January 22, 2006
INCH Power Rankings

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Last week's rankings
USA Today/American Hockey Magazine Poll
USCHO.com/CSTV Poll

A week after heralding Wisconsin as our no-doubt No. 1, the Denver Pioneers helped clear the way for Boston College to take over the top spot. Cory Schneider helped matter with two shutouts, dropping the Badgers to No. 2.

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 1 Cory Schneider's boost from World Juniors is evident, but Dan Bertram seems to have gotten some jump since his return as well.
16-4-2 (14-2-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W vs. Vermont, 2-0; W vs. Vermont, 3-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston University, at UMass Lowell.
2. Wisconsin 1 Kohl Center was weekend House of Horrors for Badger fans, as icers lose twice and hoopsters find a way to drop one versus North Dakota State.
18-4-2 (13-3-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: L vs. Denver, 1-0; L vs. Denver, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota, vs. Minnesota.
3. Miami Who's more popular in Oxford today – forward Nathan Davis (four goals in a sweep of Western Michigan) or Super Bowl-bound ex-RedHawk Ben Roethlisberger?
17-4-4 (14-3-2 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 6-1; W vs. Western Michigan, 4-3. THIS WEEK: at Ferris State, at Ferris State.
4. Minnesota As impressive as winning nine out of 10 may be, holding CC's potent offense to a season-low 19 shots on Friday may have been the biggest feat of the weekend.
16-6-4 (11-5-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Colorado College, 4-2; W vs. Colorado College, 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Wisconsin, at Wisconsin.
5. Cornell 3 Sasha Pokulok is back with two goals and two assists in big wins over the North Country.
13-4-2 (8-3-1 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Lawrence, 5-2; W vs. Clarkson, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Brown, vs. Yale.
6. Vermont 1 Despite being shut out Friday and not scoring more than three goals in a game since Dec. 3, the Catamounts scratched leading goal scorer Brady Leisenring Saturday night in search of a spark. The result: another shutout loss.
15-7-2 (7-6-2 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: L at Boston College, 2-0; L at Boston College, 3-0. THIS WEEK: vs. Merrimack, vs. Merrimack.
7. North Dakota 3 Sioux cast aside formerly-hot Mavs as Parise returns from injury (winning on Saturday) and Stafford snaps out of his mini-slump, scoring three times in the sweep.
17-10-1 (10-8-0 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota State Mankato, 6-3; W vs. Minnesota State Mankato, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State, vs. St. Cloud State.
8. Colorado College 2 It's officially a slump. Tigers are in their worst losing streak in two years, and Brett Sterling has been stuck on 99 career goals for 11 periods.
17-10-1 (9-8-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: L at Minnesota, 4-2; L at Minnesota, 3-2. THIS WEEK: Off.
9. Maine Black Bears are 2-7 against the four teams ahead of them in the Hockey East standings. Good time for a trip to Northeastern.
15-9-0 (8-7-0 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: L vs. Providence, 4-0; W vs. Providence, 5-2. THIS WEEK: at Northeastern, at Northeastern.
10. Michigan 3 The Wolverines, 9-1-1 on Thanksgiving Day, have gone 5-8-0 in the eight weeks since.
14-9-1 (9-6-1 CCHA). LAST WEEK: L at Michigan State, 2-0; W vs. Bowling Green, 6-1; L at Bowling Green, 5-2. THIS WEEK: at Michigan State, vs. Michigan State.
11. Michigan State 6

After giving up three goals over his previous five starts, freshman goaltender Jeff Lerg allowed three goals both nights as the Spartans split at Nebraska-Omaha.

14-9-5 (8-6-4 CCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan, 2-0; W at Nebraska-Omaha, 4-3 ot; L at Nebraska-Omaha, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan, vs. Michigan.
12. Denver 6 Pioneers petition NCAA to move regional from Green Bay to Madison after sweep includes Geoff Paukovich's first two goals of the season.
14-10-2 (11-5-2 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W at Wisconsin, 1-0; W at Wisconsin, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Alaska Anchorage, at Alaska Anchorage.
13. New Hampshire 1 UMass' Matt Anderson, who a year ago left the Whittemore Center with a broken ankle, produced 2-1—3 including the OT winner this time.
13-8-4 (9-4-3 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W at at Massachusetts, 3-1; L vs. Massachusetts, 4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: at Providence.
14. Providence The Friars weren't about to settle for a split in Orono. They played 6:09 of Saturday's third period with an extra attacker, even scoring twice in the process.
13-9-1 (10-5-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W at Maine, 4-0; L at Maine, 5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. New Hampshire.
15. Lake Superior State 5 Lakers' tie and loss at Ferris State ended a stretch of seven straight conference games in which they'd scored three or more goals.
12-7-5 (8-7-3 CCHA). LAST WEEK: T at Ferris State, 2-2 ot; L at Ferris State, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Bowling Green, vs. Bowling Green.
16. Harvard The Crimson return to the ice after three weeks off and they'll see some familiar faces. Union and RPI were the last two teams Harvard played.
10-7-2 (6-5-1 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Rensselaer, vs. Union.
17. St. Lawrence 4 The Saints have slowed down since a great start. They have just three wins in their last nine games.
14-9-1 (8-5-0 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: L at Cornell, 5-2; L at Colgate, 4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: at Clarkson, vs. Clarkson.
18. Boston University 1 John Curry's been a mainstay, but lately the rest of the Terriers have been producing consistently.
12-8-2 (10-6-1 Hockey East). LAST WEEK: W at Merrimack, 5-2; W vs. Merrimack, 5-0. THIS WEEK: at Boston College, vs. Massachusetts.
19. St. Cloud State NR UMD transfer Dan Kronick smokes his former team for three goals and an assist Saturday as the Huskies bluntly sweep the dazed and confused Bulldogs.
12-9-3 (7-8-1 WCHA). LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota Duluth, 4-2; W vs. Minnesota Duluth, 6-3. THIS WEEK: at North Dakota, at North Dakota.
20. Colgate NR The line of Marc Fulton, Kyle Wilson, and Ryan Smyth carried the offense for the Raiders, combining for 11 points in two victories.
13-6-5 (9-2-1 ECACHL). LAST WEEK: W vs. Clarkson, 4-2; W vs. St. Lawrence, 4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Yale, vs. Brown.

Dropped out: Clarkson, Northern Michigan

Bubble-licious: Northern Michigan, Holy Cross, Ferris State, Bemidji State