Two-win weekends for Miami and Michigan have
those CCHA powers atop this week's INCH Power Rankings. Denver
and Colorado College made strides after getting four-point
weekends in the WCHA, making the upcoming home-and-home series
between DU and CC one to keep an eye on.
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. |
 Miami |
— |
We know you want to peek ahead, so we'll save you the
trouble — the RedHawks don't play Michigan until
Feb. 8-9 in Oxford. |
| 11-1-0 (9-1-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Michigan State, 4-2; W at Michigan
State, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Canisius, vs. Canisius. |
| 2. |
 Michigan |
 2 |
The Wolverines' sweep of Lake Superior State extended
the team's win streak to 10. And with 4-2—6 on the
weekend, forward Kevin Porter extended his streak of consecutive
games in which he's played really, really well to ...
uh, I guess we lost count. |
| 11-1-0 (8-0-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Lake Superior State, 5-1; W at Lake
Superior State, 6-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Wisconsin, vs. Minnesota
(College Hockey Showcase). |
| 3. |
 Denver |
3 |
Recognize the INCH karma — days after headlining
the latest installment of Mike Check, goalie Peter Mannino
stopped all but one of the 57 shots he faced as the Pioneers
swept visiting Minnesota State. |
| 8-2-0 (5-1-0 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota State, 2-1; W vs. Minnesota
State, 7-0. THIS WEEK: at Colorado College, vs. Colorado
College. |
| 4. |
 Michigan
State |
 2 |
Think special teams made a difference in the Spartans'
losses to visiting Miami last weekend? The RedHawks converted
on 4 of 12 power-play chances during the series; MSU was
1 for 15. |
| 8-3-0 (4-2-0 CCHA)
LAST WEEK: L vs. Miami, 4-2; L vs. Miami, 3-1. THIS WEEK:
vs. Minnesota, vs. Wisconsin (College Hockey Showcase). |
| 5. |
 Colorado
College |
3 |
Forward progress: The heroes of Friday's win over visiting
Wisconsin were linemates Chad Rau (2-1—3) and Jimmy
Kilpatrick (2-1—3), while Saturday's stars were
the Tigers' combo of Derek Patrosso (2-2—4), Andreas
Vlassopoulis (2-1—3), and Bill Sweatt (0-2—2). |
| 7-3-0 (7-1-0 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: W vs. Wisconsin, 4-3; W vs. Wisconsin, 6-1.
THIS WEEK: vs. Denver, at Denver. |
| 6. |
 New
Hampshire |
3 |
Super-frosh James van Riemsdyk is the real deal, leading
the Wildcats with eight assists and 12 points this season. |
| 6-2-1 (4-2-1 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Northeastern, 4-1; W at Providence,
5-4 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Brown. |
| 7. |
 Clarkson |
— |
Clarkson improved its record at Cheel Arena to 7-0-0
on the season with this weekend's wins over Yale and Brown.
That home winning streak will get a tough challenge this
weekend when St. Cloud State visits. |
| 9-3-0 (6-1-0 ECAC
Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Yale, 1-0; W vs. Brown, 4-2.
THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State, vs. St. Cloud State. |
| 8. |
 North
Dakota |
3 |
A Minneapolis columnist writes that there's no good
way to resolve the Fighting
Sioux name issue between the university and the tribes. |
| 5-3-1 (3-3-0 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota Duluth, vs. Minnesota
Duluth. |
| 9. |
 Notre
Dame |
2 |
Games in your rearview mirror may be closer than they
appear: the Fighting Irish swept Western Michigan by 4-1
and 5-1 counts, but outshot the Broncos by a combined
76-23. |
| 9-4-0 (7-2-0 CCHA)
LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 4-1; W at Western Michigan,
5-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Bowling Green; vs. Alabama-Huntsville,
vs. Rensselaer or American International (RPI Holiday
Tournament). |
| 10. |
 Boston
College |
1 |
It's never good when there's more going on off the ice
than on it. It's also never good when you're winless in
your last five games (0-2-3). |
| 3-3-5 (2-2-4 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: T at Massachusetts, 1-1 ot; L vs. Massachusetts,
3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Northeastern. |
| 11. |
 Wisconsin |
1 |
You can point to the Badgers' three-game losing streak
as a rough spot on the schedule (against North Dakota
and two at CC). But it doesn't get any easier over their
next four, which are at Michigan and Michigan State and
home for two against St. Cloud State. |
| 5-5-0 (2-4-0 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: L at Colorado College, 4-3; L at Colorado College,
6-1. THIS WEEK: at Michigan, at Michigan State (College
Hockey Showcase). |
| 12. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
1 |
Goalie Alex Stalock (1.97 GAA, .929 sv. %) has been
the great equalizer for a Bulldog team that is only outscoring
its foes by a 24-20 margin, is led in goals and points
by a defenseman (junior Josh Meyers), and has the WCHA's
least productive power play at 9.3 percent (4-43). |
| 5-3-2 (4-3-1 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: T vs. Michigan Tech, 1-1 ot; W vs. Michigan
Tech, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at North Dakota, at North Dakota. |
| 13. |
 St.
Cloud State |
1 |
The Huskies' six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) is tied
for second nationally behind Michigan's 10-game winning
streak. |
| 6-2-2 (3-2-1 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Clarkson, at Clarkson. |
| 14. |
 Massachusetts |
4 |
Sophomore goalie Dan Meyers may have just been Wally
Pipped by freshman netminder Paul Dainton, who has taken
the No. 1 job and run with it. |
| 5-2-4 (3-1-4 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: T vs. Boston College, 1-1 ot; W at Boston
College, 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Vermont, vs. Union. |
| 15. |
 Minnesota |
3 |
The UAA Seawolves had just four seconds of power-play
time while the Gophers had more than 13 minutes, but three
goals in the third period gave Anchorage an upset win
at Mariucci. |
| 7-5-0 (3-5-0 WCHA)
LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska-Anchorage, 3-0; L vs. Alaska-Anchorage,
4-2. THIS WEEK: at Michigan State, at Michigan (College
Hockey Showcase). |
| 16. |
 Rensselaer |
— |
Rensselaer has just two power-play goals in 46 opportunities
this year, and is tied for last in the nation at 4.3 percent. |
| 6-3-2 (1-1-2 ECAC
Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. American International,
vs. Notre Dame or Alabama-Huntsville (RPI Holiday Tournament). |
| 17. |
 Northeastern |
NR |
OK, fess up. Raise your hand if you had
the Huskies leading Hockey East on the third weekend of
November. |
| 5-4-1 (5-3-1 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: W at New Hampshire, 4-1; W vs. UMass-Lowell,
2-1. THIS WEEK: at Boston College. |
| 18. |
 Harvard |
3 |
The Crimson were 11 minutes away from another perfect
weekend, but Colgate's Tyler Burton scored two third-period
goals — including the game-winner on a power play
with 35 seconds left — to knock off Harvard. |
| 4-2-0 (4-2-0 ECAC
Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Cornell, 2-1; L vs. Colgate,
2-1. THIS WEEK: at Boston University. |
| 19. |
 Niagara |
NR |
The Purps hold an 18-7 scoring advantage over their
opponents in the third period this season. |
| 8-3-0 (2-2-0 CHA)
LAST WEEK: W vs. Sacred Heart, 4-2; W vs. Sacred Heart,
3-1. THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 20. |
 Bowling
Green |
— |
Derek Whitmore was held scoreless in Saturday's 3-2
loss to Northern Michigan. In his previous three games,
the senior forward from Rochester, N.Y., had notched eight
goals and an assist. |
| 6-3-0 (5-2-0 CCHA) LAST WEEK:
W vs. Northern Michigan, 4-2; L vs. Northern Michigan,
3-2. THIS WEEK: at Notre Dame. |