For the fourth week in a row, a different team
resides atop the INCH Power Rankings. The latest big dog is
a bulldog, from the western shore of Lake Superior. Speaking
of mascots, we say hello to an old friend at the other end
of the rankings, the Skating Friar from Providence.
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. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
 1 |
With two wins against Michigan Tech, the 'Dogs improved
to 9-1-2—the best record through 12 games in school
history, topping the 1989-90 team's 10-2 start and the
1982-83 club's 9-2-1 start. |
| 9-1-2 (6-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan Tech, 5-3; W vs. Michigan
Tech, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Wisconsin, at Wisconsin |
| 2. |
 Boston
University |
 1 |
If the Terriers had three ties in a row last year it
would have been one game shy of their best unbeaten stretch
of the season. This year, it extends their record to 6-0-4. |
| 6-0-4 (4-0-4
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T vs. Merrimack, 1-1 ot; T at
Merrimack, 3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: at New Hampshire, vs. New
Hampshire |
| 3. |
 Maine |
— |
Goals in both wins against Northeastern this weekend
gave Joey Diamond nine in his last 12 games, dating back
to last season. |
| 6-1-3 (4-0-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Northeastern, 4-2; W vs.
Northeastern, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Boston College, at Boston
College |
| 4. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
7 |
It's one of the most highly anticipated events of the
year. The release of the new Harry Potter movie? Nah,
we're talking about Blais Bowl I in Omaha, where the Mavs
entertain the North Dakota Voldemorts. |
| 8-1-1 (5-0-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at St. Cloud State, 3-0; T at St. Cloud
State, 4-4 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. North Dakota, vs. North
Dakota |
| 5. |
 Yale |
1 |
It looked like another two-win weekend for Yale when
Denny Kearney gave the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead at Air Force
in the first minute of the third period Sunday, but the
Falcons scored four straight to hand Yale its first loss
of the year. |
| 5-1-0 (2-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Colorado College, 5-1; L
at Air Force, 4-3. THIS WEEK: at Cornell, at Colgate |
| 6. |
 North
Dakota |
2 |
Prior to this past weekend, the Fighting Sioux had only
swept Wisconsin on one prior occasion in the 12-year history
of the Kohl Center. |
| 7-4-1 (6-2-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Wisconsin, 1-0; W at Wisconsin,
4-2. THIS WEEK: at Nebraska-Omaha, at Nebraska-Omaha |
| 7. |
 New
Hampshire |
2 |
Goaltender Matt DiGirolamo posted his first career shutout
Friday night after allowing just one goal in each of the
previous two games. |
| 5-1-3 (3-0-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Massachusetts, 3-0; T vs.
Massachusetts, 3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston University,
at Boston University |
| 8. |
 Miami |
3 |
Here's how good Carter Camper has been thus far—he
had four points in the RedHawks' split with Alaska, yet
his points per game slid from 2.4 to 2.33. |
| 6-3-3 (4-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska, 4-0; L vs. Alaska, 3-2.
THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green, at Bowling Green |
| 9. |
 Michigan |
3 |
Summing up the last four weekends for the Wolverines:
On Fridays—a total of five goals scored and an 0-3-1
record. On Saturdays—19 goals scored and a 4-0-0
mark. |
| 6-3-3 (5-2-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Notre Dame, 3-1; W vs. Notre Dame,
5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Lake Superior State, vs. Lake Superior
State |
| 10. |
 Union |
3 |
After winning four of its first six games by four goals
or more, Union has a smaller margin for error. They have
three ties, and three one-goal games (two wins, one loss)
in their last six outings. |
| 7-2-3 (2-1-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Rensselaer, 2-1; L at Rensselaer,
4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 11. |
 Notre
Dame |
2 |
Freshman Anders Lee scored his eighth goal of the year
in Saturday's 5-3 loss at Michigan. The only rookie in
the nation with more goals is Colorado College's Jaden
Schwartz (nine). |
| 7-3-1 (5-2-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Michigan, 3-1; L at Michigan, 5-3.
THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan State, vs. Michigan State |
| 12. |
 Alaska |
2 |
After getting shut out at Miami Friday, the Nanooks
salvaged a split Saturday, scoring twice in the last five
minutes of regulation to steal a 3-2 win. |
| 7-4-1 (4-3-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Miami, 4-0; W at Miami, 3-2. THIS
WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan, vs. Northern Michigan |
| 13. |
 Boston
College |
3 |
A month ago the Eagles swept Denver with
ease and you wondered if they'd lose all year. They're
4-4-0 since and it seems like a split would be welcome
against surging Maine. |
| 6-4-0 (4-3-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Vermont, 3-2; L at Vermont,
5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Maine, vs. Maine |
| 15. |
 Denver |
2 |
Fun with round numbers: Forward Anthony Maiani became
the 92nd Pioneer to reach the 100-career point plateau
with a shorthanded goal in the third period of Saturday's
6-1 win against Minnesota State. |
| 6-4-2 (5-2-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota State, 3-2; W vs. Minnesota
State, 6-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Bemidji State, vs. Bemidji
State |
| 15. |
 Wisconsin |
3 |
We should say something about getting swept by North
Dakota or the upcoming series with UMD, but we can't get
over the fact that the Badger football team hung 83 points
on Indiana. |
| 6-4-2 (3-3-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. North Dakota, 1-0; L vs. North
Dakota, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota Duluth, vs. Minnesota
Duluth |
| 16. |
 Western
Michigan |
1 |
More from the “That Was Then, This is Now”
file: Last season, two Broncos shared the team lead with
eight goals in 36 games. This season, senior forward Max
Campbell has five goals in 10 games. |
| 6-2-2 (2-1-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Ferris State, at Ferris
State |
| 17. |
 Rensselaer
|
1 |
The Engineers have a weekend off before hosting their
annual holiday tournament right after Thanksgiving. The
turkey will taste better after Saturday's late rally against
Union - RPI tied the game with less than a second left
in the third and won in overtime. |
| 5-3-3 (2-2-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L at Union, 2-1; W vs. Union,
4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 18. |
 Robert
Morris |
1 |
Robert Morris got the game-tying goal with 28 seconds
left in the third period to salvage a point in the series
opener against Sacred Heart, then took care of business
Saturday by a 5-1 score as Nathan Longpre assisted on
four of the tallies. |
| 7-2-1 (6-2-1
Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: T vs. Sacred Heart, 4-4 ot;
W vs. Sacred Heart, 5-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Mercyhurst, at
Canisius |
| 19. |
 Michigan
State |
4 |
One can sum up the Spartans’ fortunes through
10 games thusly: They’ve allowed 20 goals in their
three losses and three ties, and given up four goals in
their four victories. |
| 4-3-3 (2-3-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Ohio State, 4-3 ot; W vs. Ohio
State, 4-0. THIS WEEK: at Notre Dame, at Notre Dame |
| 20. |
 Providence |
NR |
The Friars are 4-0-2 in their last six with winnable
games against Northeastern (twice) and Holy Cross the
rest of the month. |
| 5-4-2 (3-2-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Alabama-Huntsville, 3-1;
W at Alabama-Huntsville, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Northeastern,
at Northeastern |