It's no surprise to see Miami and Denver populating
the top two spots of the latest INCH Power Rankings. They've
been at or near the top of the rankings all season long and
regain those positions this week after getting weekend sweeps
in conference play.
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 RedHawks gave up two goals in their weekend sweep
of Western Michigan. In 20 CCHA games, they’ve allowed
a total of 23 goals. |
| 18-4-6 (15-1-4
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 4-1; W vs. Western
Michigan, 2-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Lake Superior State, vs.
Lake Superior State |
| 2. |
 Denver |
 1 |
You’d think it’d take some digging to find
the last time the Pioneers won four straight against the
North Dakota, but DU took five in a row from the Sioux
from March 27, 2004, to April 9, 2005, a run that included
two NCAA tournament wins and one WCHA Final Five victory. |
| 16-6-4 (12-4-4
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at North Dakota, 2-0; W at North Dakota,
4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Mercyhurst, at Air Force |
| 3. |
 Wisconsin |
 1 |
Senior forward Blake Geoffrion, who scored the Badgers’
final goal in Friday’s 5-2 win at Minnesota Duluth,
has 18 goals this season, all but two of which have come
in WCHA play. |
| 15-7-4 (11-6-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Minnesota Duluth, 5-2; L at Minnesota
Duluth, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan (Culver's Camp Randall
Classic) |
| 4. |
 Cornell
|
1 |
Cornell snapped an 0-for-30 drought on the power play
with three PPGs in the second period against Clarkson.
The Big Red moved into first place in ECAC Hockey with
a four-point weekend. |
| 12-5-3 (9-2-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Lawrence, 2-1; W vs.
Clarkson, 5-3. THIS WEEK: at Quinnipiac, at Princeton |
| 5. |
 St.
Cloud State |
2 |
Saturday’s loss to Colorado College snapped the
Huskies’ nine-game winning streak, but it didn’t
stop their offensive explosion. In 10 games since Jan.
1, SCSU is averaging 4.1 goals per game. |
| 17-8-3 (12-6-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Colorado College, 5-4; L at Colorado
College, 6-4. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska
Anchorage |
| 6. |
 Yale |
— |
The four-goal loss to RPI was Yale's largest margin
of defeat since an 8-3 loss to Nebraska-Omaha last season.
The Bulldogs responded by going 12-1-2 in the next 15
games. |
| 12-6-3 (8-4-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Union, 4-3; L vs. Rensselaer,
4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Dartmouth, vs. Harvard |
| 7. |
 Michigan
State |
2 |
Saturday’s 5-4 loss to Michigan at Joe Louis Arena
was the Spartans’ first in four games with their
archrival this season. More surprising is that Saturday’s
game also marked the first time the Wolverines held a
lead against MSU this season. |
| 17-9-4 (12-6-4
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan, 3-2; L vs. Michigan,
5-4 (Joe Louis Arena). THIS WEEK: at Alaska, at Alaska |
| 8. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
2 |
"We were a completely different team," Bulldog
goaltender Kenny Reiter told the Duluth News-Tribune’s
Kevin Pates following Saturday’s 4-0 win against
Wisconsin. Reiter would know—after stopping 47 shots
in a 5-2 loss Friday, he made a relatively miniscule 28
saves to earn his first career WCHA shutout. |
| 17-10-1
(13-6-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Wisconsin, 5-2; W vs. Wisconsin,
4-0. THIS WEEK: at Michigan Tech, at Michigan Tech |
| 9. |
 North
Dakota |
5 |
Maybe it’s coincidence, but the Brad Schlossman
of the Grand Forks Herald reports that since
Brett Hextall has been out of the lineup with an injury,
the Fighting Sioux are 1-4-1 and have scored two goals
in their last 40 power-play opportunities. |
| 13-10-5
(8-9-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Denver, 2-0; L vs. Denver,
4-2. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 10. |
 Colorado
College |
1 |
The Tigers have won just three of their last nine games.
The common denominator in those victories: six, as in
the number of goals CC has netted in each of the three
triumphs, the latest being a 6-4 win against visiting
St. Cloud State Saturday. |
| 15-10-3
(11-8-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. St. Cloud State, 5-4; W
vs. St. Cloud State, 6-4. THIS WEEK: vs. Air Force, vs.
Mercyhurst |
| 11. |
 Bemidji
State |
3 |
Statistical oddity of the week: the Beavers have yet
to lose to a team with a record better than .500. The
five teams that have beaten BSU this season (Minnesota,
Ohio State, Minnesota State, Niagara, and Robert Morris)
have a combined mark of 49-69-13. |
| 18-6-2 (10-2-0
CHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Robert Morris, 5-1; L vs. Robert
Morris, 5-2. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 12. |
 Ferris
State |
— |
The Bulldogs have as many losses in their last six games
(four) as they did in the first 22. Ferris is 1-4-1 in
its last half-dozen outings and has given up an average
of 3.5 goals per game during that span. |
| 17-8-3 (11-6-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Ohio State, 5-3; T at Ohio State,
3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan, vs. Northern
Michigan |
| 13. |
 New
Hampshire |
— |
The line of Mike Sislo, Peter LeBlanc and Stevie Moses
combined for eight points in UNH's 4-3 overtime win against
Merrimack. |
| 13-8-4 (12-3-3
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Merrimack, 3-2; W vs. Merrimack,
4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: at Maine, at Maine |
| 14. |
 Boston
College |
— |
The Eagles are showing signs of offensive life with
20 goals scored over their last five games. BC scored
all five of its goals in the first period in Friday's
win over Providence. |
| 13-8-2 (10-6-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Providence, 5-2. THIS WEEK:
vs. Harvard (Beanpot), at Massachusetts |
| 15. |
 Union |
— |
Union's four-game winless streak earlier this season
overlapped with its season-best nine-game unbeaten streak.
The Dutchmen are currently on an 0-3-1 streak. |
| 13-7-6 (7-3-4
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L at Yale, 4-3; T at Brown, 2-2
ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Clarkson, vs. St. Lawrence |
| 16. |
 Maine |
2 |
Maine is the first team this season to hold Vermont
without a win in a two-game weekend at Gutterson Field
House. The Black Bears built a 3-0 first-period lead in
Friday's win. |
| 12-9-3 (9-6-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Vermont, 6-3; T at Vermont,
4-4 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. New Hampshire, vs. New Hampshire |
| 17. |
 St.
Lawrence |
— |
The Saints rallied from a pair of one-goal deficits
and went on to a 3-2 overtime win at Colgate. Mike McKenzie
scored the game-winner on assists from Travis Vermeulen
and Matt Raley at 4:18 of OT. |
| 14-9-4 (8-4-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L at Cornell, 2-1; W at Colgate,
3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Rensselaer, at Union |
| 18. |
 Massachusetts |
— |
All three times that UMass has broken a losing streak
this season, they've done so with a 4-1 victory, most
recently against Providence. They also did so Dec. 12
versus Merrimack and Jan. 10 at Northeastern. |
| 16-10-0
(11-8-0 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Boston University,
6-2; W at Providence, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston College |
| 19. |
 UMass
Lowell |
2 |
Lowell's attempt to earn a three-game winning
streak fell short against Northeastern. The River Hawks'
four-game win streak in mid-November marked the only time
this year that they've won more than two in a row. |
| 14-10-2
(8-7-2 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Northeastern, 2-1.
THIS WEEK: vs. Boston University, at Merrimack |
| 20. |
 Michigan |
NR |
Saturday’s game against Wisconsin at Camp Randall
Stadium creates a bit of a scheduling oddity for the Wolverines;
they play at Bowling Green this Thursday, then wrap the
home-and-home with the Falcons in Ann Arbor on the Tuesday
following the outdoor match in Madison. |
| 15-12-1
(10-9-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Michigan State, 3-2; W vs.
Michigan State, 5-4 (Joe Louis Arena). THIS WEEK: at Bowling
Green, at Wisconsin (Culver's Camp Randall Classic) |