January 9, 2011
INCH Power Rankings

Related Links
Last Week's INCH Power Rankings
USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll
USCHO.com/CSTV Poll

The top-five teams in the INCH Power Rankings are unchanged this week, but that doesn't mean that things were stable throughout. Miami and Maine slipped after combining to drop three games, and upstart Merrimack made a big move forward.

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. Yale
Yale's 15-game streak of scoring three or more goals came to an end against Dartmouth. No worries, Ryan Rondeau made 32 saves to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 victory.
14-1-0 (8-0-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Dartmouth, 2-1; W at Harvard, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Brown, at Brown
2. North Dakota
The Fighting Sioux have won seven straight games, are unbeaten (8-0-1) in their last nine, and are 11-1-1 since a Nov. 6 loss to Minnesota Duluth. WCHA series against Minnesota, Nebraska-Omaha, and Colorado College precede an early February bye weekend.
16-5-2 (11-3-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Robert Morris, 8-0; W vs. Robert Morris, 2-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota, vs. Minnesota
3. New Hampshire
The Wildcats have outscored opponents 16-6 in the first period this year, and got off to fast starts this weekend of 2-0 against UMass Lowell and 1-0 against Massachusetts after 20 minutes.
12-3-4 (10-1-2 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. UMass Lowell, 5-2; W at Massachusetts, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Dartmouth (Manchester, N.H.)
4. Boston College
John Muse (63 saves on 65 shots) and Parker Milner (33 saves on 34 shots) have combined for a .970 save percentage over BC's last three games, allowing just one goal each night in three straight wins.
15-5-0 (11-4-0 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Providence, 4-1; W at Providence, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at Maine
5. Minnesota Duluth
The first series in Amsoil Arena history is on deck (pun intended) for this weekend as Wisconsin visits the Bulldogs. When these two met in November, UMD snuck out of Madison with a pair of overtime wins.
14-4-3 (9-3-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Clarkson, 4-1; W at Clarkson, 4-2; W vs. US NTDP Under-18s, 4-1 (Ex.). THIS WEEK: vs. Wisconsin, vs. Wisconsin
6. Denver
1
We'll guess that Luke Salazar is excited for this weekend's trip to Mankato. He had three goals and an assist earlier this year when the Pioneers swept Minnesota State in Denver.
13-5-4 (9-3-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, at Minnesota State
7. Michigan
1
The Wolverines have scored 80 goals this season—50 in CCHA play, 30 against non-league foes, 40 at home, 30 on the road, and 10 in neutral-site games.
13-6-4 (10-4-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Michigan State, 4-3 ot; W vs. Michigan State, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Ferris State, at Ferris State
8. Rensselaer
RPI has played four conference weekends so far this season and has split those weekends each times. Three of those have seen Saturday victories following Friday losses.
12-5-3 (4-4-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Clarkson, 3-2 ot; W vs. St. Lawrence, 5-3. THIS WEEK: at Cornell, at Colgate
9. Nebraska-Omaha
2
Bemidji State swept the Mavericks earlier this season in Bemidji with 3-0 and 3-1 victories.. Now Nebraska-Omaha hopes to return the favor on home ice.
12-7-1 (9-4-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Bemidji State, vs. Bemidji State
10. Union
2
After winning just seven of its first 34 Division-I contests against Clarkson, Union is 8-3-1 in its last 11 against the Golden Knights. That includes a current three-game winning streak with an aggregate score of 24-4.
13-6-3 (5-2-1 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Lawrence, 3-1; W vs. Clarkson, 8-1. THIS WEEK: at Colgate, at Cornell
11. Notre Dame
3
Who currently leads the country’s freshmen in goals (15) and points (33)? If you answered the Fighting Irish’s T.J. Tynan, who had a goal and three assists against Northern Michigan last weekend, you’re right.
14-7-3 (11-4-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Northern Michigan, 8-1; W at Northern Michigan, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska, vs. Alaska
12. Merrimack
3
Merrimack's wins are impressive, but their losses are also noteworthy, three by a one-goal margin and a two-goal defeat with an empty-netter allowed. The Warriors have been in every game this season.
10-4-4 (6-4-3 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Maine, 7-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston University, vs. Alabama-Huntsville, vs. Alabama-Huntsville (games vs. UAH at Nashville, Tenn.)
13. Wisconsin
Speaking of NCAA leaders, sophomore defenseman Justin Schultz scored his 12th and 13th goals in the Badgers’ sweep of Canisius. He paces the nation’s blueliners in both goals and points (30).
14-7-3 (6-6-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Canisius, 3-0; W vs. Canisius, 6-5 ot. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota Duluth, at Minnesota Duluth
14. Miami
5
Back-to-back losses at Ohio State last weekend mark the first time the RedHawks have dropped both ends of a CCHA series since Jan. 10-11, 2009, when Michigan beat them twice in Ann Arbor.
11-8-3 (8-6-2 CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Ohio State, 1-0; L at Ohio State, 5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Bowling Green, vs. Bowling Green
15. Maine
5
Unlucky Seven: Maine's seven goals allowed against Merrimack were the most goals-against this season for the Black Bears, a repeat of last year's Hockey East championship game overtime loss to Boston College.
9-6-4 (6-4-2 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Merrimack, 7-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Providence, vs. Boston College
16. Boston University
Max Nicastro scored BU's second goal Sunday night, but we suspect that he may be having a little conversation with Hockey East administrators following his aggressive shove of the net toward an official in the third period, for which he earned a 10-minute misconduct.
9-5-6 (7-3-4 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Vermont, 4-2; THIS WEEK: at Merrimack, vs. Harvard
17. Western Michigan
NR
Bronco opponents will tell you: you can’t win if you can’t score. WMU has given up a total of five goals during its current five-game unbeaten streak.
11-6-5 (5-5-4 CCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Alaska, 2-2 ot; W at Alaska, 2-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Ohio State, vs. Ohio State
18. Ohio State
NR
The Buckeyes, who just swept Miami, have won six in a row and seven of eight. They’ll be hard pressed to continue that run; OSU's next five series are at Western Michigan, Notre Dame, at Alaska, Michigan State, and at Michigan.
12-8-1 (7-6-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Miami, 1-0; W vs. Miami, 5-2. THIS WEEK: at Western Michigan, at Western Michigan
19. Colorado College
The Tigers have scored five or more goals in eight of their last 13 games and are averaging a tick more than 4.3 goals per contest during that span.
12-9-1 (8-6-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Alaska Anchorage, at Alaska Anchorage
20. Alaska
3
This week, the Nanooks embark on their annual excursion "outside"—the lower 48 for the rest of us—which lasts nearly two weeks. On the docket this time are tough roadies to Notre Dame and Michigan.
9-7-4 (6-6-4 CCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Western Michigan, 2-2 ot; L vs. Western Michigan, 2-0. THIS WEEK: at Notre Dame, at Notre Dame

Dropped out: Robert Morris, Clarkson

Bubble-licious: Dartmouth, Ferris State, Princeton, RIT, Robert Morris