Boston College remains on top of the INCH Power
Rankings and Miami moved back into the top 10 following a
sweep of Michigan.
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. |
 Boston
College |
— |
BC's Beanpot tuneup was a 5-0 win over UMass that included
two goals and an assist from defenseman Philip Samuelsson.
Now the Eagles seek their fourth win of the season against
BU in the Beanpot semifinals Monday. |
| 19-6-0 (15-5-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Massachusetts, 5-0; THIS
WEEK: vs. Boston University (Beanpot Tournament), at Providence |
| 2. |
 Yale |
— |
Even though the teams reside at opposite ends of the
standings, it still means a lot when Yale beats Ancient
Eight-rival Harvard. Even more for senior Jimmy Martin,
who scored the only goal in a 1-0 win. |
| 19-4-0 (13-3-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Harvard, 1-0; W vs. Dartmouth,
4-2. THIS WEEK: at St. Lawrence, at Clarkson |
| 3. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
 2 |
With five goals in Saturday’s 6-4 win against
Minnesota, Bulldog forward Mike Connolly tied the school
record for most goals in one game, equaling the mark set
by Steve "Pokey" Trachsel against Lake Superior
State on Nov. 17, 1972. |
| 18-5-4 (13-4-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Minnesota, 2-2 ot; W vs. Minnesota,
6-4. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State, vs. St. Cloud State |
| 4. |
 North
Dakota |
— |
The series between the Fighting Sioux and Alaska Anchorage,
this weekend’s opponent, has been surprisingly close
in recent years. Since the start of the 2006-07 season,
NoDak owns a 7-4-2 edge on the Seawolves. |
| 19-8-2 (14-6-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage,
vs. Alaska Anchorage |
| 5. |
 Denver |
 2 |
Call it a Shore Trick: Nick Shore scored a pair of goals
and older brother, Drew, scored during a second-period
power play in the Pioneers’ 5-3 win against Colorado
College Saturday. |
| 17-6-5 (13-4-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Colorado College, 3-2; W vs. Colorado
College, 5-3. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota, at Minnesota |
| 6. |
 New
Hampshire |
— |
UNH's top line of Mike Sislo, Paul Thompson and Phil
DeSimone gets most of the attention, but the Wildcats
got goals from three lines in both wins over Maine this
weekend. |
| 17-5-4 (15-2-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Maine, 6-3; W vs. Maine,
5-4. THIS WEEK: vs. Merrimack, at Merrimack |
| 7. |
 Union |
1 |
Union has won five straight and nine of their last 10
to reach the 20-win plateau for the season, the first
team in college hockey to achieve that feat. Friday's
win saw the Dutchmen rally from a 4-1 deficit and score
the game's last six goals. |
| 20-7-3 (12-3-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Princeton, 7-4; W at Quinnipiac,
3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Cornell, vs. Colgate |
| 8. |
 Rensselaer |
1 |
RPI overcame an injury to starting goalie Allen York
and a couple of significant third-period delays due to
ice issues at Baker Rink to get a 5-2 win over Princeton.
Tyler Helfrich had four points in the victory. |
| 18-6-4 (10-5-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: T at Quinnipiac, 3-3 ot; W at
Princeton, 5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Colgate, vs. Cornell |
| 9. |
 Merrimack |
1 |
There was no shortage of highlights in an 11-2 win for
Merrimack. Chris Barton had points on the Warriors' first
four goals, and capped the night by scoring the team's
11th. Barton also had four assists in a 4-3 ot win over
Merrimack. |
| 17-5-4 (11-5-3
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Northeastern, 4-3 ot; W vs.
Massachusetts, 11-2. THIS WEEK: at New Hampshire, vs.
New Hampshire |
| 10. |
 Miami |
3 |
The RedHawks’ special teams played
a huge role in their sweep of Michigan in Oxford last
weekend. Miami was a perfect 12 of 12 on the penalty kill
and scored three power-play goals in 13 chances. |
| 16-9-5 (13-7-4
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan, 4-2; W vs. Michigan,
3-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Western Michigan, vs. Western Michigan |
| 11. |
 Wisconsin |
— |
The Jan. 28-29 series at Michigan Tech started a stretch
of six road games over the final five weeks of the regular
season for the Badgers, which played a total of eight
road games between an Oct. 22-23 trip to Denver and a
Jan. 15-16 visit to Minnesota Duluth. |
| 19-8-3 (11-7-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Nebraska-Omaha, at
Nebraska-Omaha |
| 12. |
 Michigan |
3 |
Saturday’s 3-0 shutout loss to Miami marked just
the second time in the 97 meetings between the two teams
that the Wolverines had been blanked by the RedHawks. |
| 17-9-4 (14-7-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Miami, 4-2; L at Miami, 3-0. THIS
WEEK: vs. Ohio State, vs. Ohio State |
| 13. |
 Notre
Dame |
1 |
Last week marked the first time in school history the
Fighting Irish men’s and women’s basketball
and hockey teams simultaneously appeared in the top-10
in their respective national rankings. |
| 16-9-5 (13-6-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Bowling Green, vs.
Bowling Green |
| 14. |
 Western
Michigan |
— |
The Broncos scored a total of four goals in its win
and tie against Bowling Green last weekend. That equals
the number of catches Kalamazoo native and WMU alum Greg
Jennings had in Green Bay’s win over Pittsburgh
in Sunday’s Super Bowl XLV. |
| 15-6-9 (9-5-8
CCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Bowling Green, 1-1 ot; W vs. Bowling
Green, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at Miami, at Miami |
| 15. |
 Boston
University |
— |
BU is riding a three-game unbeaten streak into the first
Beanpot Monday, and even though the Terriers haven't managed
a win against BC this year, the games have been closer
each time. |
| 13-7-7 (10-5-5
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. UMass Lowell, 3-1. THIS
WEEK: vs. Boston College (Beanpot Tournament), at Massachusetts |
| 16. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
3 |
In Friday’s 3-0 shutout of visiting St. Cloud
State, the Mavericks scored thrice in a 3:25 span of the
second. In UNO’s 4-3 win over the Huskies Saturday,
the Mavs rallied with three third-period goals in 3:30. |
| 16-10-2
(12-6-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Cloud State, 3-0; W
vs. St. Cloud State, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Wisconsin, vs.
Wisconsin |
| 17. |
 Dartmouth |
1 |
The Big Green have put together a pretty solid NCAA
Tournament resume with notable wins over Union and New
Hampshire, and five of Dartmouth's seven losses have come
against top-10 teams Yale and Rensselaer. |
| 13-7-3 (9-5-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Brown, 3-0; L at Yale, 4-2.
THIS WEEK: vs. Quinnipiac, vs. Princeton |
| 18. |
 Colorado
College |
2 |
Three times this season, the Tigers have climbed to
four games above .500 but failed in their attempt to go
five over the break-even mark. With its 5-3 win at home
against CC Saturday, Denver is the latest team to keep
the Tigers from getting to plus-five. |
| 16-13-1
(10-10-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Denver, 3-2; L at Denver,
5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota State, vs. Minnesota State |
| 19. |
 RIT |
NR |
RIT fans are getting their money's worth if they're
paying by the minute. The Tigers have played four consecutive
overtime games and four straight home games have gone
to the extra session. |
| 14-8-7 (13-3-6
Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Air Force, 1-0 ot; T
vs. Air Force, 5-5 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Canisius, at Canisius |
| 20. |
 Maine |
2 |
Maine hangs on to the last spot by default after another
pair of losses, but the Black Bears' schedule is more
manageable over the next four games, as it includes six
games against Vermont, UMass Lowell and Massachusetts. |
| 11-9-6 (8-7-4
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at New Hampshire, 6-3; L at
New Hampshire, 5-4. THIS WEEK: vs. Vermont, vs. Vermont |