All season long, we've wondered what it would
take to bump Miami from the top of the INCH Power Rankings.
This week, our answer arrived when the RedHawks dropped a
pair of games to Robert Morris, a team that entered the weekend
with just three wins. It leaves Denver atop the Power Rankings
in a week that also sees Minnesota Duluth and Ferris State
making big moves after impressive sweeps.
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. |
 Denver |
 1 |
Tyler Ruegsegger's game-winning goal with 39 seconds
left in regulation against Alaska Anchorage Saturday didn't
mark the end of the late-game excitement. A fracas at
the final buzzer resulted in 103 minutes in penalties
doled out between the two teams. |
| 14-5-3 (10-3-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Alaska Anchorage, 1-1 ot; W vs.
Alaska Anchorage, 3-2. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 2. |
 Wisconsin |
2 |
The Badgers start a crucial three-week WCHA this week
with a road trip to Colorado College. A home series with
Denver and two games against Minnesota Duluth at the DECC
follow. |
| 12-5-3 (8-4-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. US NTDP U-18s, 7-1 (Ex.). THIS
WEEK: at Colorado College, at Colorado College |
| 3. |
 Yale |
— |
Among the notes passed along from Yale's 4-2 win over
Dartmouth this weekend included that the Bulldogs stayed
at the Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, Vt. Contact the Bulldogs
if you're heading in that direction and would like a review. |
| 9-3-3 (5-1-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Dartmouth, 4-2. THIS WEEK:
at Harvard, vs. Brown |
| 4. |
 Miami |
 3 |
Miami dropping back-to-back games to Robert Morris is
the most suprising event in college hockey since Holy
Cross defeated Minnesota in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
The RedHawks came into the weekend with two total losses
and Robert Morris had three total wins. |
| 13-4-5 (10-1-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Robert Morris, 3-1; L vs. Robert
Morris, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at Ferris State, at Ferris State |
| 5. |
 North
Dakota |
2 |
Injuries continue to mount for the Fighting Sioux. One
day after scoring a pair of goals in a 4-1 win against
Minnesota State, freshman forward Corban Knight learned
he'd miss up to six weeks with an ankle injury. |
| 12-6-4 (8-6-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota State, 4-1; W vs. Minnesota
State, 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota, at Minnesota |
| 6. |
 Cornell
|
— |
The biggest sports news on Cornell's campus this week
was the men's basketball team's near-upset of top-ranked
Kansas. The hockey team returns to the ice this week at
St. Lawrence and Clarkson and is back at Lynah next week
against North Dakota. |
| 8-4-2 (6-2-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Clarkson, at
St. Lawrence |
| 7. |
 Michigan
State |
2 |
The Spartans stand one point behind CCHA co-leaders
Miami and Ferris State; but would be tied for first with
Miami, a point ahead of Ferris, in the pre-shootout /
three-point game CCHA standings. |
| 15-6-3 (10-3-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. US NTDP U-18s, 8-2 (Ex.), W vs.
Lake Superior State, 4-2; T vs. Lake Superior State, 3-3
ot. THIS WEEK: at Notre Dame, vs. Notre Dame |
| 8. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
6 |
Let's dub the Bulldogs' forward trio of Mike Connolly,
Jack Connolly, and Justin Fontaine the FCC Line. They
can't be regulated, combining for six goals and seven
assists in the weekend sweep of Colorado College. |
| 14-7-1 (10-5-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Colorado College, 5-2; W vs. Colorado
College, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, at Minnesota
State |
| 9. |
 Colorado
College |
4 |
The Tigers had been perfect in seven league road games
until this weekend, when they were swept by Minnesota
Duluth. Now losers of three straight, they try to bounce
back in Colorado Springs against a hot Wisconsin team. |
| 12-7-3 (8-5-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Minnesota Duluth, 5-2; L at Minnesota
Duluth, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Wisconsin, vs. Wisconsin |
| 10. |
 Ferris
State |
3 |
The Bulldogs are tied for sixth nationally in scoring
offense and third overall in scoring defense. That's a
pretty simple formula to building a 16-4-2 record, which
gives them the country's best winning percentage. |
| 16-4-2 (10-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Notre Dame, 5-2; W at Notre Dame,
4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Miami, vs. Miami |
| 11. |
 Boston
College |
3 |
They didn't come out and say it, but it's easy to attribute
the Eagles' 3-0 deficit to a letdown after seeing just
how cool BU's uniforms were for Friday's Frozen Fenway
event. |
| 10-6-2 (7-4-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Boston University, 3-2 (Frozen
Fenway). THIS WEEK: vs. Providence, vs. Maine |
| 12. |
 Bemidji
State |
2 |
It took Robert Morris's sweep of the No. 1 team in the
country for the other three CHA teams to combined for
more wins than Bemidji State's 14 this season. |
| 14-4-2 (8-0-0
CHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Niagara, at Niagara |
| 13. |
 UMass
Lowell |
1 |
Sophomore Michael Scheu—pronounced "shoe"—sized
up his second goal of the game in overtime Saturday night,
giving him two three-point games in his last five outings. |
| 12-7-2 (6-4-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T at New Hampshire, 2-2 ot; W
at Northeastern, 6-5 ot. THIS WEEK: at Massachusetts,
vs. Massachusetts |
| 14. |
 Union |
2 |
The Dutchmen have alternated scoring 7 and 2 goals in
their recent four-game winning streak. If the pattern
holds, that's bad news for Rensselaer, who will need 8
goals to win this weekend. |
| 12-4-5 (6-0-3
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Princeton, 7-3; W at Quinnipiac,
2-1 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Rensselaer |
| 15. |
 Quinnipiac |
4 |
Quinnipiac fell out of first place in the ECAC Hockey
standings for the first time all season, and there's potential
for them to slip further the next two weeks, when they
play non-league series against St. Cloud State and Niagara. |
| 13-7-1 (7-6-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Rensselaer, 4-1; L vs. Union,
2-1 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State, vs. St. Cloud
State |
| 16. |
 Maine |
1 |
This epic
feature on the three Swedish Black Bears is worth
a read. If nothing else, you'll learn that if you ever
need to count to 100 in Swedish while in Orono you can
ask one of them or teammate Ryan Hegarty, who apparently
has it down. |
| 11-7-2 (8-4-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Merrimack, 4-2. THIS WEEK:
at Boston College, at Providence |
| 17. |
 St.
Cloud State |
2 |
Maybe Leif Garrett performed the national anthem? Garrett
Roe had a goal and two assists and Garrett Raboin had
two goals and an assist in the Huskies' 5-1 win over Michigan
Tech Saturday. |
| 12-7-3 (9-5-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan Tech, 4-2; W vs. Michigan
Tech, 5-1. THIS WEEK: at Quinnipiac, at Quinnipiac |
| 18. |
 New
Hampshire |
2 |
Bobby Butler's four-point Saturday night gives him career
totals of 10 goals and 16 points in 15 games against UMass. |
| 9-7-4 (9-2-3
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T vs. UMass Lowell, 2-2 ot. W
vs. Massachusetts, 7-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Dartmouth (Manchester,
N.H.) |
| 19. |
 Massachusetts |
4 |
Head coach Don Cahoon lamented his program's
lack of success in the face of high expectations and national
rankings after Saturday night's loss. Not that this weekend's
opponents know anybody like that ... |
| 12-8-0 (7-6-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at New Hampshire, 7-2; W at
Northeastern, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. UMass Lowell, at UMass
Lowell |
| 20. |
 Alaska |
2 |
The Nanooks haven't won two in a row or lost two in
a row since a pair of victories over Ferris State on Halloween
weekend, but they did have two ties against Northern Michigan
in November. |
| 10-6-4 (7-6-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Nebraska-Omaha, 3-1; L at Nebraska-Omaha,
2-1. THIS WEEK: at Michigan, at Michigan |