January 27, 2008
INCH Power Rankings

A number of things are considered when compiling these rankings on a weekly basis, such as recent performance, overall record, and head-to-head record against other ranked teams. For the most part, the top 10 teams in our Power Rankings were pretty easy to determine. The next 10 proved to be tricky, so we threw everything out the window and started from scratch. The result? Two teams that weren't even listed last week find themselves at 11 and 12, and four newcomers overall find themselves 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.	Miami	1	The RedHawks lead the nation with 123 goals, which is 22 more than second-place Michigan. Miami has also allowed the second-fewest goals in the country (43), two more than Cornell, but the Big Red has played nine fewer games.
25-3-0 (17-3-0 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Alaska, 2-0; W at Alaska, 7-2. THIS WEEK: Off.
2.	Michigan State	2	The Spartans blanked Michigan at Yost Friday, the first team to shutout the Wolverines since … MSU did it at Munn Ice Arena on Jan. 17, 2006. The last team to blank the Skunk Hats in A-squared? Why, it was Michigan State on Feb. 28, 2003.
17-5-5 (13-2-3 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Michigan, 1-0; T vs. Michigan, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Nebraska-Omaha, vs. Nebraska-Omaha.
3.	Michigan	2	Senior forward Kevin Porter didn't register a point in either game against Michigan State, the first time he's been held scoreless in consecutive games since enduring a four-game dry spell from Feb. 10-23, 2007.
22-3-1 (15-2-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Michigan State, 1-0; T at Michigan State, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan, vs. Northern Michigan.
4.	Denver	1	The Pioneers are 18-0-0 this season when scoring more goals than their opponents. Of course, Wisconsin would say DU is 17-0-0 when outscoring opponents, and 1-0-0 when scoring the same number of goals as their foes.
18-6-0 (12-4-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, at Minnesota State.
5.	New Hampshire	1	The Wildcats have won their last six league games and are now in first place. During that same time period, UNH has gone just 1-3-0 outside of the league.
15-7-1 (11-4-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Boston University, 4-2; W at Boston University, 5-3. THIS WEEK: at Vermont.
6.	Colorado College	3	The Tigers' goal differential in their 11 home games is +28. In the team's 15 games away from World Arena, CC's goal differential is -1.
18-7-1 (15-4-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Michigan Tech, 2-2 ot; L at Michigan Tech, 5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Clarkson, vs. Clarkson.
7.	North Dakota	—	The Fighting Sioux, winners of seven in a row, share the honor for the country's longest current winning streak with Miami. NoDak has outscored its opponents by a 27-10 margin during that stretch.
16-8-1 (13-7-0 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 3-1; W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota, at Minnesota.
8.	Notre Dame	—	With the sweep of Bowling Green this past weekend, the Fighting Irish reached the 20-win plateau in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.
20-9-1 (13-6-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bowling Green, 6-1; W at Bowling Green, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. U.S. Under-18s (Ex.)
9.	Clarkson	2	The Golden Knights' magic number is two. When they have allowed two goals or fewer, Clarkson is 13-0-1.
15-7-2 (10-3-1 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Rensselaer, 5-2; W vs. Union, 3-2. THIS WEEK: at Colorado College, at Colorado College.
10.	Boston College	1	Junior forward Benn Ferriero was held scoreless over the weekend against Maine, but needs just two more points to reach 100 for his career.
12-5-7 (8-3-6 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T at Maine, 3-3 ot; W at Maine, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Providence.
11.	Providence	NR	Let's get you caught up on the Friars' season: After starting 1-5-1, Providence is 10-4-1, with losses to UNH, UMass Lowell, and Michigan among those four defeats. Sweeps of Northeastern and Maine and a GLI blowout of Michigan State are among the highlights.
11-9-2 (8-5-2 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Northeastern, 5-1; W vs. Northeastern, 5-2. THIS WEEK: at Boston College, at Merrimack.
12.	Wisconsin	NR	Freshman forward Patrick Johnson – as in son of Mark, grandson of Badger Bob – has 2-4—6 and a plus-minus ranking of +5 in Bucky's last five games.
11-10-5 (7-8-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota, 3-1; T vs. Minnesota, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota Duluth, vs. Minnesota Duluth.
13.	Quinnipiac	4	The 16-team NCAA Tournament field has existed for five years, and four times during that run Quinnipiac has won 20 or more games and just missed earning an at-large berth. If the same happens again this year, the Bobcats might look back to a home series against Niagara in January.
14-7-3 (6-3-3 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Niagara, 5-1; L vs. Niagara, 5-3. THIS WEEK: at Rensselaer, at Union.
14.	Minnesota	3	With a goal and an assist against Wisconsin last weekend, junior forward Blake Wheeler now has at least one point in 12 of the Gophers' last 15 games dating back to Nov. 24.
12-11-5 (6-9-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Wisconsin, 3-1; T at Wisconsin, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. North Dakota, vs. North Dakota.
15.	UMass Lowell	2	UMass Lowell outshot visiting Minnesota Duluth 50-42 over the two games this weekend, but managed to light the lamp just once.
11-8-4 (6-6-4 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota Duluth, 1-0; L vs. Minnesota Duluth, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Maine, at Vermont.
16.	Princeton	—	The Tigers return from their exam break with three road games this week, but they're probably welcoming the time on the road, as Princeton is 7-2-0 away from Baker Rink this season.
10-8-0 (8-4-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Robert Morris, at Union, at Rensselaer.
17.	Minnesota Duluth	NR	Prior to sweeping UMass Lowell at Tsongas Arena, the Bulldogs' last road sweep of a non-WCHA opponent occurred in 1985-86, when UMD won twice at Providence; the Skating Friar was still in divinity school back then.
10-8-6 (6-7-5 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at UMass Lowell, 1-0; W at UMass Lowell, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Wisconsin, at Wisconsin.
18.	Union	1	The Dutchmen saw a school record seven-game winning streak end on Saturday at Clarkson, but Union plays its next four games at home, all against ECAC Hockey opponents.
11-9-3 (6-4-2 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at St. Lawrence, 3-1; L at Clarkson, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Princeton, vs. Quinnipiac.
19.	Niagara	NR	Niagara has scored 19 goals during its current four-game winning streak, and 13 different players have tallied at least once during that stretch.
15-8-1 (7-4-1 CHA) LAST WEEK: W at Quinnipiac, 5-1; W at Quinnipiac, 5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Lawrence.
20.	Northeastern	6	The loss at Merrimack on Jan. 11 raised some eyebrows, and it should have. That game started a six-game streak for Northeastern during which they are just 1-4-1.
11-8-3 (8-7-2 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Providence, 5-1; L at Providence, 5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Massachusetts.

Dropped out: St. Cloud State, Massachusetts, Air Force, RIT

Bubble-licious: Massachusetts, Minnesota State, Yale, Cornell, Bemidji State, RIT