The holiday tournament season has come and gone
and we got to know a little more about those teams that participated.
We also got to know that our stance hasn't changed on shootouts.
They're a little goofy and out of place in college hockey.
Yale and Wisconsin didn't settle anything through 65 minutes
on Sunday night, but strong weekends by both teams saw them
jump up in this weeks rankings.
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 |
— |
Despite the long holiday respite, there was some RedHawk-related
news during the break: Ex-Miami defenseman and current
San Jose Shark Dan Boyle was named to the Canadian Olympic
hockey team. |
| 13-2-5 (10-1-3
CCHA) RECENT GAMES: Off. THIS WEEK: at Robert Morris,
vs. Robert Morris |
| 2. |
 Denver |
— |
Pioneer coach George Gwozdecky on forward Rhett Rakhshani,
who scored two goals in Saturday's come-from-behind win
over BC, to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post:
"His play was outstanding ... where once when we
got to the third period, he wasn't going to be denied." |
| 13-5-2 (9-3-2
WCHA) RECENT GAMES: W vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 7-0; W vs. Boston
College, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska
Anchorage |
| 3. |
 Yale |
 3 |
The nation's top-two scoring offenses met in the championship
of the Badger Showdown and the game yielded just four
goals through 65 minutes, less than half of the season-averages
of Yale (4.29) and Wisconsin (4.00). |
| 8-3-3 (4-1-2
ECAC Hockey) RECENT GAMES: W vs. Ferris State, 6-1; T
at Wisconsin, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Dartmouth, at Harvard |
| 4. |
 Wisconsin |
3 |
The Badger Hockey Showdown, won by the hosts on the
strength of their shootout triumph over Yale in the title
match, is history, scrapped in favor of the Barry Alvarez
Big Ten Hockey Hootenanny. Or maybe not. |
| 12-5-3 (8-3-3
WCHA) RECENT GAMES: W vs. Merrimack, 5-4; T vs. Yale,
2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. US NTDP U-18 (Ex.) |
| 5. |
 Colorado
College |
— |
Maine scored a pair of third-period goals en route to
a 3-2 win over the Tigers in the title game of the Florida
College Classic – CC's first loss in nine games
away from home this season. |
| 12-5-3 (8-3-3
WCHA) RECENT GAMES: W vs. Cornell, 4-2; L vs. Maine, 3-2.
THIS WEEK: at Minnesota Duluth, at Minnesota Duluth |
| 6. |
 Cornell
|
 3 |
After suffering back-to-back losses for the first time
all season, Cornell responded with one of its strongest
efforts of the year. The fourth goal came following three
minutes of cycle time in the UNH zone during which
the Big Red made two line changes, capped by Riley Nash's
goal. |
| 8-4-2 (6-2-1
ECAC Hockey) RECENT GAMES: L vs. Colorado College, 4-2;
L vs. Princeton, 3-2; W at New Hampshire, 5-2. THIS WEEK:
Off |
| 7. |
 North
Dakota |
1 |
How did former Sioux star Jonathan Toews, now the toast
of Chicago as the Blackhawks' captain, spend New Year's
Eve in the Windy City? Dining
with his brother, David, and the rest of the NoDak hockey
team, in town for Notre Dame's Shillelagh Tournament. |
| 10-6-4 (6-6-2
WCHA) RECENT GAMES: W vs. Niagara, 3-1; T vs. Notre Dame,
3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota State, vs. Minnesota
State |
| 8. |
 Boston
College |
4 |
We can't help but wonder how differently the third period
might have gone against Denver had John Muse made the
stop on a long wrister from Rhett Rhakshani on the first
shift of the stanza - the first of Denver's four third-period
goals. |
| 10-5-2 (7-3-2
Hockey East) RECENT GAMES: L vs. St. Lawrence, 5-2; L
at Denver, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston University (Fenway
Park) |
| 9. |
 Michigan
State |
2 |
MSU scored a total of 16 goals in wins against Michigan
Tech and Rensselaer at the Great Lakes Invitational in
Detroit last week. The Spartans scored 19 goals in its
10 non-conference games in 2008-09. |
| 14-6-2 (9-3-2
CCHA) RECENT GAMES: W vs. Michigan Tech, 10-1; W vs. Rensselaer,
6-1. THIS WEEK: vs. US NTDP U-18 (Ex.), vs. Lake Superior
State, vs. Lake Superior State |
| 10. |
 Bemidji
State |
— |
Matt Read and Brad Hunt assisted on every goal the Beavers
scored in their tie and win at Western Michigan this past
weekend. Granted, BSU only scored three times, but that
was three more goals than the Broncos managed. |
| 14-4-2 (8-0-0
CHA) RECENT GAMES: T at Western Michigan; 0-0 ot; W at
Western Michigan 3-0. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 11. |
 Quinnipiac |
2 |
The Bobcats have been held to one goal in three of their
last four games. They didn't score fewer than three in
any of their first 14 contests. |
| 13-4-1 (7-3-0
ECAC Hockey) RECENT GAMES: L at Harvard, 3-1. THIS WEEK:
at Princeton, vs. Rensselaer, vs. Union |
| 12. |
 UMass
Lowell |
— |
Fun fact that may only interest us, and those UML fans
that insist they're the true university of the Commonwealth.
The River Hawks are 5-2-0 against Massachusetts-based
schools this year. After a game at UNH on Friday, UML
plays 10 straight against Bay State schools. |
| 11-7-1 (5-4-1
Hockey East) RECENT GAMES: W vs. Holy Cross, 3-0; L vs.
Northeastern, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at New Hampshire, at Northeastern |
| 13. |
 Ferris
State |
1 |
Saturday’s 6-1 loss to Yale was Ferris State’s
first since Halloween. Back then, Tiger Woods was happily
married, Urban Meyer hadn’t been hospitalized/resigned/returned
to coaching/taken a leave of absence, and gunplay in the
Washington Wizards’ locker room was non-existent
(we think). |
| 14-4-2 (8-2-2
CCHA) RECENT GAMES: L vs. Yale, 6-1; W vs. Merrimack,
5-1. THIS WEEK: at Notre Dame, at Notre Dame |
| 14. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
1 |
Can you consider the Bulldogs streaky? UMD hasn’t
won more than three games in a row this season—Sunday’s
loss at Vermont kept them from accomplishing that for
the third time—but they’ve lost back-to-back
matches just once. |
| 12-7-1 (8-5-1
WCHA) RECENT GAMES: W vs. Mercyhurst, 6-0; L at Vermont,
5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Colorado College, vs. Colorado College |
| 15. |
 Massachusetts |
2 |
The Minutemen's game at Northeastern on Sunday night
can be seen on ESPNU. It's a rematch of last year's Hockey
East quarterfinal series, won by Northeastern in three
games. |
| 11-7-0 (6-5-0
Hockey East) RECENT GAMES: W vs. Union, 4-3; L vs. Bentley,
4-1; L at Boston University, 7-3. THIS WEEK: at New Hampshire,
at Northeastern |
| 16. |
 Union |
— |
Union's win over Connecticut was the 100th of head coach
Nate Leaman's career. He now stands 22 wins behind Charlie
Morrison as the winningest coach in program history, following
Union's OT win over Army. |
| 10-4-5 (4-0-3
ECAC Hockey) RECENT GAMES: L vs. Massachusetts, 4-3; W
vs. Connecticut, 7-0; W at Army, 2-1 ot. THIS WEEK: at
Princeton, at Quinnipiac |
| 17. |
 Maine |
2 |
Maine led 2-0, 4-1 and 6-4 over Princeton in the first
round of the Florida College Classic. Strategy for the
final? Trail 2-1 after two periods and score twice in
the third for a win over Colorado College. |
| 10-7-2 (7-4-1
Hockey East) RECENT GAMES: T vs. Princeton, 6-6 ot; W
vs. Colorado College, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Merrimack |
| 18. |
 Alaska |
1 |
INCH fave and ex-Nanook Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson
made his NHL debut for the Rangers at Madison Square Garden
Dec. 30, turning aside 17 shots in 40 minutes of work
in relief of Henrik Lundqvist. |
| 9-5-4 (6-5-3
CCHA) RECENT GAMES: Off. THIS WEEK: at Nebraska-Omaha,
at Nebraska-Omaha |
| 19. |
 St.
Cloud State |
1 |
Keep an eye on the Huskies, who are 5-1-1
in their last seven games heading into a weekend series
against a Michigan Tech squad that has lost 10 in a row
and allowed 44 goals in eight WCHA road contests this
season. |
| 10-7-3 (7-5-2
WCHA) RECENT GAMES: W vs. Brown, 5-1; W vs. Brown, 5-3.
THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech, vs. Michigan Tech |
| 20. |
 New
Hampshire |
2 |
The annual in-state showdown against Dartmouth in two
weeks is the last non-conference game for the Wildcats.
The Hockey East leaders are 0-5-1 against foes from outside
of the league. |
| 8-7-3 (8-2-2
Hockey East) RECENT GAMES: L vs. Cornell, 5-2. THIS WEEK:
vs. UMass Lowell, vs. Massachusetts |