3-3 ot; W vs.
Minnesota Duluth, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Michigan Tech, at
Michigan Tech |
| 18. |
 Colorado
College |
1 |
The Tigers' sweep of Michigan Tech in Colorado Springs
was the start of a seven-week stretch during which they
play 9 of 11 on the road. |
| 4-1-1 (3-0-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan Tech, 4-1; W vs. Michigan
Tech, 8-5. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 19. |
 Michigan
State |
NR |
Bittersweet moment for Spartan fans: Right about the
time forward Andrew Rowe scored in OT to salvage at 3-2
ot win and a split with top-ranked Miami, Iowa scored
a last-second touchdown in a 15-13 win over MSU. |
| 4-2-0 (1-1-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Miami, 2-1; W at Miami, 3-2 ot.
THIS WEEK: vs. Western Michigan, at Western Michigan |
| 20. |
 New
Hampshire |
NR |
Nice weekend for UNH defenseman Blake Kessel, who had
1-4—5 and a plus-minus rating of +4 in wins against
Northeastern. |
| 2-2-1 (2-0-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Northeastern, 4-2; W vs.
Maine, 5-2. THIS WEEK: at Wisconsin, at Wisconsin |