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 |