The final edition of the 2010-11 INCH Power
Rankings puts a bowtie on the great season that just wrapped
up, but did we really need to make it happen? Of course we
did, we love the game. But from a predictive standpoint, the
top-five teams in the last edition of the INCH Power Rankings
are the same that occupied the top-five when we published
our Preseason Great
58, just in a different order.
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 |
Preseason
Great 58 |
What
Went Right |
| 1. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
5 |
J.T. Brown, Kyle Schmidt, and others provided support
for the team’s top line and Kenny Reiter put together
four consecutive consistent starts; now the Bulldogs are
national champions. |
| 26-10-6
(15-8-5 WCHA, 4th) |
| 2. |
 North
Dakota |
1 |
We knew the Fighting Sioux could score goals in bunches.
Stopping opponents from scoring was an issue early on,
but that disappeared when Aaron Dell seized the no. 1
goaltending job. WCHA regular-season and playoff titles
last forever. |
| 32-9-3 (21-6-1
WCHA, 1st) |
| 3. |
 Boston
College |
2 |
The Eagles won 15 of their last 18 games, Hockey East
regular-season and playoff titles, but one bad night in
late-March takes some of the shine off of an otherwise
excellent campaign. |
| 30-8-1 (20-6-1
Hockey East, 1st) |
| 4. |
 Michigan |
4 |
Moving Scooter Vaughan (14 goals) to forward provided
some much-needed secondary scoring and Shawn Hunwick proved
that his 2009-10 performance wasn’t a fluke after
Bryan Hogan was injured. |
| 29-11-4
(20-7-1 CCHA, 1st) |
| 5. |
 Miami |
3 |
Hobey Baker Award winner Andy Miele, Carter Camper,
and Reilly Smith led a virtually unstoppable offensive
juggernaut, propelling the RedHawks to their first-ever
CCHA playoff title. |
| 23-10-6
(16-7-5 CCHA, 3rd) |
| 6. |
 Notre
Dame |
16 |
Two dynamic freshmen—forwards T.J. Tynan (54 points)
and Anders Lee (44 points)—led a young Fighting
Irish team (just four seniors) to their second Frozen
Four appearance in four years. |
| 25-14-5
(18-7-3 CCHA, 2nd) |
| 7. |
 Denver |
11 |
The Pioneers lost a ton from the 2009-10 team, but young
players like goalie Sam Brittain, forwards Jason Zucker
and Drew Shore, and defenseman Matt Donovan kept DU among
the nation’s elite. |
| 25-12-5
(17-8-3 WCHA, 2nd) |
| 8. |
 Yale |
7 |
The Bulldogs won 28 of 36 games on the year and advanced
to the NCAA Regional Final for the second straight season.
Yale proved itself all year long, and was ranked first
in the country for a significant portion of the season. |
| 28-7-1 (17-4-1
ECAC Hockey, 2nd) |
| 9. |
 Merrimack |
26 |
The Warriors were one of the nation's surprise teams.
Merrimack made a name for itself with some early wins
against Boston College and played consistency well throughout
the season. |
| 25-10-4
(16-8-3 Hockey East, 3rd) |
| 10. |
 New
Hampshire |
9 |
Led by the likes of Hobey finalist Paul
Thompson, New Hampshire led Hockey East for most of the
season before being overtaken by BC down the stretch.
UNH also knocked off top-seeded Miami in the first round
of the NCAA Tournament. |
| 22-11-6
(17-6-4 Hockey East, 2nd) |
| 11. |
 Colorado
College |
21 |
Despite missing a good chunk of the season, freshman
forward Jaden Schwartz played like a first-round NHL draft
pick, scoring 47 points in 30 games and re-energizing
the Tigers down the stretch. |
| 23-19-3
(13-13-2 WCHA, 6th) |
| 12. |
 Western
Michigan |
49 |
First-year head coach Jeff Blashill unearthed a few
freshman gems, turned Jerry Kuhn into a serviceable goalie,
and quickly won over the holdovers from the previous regime,
turning WMU into one of the country’s hardest-working
clubs. |
| 19-13-10
(10-9-9 CCHA, 4th) |
| 13. |
 Union |
12 |
The most successful season in Union's Division I history
culminated with an ECAC Hockey regular-season title, earned
by going 14-1-1 to close the regular season. |
| 26-10-4
(17-3-2 ECAC Hockey, 1st) |
| 14. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
25 |
The Mavs got off to a fast start and finished in the
top half of the WCHA standings in the team’s inaugural
campaign in the league, earning a trip to the NCAA Tournament
in the process. |
| 21-16-2
(17-9-2 WCHA, 3rd) |
| 15. |
 Air
Force |
33 |
AIr Force got back into the NCAA Tournament by having
a consistent campaign and topping rival RIT in the league's
playoff championship game. This senior class made the
national tournament three times in its four-year career. |
| 20-12-6
(14-7-6 Atlantic Hockey, 2nd) |
| 16. |
 Dartmouth |
37 |
Dartmouth might view its season as a case of narrowly
missing out on the NCAAs yet again, but the Big Green
won 18 games or more for the third time in the last six
years. Dartmouth also knocked off UNH in the annual state
rivalry game. |
| 19-12-3
(12-8-2 ECAC Hockey, 3rd) |
| 17. |
 Boston
University |
14 |
The Terriers got off to a great start, with a 7-1-4
record through Thanksgiving including victories over Wisconsin,
Notre Dame and New Hampshire. |
| 19-12-8
(15-6-6 Hockey East, 3rd) |
| 18. |
 Rensselaer |
13 |
RPI did its best work in the first three-quarters of
the year and rolled out to an impressive 18-6-4 start.
Chase Polacek repeated as a Hobey Baker finalist. |
| 20-13-5
(11-9-2 ECAC Hockey, t-4th) |
| 19. |
 RIT |
20 |
The Tigers proved that last year was no fluke and once
again won the Atlantic Hockey regular-season crown. Though
the team didn't return to the NCAAs, it was another winning
season led by standout goalie Shane Madolora. |
| 19-11-8
(15-5-7 Atlantic Hockey, 1st) |
| 20. |
 Wisconsin |
19 |
The pipeline of offensive-minded defensemen continued
to flow in Madison as sophomore Justin Schultz and junior
Jake Gardiner turned in 40-plus point campaigns. |
| 21-16-4
(12-13-3 WCHA, 7th) |