Late-January and early-February can be the hardest
part of the season for college hockey teams, so INCH gives
credit to those teams that are getting the job done in college
hockey's dog days. Close wins, road wins, and conference victories
move teams up in the INCH Power Rankings.
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. |
 Michigan |
— |
Centers of attention: The Wolverines'op-three pivots
— Porter, Rust, and Caporusso — each scored
one goal in both of their team's wins against Notre Dame. |
| 22-2-0 (15-1-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Notre Dame, 3-2; W vs. Notre Dame,
5-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan State, at Michigan State. |
| 2. |
 Miami |
— |
The RedHawks spread the wealth in their sweep of Lake
Superior State. Twelve different players — including
goalie Charlie Effinger — notched at least one point
in Friday's 6-1 win, while 11 different names were listed
on the Miami ledger after Saturday's 5-0 shutout. |
| 23-3-0 (15-3-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Lake Superior State, 6-1; W vs.
Lake Superior State, 5-0. THIS WEEK: at Alaska, at Alaska. |
| 3. |
 Colorado
College |
— |
By beating Bemidji State and Air Force last weekend,
the Tigers improved to 11-0-0 at home this season. Have
we mentioned that Colorado Springs is the site of this
year's NCAA West Regional? |
| 18-6-0 (15-3-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bemidji State, 5-4; W vs. Air Force,
2-1. THIS WEEK: at Michigan Tech, at Michigan Tech. |
| 4. |
 Michigan
State |
 3 |
The Spartans are the anti-Tigers: By beating Ohio State
in Columbus last weekend, MSU ran its road record against
CCHA opponents to 7-0-1. That means they should have the
edge against Michigan at Yost Friday, right? |
| 16-5-4 (12-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Ohio State, 4-1; W at Ohio State,
4-0. THIS WEEK: at Michigan, vs. Michigan. |
| 5. |
 Denver |
 1 |
So, coach George Gwozdecky, how did Air Force snap its
19-game losing streak against DU that dated back to 1980?
"They just outcompeted us almost every single shift,"
Gwoz said. "That game was not [goaltender Peter Mannino's]
fault. His teammates left him hung out to dry, and that's
really sad." |
| 18-6-0 (12-4-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Air Force, 5-2; W vs. Bemidji State,
4-2. THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 6. |
 New
Hampshire |
1 |
The Wildcats lost the Battle for the RiverStone for
just the second time in the seven-year series between
New Hampshire's only two Division I programs. |
| 13-7-1 (9-4-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Dartmouth, 5-3. THIS WEEK:
vs. Boston University, at Boston University. |
| 7. |
 North
Dakota |
1 |
The Fighting Sioux, who were 9-7-1 on Jan. 1, have won
five of their six games since. Last season, NoDak was
9-10-1 on Jan. 1 and went 15-4-3 from there on out. |
| 14-8-1 (11-7-0
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Minnesota State, 2-1; W at Minnesota
State, 5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska
Anchorage. |
| 8. |
 Notre
Dame |
2 |
The Fighting Irish, who are 1-4-1 in their last six
games since New Year's Day, have scored a total of eight
goals in those half-dozen contests, and sophomore centerman
Kevin Deeth has three of them. |
| 18-9-1 (11-6-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Michigan, 3-2; L vs. Michigan, 5-1.
THIS WEEK: vs. Bowling Green, at Bowling Green. |
| 9. |
 Boston
College |
— |
The good news is that Boston College is 8-1-1 in its
last 10 games. The bad news is that Brock Bradford's season-ending
injury makes things tougher on the Eagles for the stretch
run. |
| 11-5-6 (7-3-5
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at UMass Lowell, 5-4; T vs.
Boston University, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Maine, at Maine. |
| 10. |
 Quinnipiac |
2 |
Five different players scored in the win
at Holy Cross, and half of Quinnipiac's 14 wins have come
on the road. |
| 14-5-3 (6-3-3
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Holy Cross, 5-2. THIS WEEK:
vs. Niagara, vs. Niagara. |
| 11. |
 Clarkson |
3 |
What Clarkson learned this weekend: It's easier to score
goals if you go to the net. |
| 13-7-2 (8-3-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: T at Colgate, 1-1 ot; W at Cornell,
4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Rensselaer, vs. Union. |
| 12. |
 St.
Cloud State |
1 |
Just surf over to carolinahurricanes.com
for all your Husky alumni news. The 'Canes activated ex-SCSU
standouts Matt Cullen and Bret Hedican from injured reserve
this week. To make room, Carolina jettisoned former Husky
blueliner Casey Borer to the team's American Hockey League
affiliate in Albany. |
| 11-10-3 (6-8-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, vs.
Minnesota State. |
| 13. |
 UMass
Lowell |
2 |
It's not often that UMass Lowell faces WCHA opposition,
but the River Hawks will try to get their first win against
a member of that conference in more than five years when
Minnesota Duluth visits. |
| 11-6-4 (6-6-4
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Boston College, 5-4; W vs.
Massachusetts, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota Duluth, vs.
Minnesota Duluth. |
| 14. |
 Northeastern |
3 |
The Huskies haven't won at Vermont since December of
1982, when head coach Greg Cronin was a freshman at Colby
College. |
| 11-6-3 (8-5-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T at Vermont, 2-2 ot; L at Vermont,
5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Providence, at Providence. |
| 15. |
 Massachusetts |
5 |
UMass had lost only three games all season prior to
its current four-game losing streak. Leading scorer James
Marcou, a freshman, has just one assist in the last four
games. |
| 9-7-5 (4-6-4 Hockey
East) LAST WEEK: L at Providence, 3-2; L at UMass Lowell,
3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Vermont, vs. Vermont. |
| 16. |
 Princeton |
1 |
There are only nine players in ECAC Hockey averaging
better than a point per game this season, and three of
them are from Princeton. |
| 10-8-0 (8-4-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: Off. |
| 17. |
 Minnesota |
NR |
The Gophers return to the INCH Power Rankings, but their
stay could be short lived. Over the next five weeks, Minnesota
travels to Wisconsin, hosts North Dakota, heads to Denver,
then gets a bye week before welcoming the Badgers to Mariucci
Arena. |
| 12-10-4 (6-8-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Minnesota Duluth, 1-1 ot; W at Minnesota
Duluth, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at Wisconsin, at Wisconsin. |
| 18. |
 Air
Force |
1 |
The Falcons are 3-2-1 against ranked opponents this
season, so be careful if you're that No. 1 NCAA seed who
hopes to draw the Atlantic Hockey champ in the first round. |
| 12-8-4 (9-6-3 Atlantic Hockey)
LAST WEEK: W vs. Denver, 5-2; L at Colorado College, 2-1.
THIS WEEK: at Army, at Army. |
| 19. |
 Union |
NR |
Four of Union's six wins during its current six-game
winning streak have been by one goal. |
| 10-8-3 (5-3-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Rensselaer, 2-1; W at Rensselaer,
4-1. THIS WEEK: at St. Lawrence, at Clarkson. |
| 20. |
 RIT |
NR |
The Tigers had been outscored in the third period this
season 28-13 before Sacred Heart came to the Ritter, where
RIT outscored Sacred Heart 5-0 in the third periods of
the series and moved into first place in Atlantic Hockey. |
| 12-8-3 (10-5-3 Atlantic Hockey)
LAST WEEK: W vs. Sacred Heart, 4-2; W vs. Sacred Heart,
4-2. THIS WEEK: at Connecticut, at Connecticut. |