The latest INCH Power Rankings could be subtitled
"A Tale of Two Halves" based on the results of this
past weekend. Of the top 11 teams from a week ago, all but
one advanced in their respective league tournaments. Only
three of the nine teams ranked 12th or lower moved on in the
conference playoffs, however.
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. |
 North
Dakota |
— |
Friday must've been a profitable night at the Ralph
Engelstad Arena team store; forwards Matt Frattin and
Jason Gregoire both netted hat tricks in the Fighting
Sioux's 8-0 rout of Michigan Tech in the first game of
the WCHA playoff series between the two teams. |
| 28-8-3 LAST
WEEK: W vs. Michigan Tech, 8-0; W vs. Michigan Tech, 3-1
(WCHA First-Round Series). THIS WEEK: at WCHA Final Five
(St. Paul, Minn.) |
| 2. |
 Boston
College |
— |
The last Eagles-Huskies matchup at the Garden (a 7-6
BC overtime win in the Beanpot) had fans begging for more.
And your silly parents always told you not to beg. |
| 28-7-1 LAST
WEEK: W vs. Massachusetts, 4-1; W vs. Massachusetts, 4-2
(Hockey East Quarterfinals). THIS WEEK: at Hockey East
Championship (Boston, Mass.) |
| 3. |
 Miami |
 2 |
Just as they have done come tournament time each of
the last two years, the Redhawks got timely goals from
atypical sources in a sweep of Alaska, with Patrick Tiesling,
Cameron Schilling and Vincent Loverde all lighting the
lamp. |
| 21-9-6 LAST
WEEK: W vs. Alaska, 4-1; W vs. Alaska, 4-1 (CCHA Quarterfinals).
THIS WEEK: at CCHA Championship (Detroit, Mich.) |
| 4. |
 Michigan |
2 |
Junior forward David Wohlberg opened the scoring for
the weekend with his 15th goal of the year in Friday's
first period, but was likely lost for the season with
a collarbone injury later in that same game. Wohlberg's
absence makes the potential return of Louie Caporusso
for the CCHA Championship that much more important. |
| 25-9-4 LAST
WEEK: W vs. Bowling Green, 5-1; W vs. Bowling Green, 4-1
(CCHA Quarterfinals). THIS WEEK: at CCHA Championship
(Detroit, Mich.) |
| 5. |
 Yale |
 1 |
Yale was stretched to three games by St. Lawrence in
a quarterfinal series, but it might have only been one
bad period that extended the Bulldogs' weekend. They actually
led 3-1 in the third period of Friday's loss. |
| 25-6-1 LAST
WEEK: L vs. St. Lawrence, 4-3 ot; W vs. St. Lawrence,
5-2; W vs. St. Lawrence, 4-0 (ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals).
THIS WEEK: at ECAC Hockey Championship (Atlantic City,
N.J.) |
| 6. |
 Merrimack |
1 |
With all eyes on Stephane Da Costa (and his knee), the
third line of Ryan Flanigan, Carter Madsen and Elliott
Sheen totaled seven goals and nine assists in two games
to dispatch Maine. |
| 24-8-4 LAST
WEEK: W vs. Maine, 5-4; W vs. Maine, 6-2 (Hockey East
Quarterfinals). THIS WEEK: at Hockey East Championship
(Boston, Mass.) |
| 7. |
 Union |
4 |
We're most surprised by this series result on the weekend,
but Union can get a mulligan after closing its season
so impressively with a 14-1-1 run over the last two months
of the ECAC Hockey season. |
| 26-9-4 LAST
WEEK: W vs. Colgate, 4-1; L vs. Colgate, 4-2; L vs. Colgate,
4-3 ot (ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals). THIS WEEK: Off |
| 8. |
 New
Hampshire |
— |
Each member of the all-senior Wildcat first line has
at least 40 points, making them one of five teams nationwide
and the only one East of Miami with three 40-point scorers
(Miami, Minnesota Duluth, North Dakota and Wisconsin are
the others). |
| 21-9-6 LAST
WEEK: W vs. Vermont, 3-1; W vs. Vermont, 4-3 (Hockey East
Quarterfinals). THIS WEEK: at Hockey East Championship
(Boston, Mass.) |
| 9. |
 Denver |
— |
The Pios showed a flair for the dramatic in their first-round
sweep of Minnesota State, scoring four third-period goals
en route to a 4-2 over the Mavs Friday and closed out
the series Saturday when Jason Zucker scored 1:27 into
OT to give DU a 3-2 win. |
| 23-10-5
LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota State, 4-2; W vs. Minnesota
State, 3-2 ot (WCHA First-Round Series). THIS WEEK: at
WCHA Final Five (St. Paul, Minn.) |
| 10. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
1 |
By beating St. Cloud State in Saturday's
three-overtime marathon, the Bulldogs improved to 6-1-6
this season in games that have been tied at the end of
regulation. The 13 OT matches are the most in a single
season in school history. |
| 22-9-6 LAST
WEEK: W vs. St. Cloud State, 4-2; W vs. St. Cloud State,
3-2 3ot (WCHA First-Round Series). THIS WEEK: at WCHA
Final Five (St. Paul, Minn.) |
| 11. |
 Notre
Dame |
1 |
Freshman forwards T.J. Tynan and Anders Lee have stolen
the headlines with banner campaigns, but classmate Jeff
Costello is another name worth knowing, as he continued
his own very productive season with his 10th and 11th
goals of the year, including the overtime winner in Friday's
game. |
| 23-11-5
LAST WEEK: W vs. Lake Superior State, 3-2; L vs. Lake
Superior State, 4-3 ot; W vs. Lake Superior State, 4-2
(CCHA Quarterfinals). THIS WEEK: at CCHA Championship
(Detroit, Mich.) |
| 12. |
 Western
Michigan |
2 |
Western Michigan senior Max Campbell's overtime game-winner
sends the Broncos to the CCHA semifinals at Joe Louis
Arena for the first time since 1994. In the 1994 semifinal,
the Broncos lost to Michigan, their opponent for Friday's
game. |
| 18-11-10
LAST WEEK: L vs. Ferris State, 3-1; W vs. Ferris State,
3-1; W vs. Ferris State, 5-4 ot (CCHA Quarterfinals).
THIS WEEK: at CCHA Championship (Detroit, Mich.) |
| 13. |
 Colorado
College |
5 |
It's hard to believe that prior to beating Wisconsin
in the first round of the WCHA playoffs this past weekend,
the Tigers had advanced to the Final Five in St. Paul
just once since the start of the 2005-06 season. |
| 21-17-3
LAST WEEK: L vs. Wisconsin, 3-1; W vs. Wisconsin, 4-3
ot; W vs. Wisconsin, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at WCHA Final Five
(St. Paul, Minn.) |
| 14. |
 Dartmouth |
5 |
Freshman Matt Lindblad has been a big contributor for
the Big Green this year, but he was mired in a five-game
point-scoring drought. He broke that at the right time,
with two goals in the third period of Sunday's comeback
win. |
| 18-11-3
LAST WEEK: L vs. Harvard, 3-2; W vs. Harvard, 2-1 ot;
W vs. Harvard, 4-3 (ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals). THIS WEEK:
at ECAC Hockey Championship (Atlantic City, N.J.) |
| 15. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
3 |
Despite outshooting visiting Bemidji State by a 91-37
margin this weekend, the Beavers swept the Mavericks to
improve to 4-0-1 against UNO this season, including a
3-0-1 mark at the Qwest Center. |
| 21-15-2
LAST WEEK: L vs. Bemidji State, 4-2; L vs. Bemidji State,
3-2 (WCHA First-Round Series). THIS WEEK: Off |
| 16. |
 Boston
University |
3 |
The end of the Terriers' schedule looks like a list
of Beanpot fourth-place finishers (something BU knows
about this season) -- but the joke's on them as NU moves
on to the Hockey East semifinals. |
| 19-12-8
LAST WEEK: L vs. Northeastern, 4-2; W vs. Northeastern,
5-2; L vs. Northeastern, 5-4 (Hockey East Quarterfinals).
THIS WEEK: Off |
| 17. |
 RIT |
3 |
The Tigers yielded a short-handed goal in the first
period of Saturday's game, but that was their only blemish
in a pretty easy weekend sweep of AIC in the Atlantic
Hockey quarterfinals. |
| 18-10-8
LAST WEEK: W vs. American International, 5-0; W vs. American
International, 5-1 (Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals). THIS
WEEK: at Atlantic Hockey Championship (Rochester, N.Y.) |
| 18. |
 Wisconsin |
1 |
On the day after Thanksgiving, the Badgers tied Michigan
at the Kohl Center to start a 16-game stretch during which
they went 13-2-1. Since that run ended with a Feb. 11
loss at Nebraska-Omaha, Wisconsin limped to a 2-8-1 record
to close to the season. |
| 21-16-4
LAST WEEK: W at Colorado College, 3-1; L at Colorado College
4-3 ot; L at Colorado College, 2-1 (WCHA First-Round Series).
THIS WEEK: Off |
| 19. |
 Rensselaer |
NR |
RPI spent this past weekend scoreboard watching, and
will do the same this coming weekend. We're wondering,
do people call in out-of-town practice updates for other
teams during the week to get the Engineers ready? |
| 20-12-5
LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 20. |
 Air
Force |
NR |
Beginning with a win over Yale in mid-November, Air
Force is 16-5-6 and headed back to the Atlantic Hockey
championship weekend in Rochester, N.Y. |
| 18-11-6
LAST WEEK: W vs. Sacred Heart, 7-5; W vs. Sacred Heart,
4-0 (Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinals). THIS WEEK: at Atlantic
Hockey Championship (Rochester, N.Y.) |