January 23, 2011
INCH Power Rankings

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

It's like we're back in Worcester. The top-three teams in the latest INCH Power Rankings played in an NCAA Regional there last spring. Yale returned to form with a pair of wins this weekend and Boston College moved up to the second spot. Third-ranked North Dakota rounds out the trio.

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 bounced back from its second loss of the year with a pair of three-goal wins. The Bulldogs have won 11 of their 17 games by three goals or more.
17-2-0 (11-1-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Clarkson, 5-2; W vs. St. Lawrence, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Union, at Rensselaer (Big Red Freakout!)
2. Boston College
2
BC defenseman Brian Dumoulin scored a power-play goal that turned into the game-winner against BU, then assisted on three Eagle goals in a win over UMass Lowell.
17-6-0 (13-5-0 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Boston University, 3-2; W vs. UMass Lowell, 5-3. THIS WEEK: at UMass Lowell
3. North Dakota
1
The eight goals scored by Nebraska Omaha in Grand Forks Friday are the most scored by a visitor in the 10-year history of the new Ralph Engelstad Arena and the most allowed by the Fighting Sioux at home since Minnesota hung a 10 spot on NoDak back in 1992.
18-7-2 (13-5-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 8-4; W vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Colorado College, at Colorado College
4. Minnesota Duluth
1
By blanking Michigan Tech twice in Houghton this past weekend, the Bulldogs recorded the first series shutout in school history; it’s just the second time in the 67-year history of UMD hockey that the Bulldogs held opponents scoreless in consecutive games.
17-5-3 (12-4-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Michigan Tech, 5-0; W at Michigan Tech, 3-0. THIS WEEK: Off
5. Denver
1
The Pioneers were 4-4-2 on Nov. 6 after dropping a 9-2 decision at Colorado College. In the 16 games they’ve played since then, DU is 12-1-3 overall and 9-0-1 at Magness Arena.
16-5-5 (12-3-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 3-2; W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 5-1. THIS WEEK: Off
6. Michigan
1
Forward Carl Hagelin had five assists in the Wolverines’ weekend sweep of Alaska to extend his current point streak to nine games (6-13—19). He’s had multiple points in all but one of those matches.
17-6-4 (14-4-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska, 2-0; W vs. Alaska, 4-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan State (Joe Louis Arena; Detroit)
7. New Hampshire
4
Saturday’s 3-2 loss to Boston University at the Whittemore Center snapped the Wildcats’ 27-game home unbeaten streak against Hockey East foes.
13-5-4 (11-2-2 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Providence, 4-3 ot; L vs. Boston University, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at Providence, vs. Providence
8. Rensselaer
2
RPI broke a trend of splitting five-straight conference weekends with a four-point effort in wins over Harvard and Dartmouth. Momentum builds ahead of this weekend's Big Red Freakout! against top-ranked Yale.
15-6-3 (7-5-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Harvard, 3-2; W vs. Dartmouth, 5-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Brown, vs. Yale (Big Red Freakout!)
9. Union
1
Union rallied for two third-period goals and defeated Harvard, the Dutchmen's first win this season in six games when trailing after two periods.
16-7-3 (8-3-1 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Dartmouth, 4-1; W vs. Harvard, 2-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Yale, vs. Brown
10. Merrimack
1
A loss on Saturday snapped Merrimack's six-game winning streak, which was the program's longest since joining Hockey East and since the 1987-88 season.
13-5-4 (7-5-3 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Boston University, 3-2; L vs. UMass Lowell, 6-4. THIS WEEK: vs. Vermont, vs. Vermont
11. Wisconsin
2
With the weekend sweep of visiting Minnesota State, the Badgers extended their home winning streak to nine, the longest in Kohl Center history and the best in a single season since 1985-86.
17-8-3 (9-7-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota State, 3-2; W vs. Minnesota State, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at Michigan Tech, at Michigan Tech
12. Notre Dame
1
One night after being pulled in the Fighting Irish’s 6-1 loss at Ohio State, sophomore goaltender Mike Johnson stopped 29 of the 30 shots he faced Saturday to lead his team to a 4-1 win against the Buckeyes and a series split.
16-9-3 (13-6-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Ohio State, 6-1; W at Ohio State, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Miami, vs. Miami
13. Miami
1
Disgusted with Friday’s 7-4 loss at Michigan State, coach Enrico Blasi benched four regulars—defensemen Cameron Schilling and Will Weber and forwards Alden Hirschfeld and Curtis McKenzie. The result? A 4-0 shutout of the Spartans Saturday.
14-9-3 (11-7-2 CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Michigan State, 7-4; W at Michigan State, 4-0. THIS WEEK: at Notre Dame, at Notre Dame
14. Maine
Five of Maine's six losses this year have come against teams currently ranked in our top-15— BC (twice), Merrimack, New Hampshire and Miami.
11-6-5 (8-4-3 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T at Northeastern, 3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston University, vs. Boston University
15. Nebraska-Omaha
A simple breakdown of the Mavericks’ season to date: In its 13 wins, UNO has scored a total of 59 goals, an average of more than 4.5 goals per game. In its nine losses, the Mavs have registered a total 18 goals for an average of 2.0 per game.
13-9-2 (10-6-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at North Dakota, 8-4; L at North Dakota, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Alabama-Huntsville, vs. Alabama-Huntsville
16. Western Michigan
1
The Broncos have fewer CCHA wins (six) than all but two teams but are in a fourth-place tie in the league standings thanks to a conference-best seven ties and a four overtime shootout wins.
12-6-8 (6-5-7 CCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Lake Superior State, 2-2 ot; T at Lake Superior State, 4-4 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan, vs. Northern Michigan
17. Boston University
1
The Terriers turned around a pair of one-goal losses with a 2-1 victory at New Hampshire. Now, a weekend at Maine and the upcoming Beanpot are an opportunity to get this BU season turned in the right direction for the stretch run.
11-7-6 (8-5-4 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Merrimack, 3-2; L vs. Boston College, 3-2; W at New Hampshire, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at Maine, at Maine
18. Dartmouth
If it seems like Dartmouth usually struggles against RPI, it's because it's probably true. Dartmouth is 3-6-1 in its last 10 games against the Engineers over the last four seasons.
11-6-2 (7-4-1 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Union, 4-1; L at Rensselaer, 5-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Cornell, vs. Colgate
19. Ohio State
1
Super Bowl Sunday is a win-win proposition for senior forward Sergio Somma. The Pittsburgh native, who had a pair of assists in Friday’s 6-1 win over Notre Dame, played junior hockey for the United States Hockey League’s Green Bay Gamblers.
13-10-2 (8-8-2 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Notre Dame, 6-1; L vs. Notre Dame, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Alaska, at Alaska
20. Princeton
NR
Princeton returns from its exam break with a non-leaguer Tuesday against Sacred Heart before making the trip to upstate New York's North Country and games at St. Lawrence and Clarkson.
11-6-1 (7-4-1 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Sacred Heart, at St. Lawrence, at Clarkson

Dropped out: Alaska

Bubble-licious: Colorado College, Minnesota, Niagara, RIT