Denver's impressive sweep over North Dakota
moved the Pioneers higher in this week's INCH Power Rankings,
but not ahead of incumbent No. 1 Miami, carriers of an eight-game
unbeaten streak.
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 |
— |
The good news is the RedHawks extended their unbeaten
streak to eight this weekend. The bad news is that three
of those games are ties, and they've all come during the
past two weekends. |
| 9-1-4 (6-1-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Western Michigan, 3-0; T at Western
Michigan, 1-1 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Bemidji State, at North
Dakota (Subway Holiday Classic; Grand Forks, N.D.) |
| 2. |
 Denver |
 1 |
"It's definitely entertaining to watch," Pioneer
goalie Marc Cheverie told the Denver Post's Mike
Chambers Friday following his team's knock-down, drag-out,
1-0 win over North Dakota. Based on Mr. Cheverie's weekend
numbers—58 saves, 2 GA, and an NCAA-best fourth
shutout—he was just as entertaining. |
| 8-3-1 (6-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. North Dakota, 1-0; W vs. North
Dakota, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State, vs. St. Cloud
State |
| 3. |
 UMass
Lowell |
2 |
UMass Lowell was 5-1-0 in its six Hockey East games
last season against this week's opponents. The River Hawks
outscored the Friars and Black Bears 26-11 in those six
games. |
| 8-2-1 (4-1-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Merrimack, 6-3. THIS WEEK:
at Providence, vs. Maine |
| 4. |
 North
Dakota |
 2 |
The losses at Denver marked the first time the Sioux
suffered a weekend sweep since dropping a pair to Michigan
Tech Dec. 15-16, 2006. "Hopefully it doesn't happen
again," NoDak forward Chris VandeVelde told the Grand
Forks Herald's Brad Schlossman. |
| 7-4-1 (5-4-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Denver, 1-0; L at Denver, 3-2. THIS
WEEK: vs. Ohio State, vs. Miami (Subway Holiday Classic;
Grand Forks, N.D.) |
| 5. |
 Colorado
College |
2 |
The Tigers are off to their best start since the 2005-06
season, when they burst out of the gate with an identical
9-2-1 record. CC fans hope the similarities end there;
the '05-06 club went 15-14-1 the rest of the way and lost
in the first round of the WCHA and NCAA playoffs. |
| 9-2-1 (6-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Robert Morris, 4-3; W vs. Robert
Morris, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska
Anchorage |
| 6. |
 Cornell
|
2 |
Tuesday's home game against Colgate is Cornell's last
game at Lynah Rink until Jan. 22-23 when North Dakota
visits. |
| 5-2-0 (4-2-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Princeton, 5-2; L vs. Quinnipiac,
3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Colgate, vs. Boston University (at
Madison Square Garden, New York) |
| 7. |
 Bemidji
State |
2 |
The Beavers are one of the nation's two teams with 10
wins and at this rate they'll be the first to 100 goals.
The Beavers have scored six goals in each of their last
three games, and have 49 for the season - one fewer than
nine-win Ferris State, but the Bulldogs have played two
more games than the Beavers. |
| 10-1-1 (6-0-0
CHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Alabama-Huntsville, 6-1; W vs. Alabama-Huntsville,
6-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Miami, vs. Ohio State (Subway Holiday
Classic; Grand Forks, N.D.) |
| 8. |
 Michigan
State |
2 |
The Spartans' winless streak against Notre Dame stands
at six following the tie and loss to the Irish this past
weekend. In those six games dating back to Jan. 13, 2008,
MSU has scored a total of five goals. |
| 9-3-2 (6-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Notre Dame, 1-1 ot; L vs. Notre
Dame, 4-1 (at Fort Wayne, Ind.). THIS WEEK: vs. Wisconsin,
vs. Minnesota (College Hockey Showcase) |
| 9. |
 Quinnipiac |
3 |
The Bobcats extended their winning streak, which now
stands at six games, with a pair of impressive wins at
Colgate and Cornell. A key to success? Quinnipiac took
first-period leads in both contests. |
| 10-1-0 (6-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Colgate, 5-3; W at Cornell,
3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Princeton, vs. Massachusetts |
| 10. |
 Massachusetts |
5 |
The Minutemen have scored 34 goals in their eight wins,
a tidy average of 4.25 goals per game. |
| 8-2-0 (4-2-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Yale, 4-3 ot. THIS WEEK:
at Vermont, at Quinnipiac |
| 11. |
 Yale |
3 |
The Bulldogs haven't managed to string back-to-back
wins together yet this season in seven games, but should
be considered strong favorites in games this week against
Sacred Heart and Holy Cross. |
| 3-2-2 (2-1-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Massachusetts, 4-3 ot; W
at Brown, 6-5 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Sacred Heart, at Holy
Cross |
| 12. |
 Alaska |
1 |
After starting the season with five wins and a tie in
their first six games, the Nanooks have become very predictable
in their last three series: lose on Friday, win on Saturday,
which is what they've done against Notre Dame, Bowling
Green, and, most recently, Lake Superior State. |
| 8-3-1 (5-3-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Lake Superior State, 4-3; W at Lake
Superior State, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan,
vs. Northern Michigan |
| 13. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
5 |
Here's pretty much all you need to know about the Bulldogs:
they're 9-0-1 this season when scoring three or more goals.
Score two or fewer, and UMD is 0-4-0. Home series against
North Dakota and Denver are on tap following a bye this
weekend. |
| 9-4-1 (6-3-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Minnesota, 4-3 ot; W at Minnesota,
3-2. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 14. |
 Notre
Dame |
5 |
The Fighting Irish snapped a four-game winless streak
with an impressive 4-1 win over a Michigan State team
that was 6-0-1 in its last seven games. Notre Dame's task
is turning the win and tie with MSU into a winning streak. |
| 6-5-3 (3-2-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Michigan State, 1-1 ot; W vs. Michigan
State, 4-1 (at Fort Wayne, Ind.). THIS WEEK: vs. Bowling
Green, vs. Bowling Green |
| 15. |
 Vermont
|
1 |
The Catamounts play nine of their next 11 games at home,
beginning with Tuesday's game against UMass. Vermont is
2-0-1 at the Gut so far this season. |
| 4-4-1 (3-3-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Massachusetts,
at Northeastern |
| 16. |
 Wisconsin |
1 |
The school is reportedly enamored with the idea of a
Big Ten hockey conference. Must've been the reason the
Badgers split a series with St. Cloud State this past
weekend—they were looking ahead to this weekend's
"conference" tilts against Michigan and Michigan
State. |
| 7-4-1 (5-4-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at St. Cloud State, 4-1; W at St. Cloud
State, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Michigan State, at Michigan
(College Hockey Showcase) |
| 17. |
 Boston
College |
2 |
Junior forward Brian Gibbons is BC's leading scorer
with 12 points and nine assists. He had two helpers in
Saturday's tie at Maine. |
| 5-3-2 (4-3-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Maine, 4-3; T at Maine, 3-3
ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Clarkson |
| 18. |
 Ferris
State |
NR |
Not a bad weekend of work for Ferris State forward Blair
Riley. He scored 4-2—6 (including a hat trick Friday)
in the Bulldogs' sweep of visiting Ohio State. Not to
be outdone, linemate Cody Chupp had 3-3—6 for the
series. |
| 9-3-2 (4-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Ohio State, 8-1; W vs. Ohio State,
6-5 ot. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 19. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
9 |
Since opening the season with a 4-0-2 mark,
the Mavericks are 1-4-1 in their last six games. The difference?
Offense—UNO scored 21 goals in its first six and
has just 12 in its last half-dozen outings. |
| 5-4-3 (2-4-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Northern Michigan, 5-1; L at Northern
Michigan, 6-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Western Michigan, vs. Western
Michigan |
| 20. |
 Colgate |
— |
Colgate rallied from three different one-goal deficits
in its win over Princeton Saturday. The Raiders are 5-1-2
in their last eight games. |
| 6-3-4 (4-1-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Quinnipiac, 5-3; W vs. Princeton,
5-4 ot. THIS WEEK: at Cornell |