Generally speaking, the top teams in the country
took care of business over the weekend, and their top players
made headlines. Colorado College super-goalie Richard Bachman
made 84 saves in a three-point weekend against rival Denver;
Ryan Stoa had four points for Minnesota; Brock Bradford had
a three-goal weekend for Boston College; and Chris Higgins
had a part in four of BU's seven goals in a rout at Vermont.
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. |
 Colorado
College |
— |
He's seen more rubber than a NASCAR tire changer: Sophomore
goaltender Richard Bachman has stopped 123 shots in his
last three starts. |
| 5-0-3 (3-0-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Denver, 2-2 ot; W vs. Denver, 3-2.
THIS WEEK: vs. North Dakota, vs. North Dakota |
| 2. |
 Minnesota |
— |
Plenty of reasons to be excited about the young Gophers,
but we'll really know how they stack up in about six weeks
– the next 10 games include series with New Hampshire,
Denver, and Colorado College and single games against
Michigan and Michigan State. |
| 4-0-2 (4-0-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Minnesota State, 3-3 ot; W vs.
Minnesota State, 6-3. THIS WEEK: vs. New Hampshire, vs.
New Hampshire |
| 3. |
 Boston
College |
— |
We officially welcome Brock Bradford to the Hobey Baker
conversation, after he scored the game-tying goal in the
third period and game-winner in overtime Saturday at Merrimack.
Those two tallies were part of a three-goal weekend and
he leads the Eagles with six on the year. |
| 5-1-0 (3-1-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Merrimack, 4-1; W at Merrimack,
4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Notre Dame, at Maine |
| 4. |
 Boston
University |
— |
These are called the "power" rankings, and
the Terriers take it to heart. They've scored nine power-play
goals in their last two games, both of which were 7-2
victories. BU's PP is clicking at 26.1 percent this season. |
| 5-1-0 (2-1-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Vermont, 7-2. THIS WEEK:
at UMass-Lowell |
| 5. |
 New
Hampshire |
 1 |
The Wildcats need to get scoring from people other than
James van Riemsdyk, Bobby Butler and Phil DeSimone, so
the four points provided by fourth-liners Alan Thompson,
Paul Thompson and Steve Moses were crucial in a 2-2 tie
at Northeastern. |
| 4-1-2 (2-0-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Northeastern, 4-2; T at
Northeastern, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota, at Minnesota |
| 6. |
 Denver |
 1 |
The Pioneers are 0-2-1 in their last three games despite
outshooting their opponents by a combined margin of 127-80. |
| 4-2-1 (2-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Colorado College, 2-2 ot; L at
Colorado College, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota Duluth,
vs. Minnesota Duluth |
| 7. |
 Princeton |
1 |
The Tigers may consider leaving the NCAA for admission
in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, after blasting two
exhibition opponents from north of the border by a 14-4
total. Oh yeah, they also got a 4-1 win over Brown as
Mark Magnowski scored twice and had an assist. |
| 1-0-0 (0-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Brown, 4-1; W vs. Ontario
IT, 8-2 (Ex.). THIS WEEK: vs. Cornell, vs. Colgate |
| 8. |
 Northeastern |
1 |
The Huskies were outshot 45-24 in a tie against New
Hampshire, but Brad Thiessen made 43 saves in the game.
His save percentage of .951 ranks fifth nationally. |
| 5-1-2 (4-1-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at New Hampshire, 4-2; T vs.
New Hampshire, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Bentley |
| 9. |
 Michigan |
2 |
Sophomore forward Louie Caporusso had three goals and
three assists in the Wolverines' sweep of Ohio State this
past weekend. |
| 6-2-0 (3-1-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Ohio State, 4-3; W vs. Ohio State,
6-1. THIS WEEK: at Alaska, at Alaska |
| 10. |
 Michigan
State |
2 |
Youth isn't wasted on the young in East
Lansing – freshmen and sophomores are responsible
for 11 of MSU's 15 goals scored through eight games. |
| 4-2-2 (2-0-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 3-1; T at Western
Michigan, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Ohio State, at Ohio State |
| 11. |
 Miami |
2 |
The RedHawks have killed 33 straight opponent power
plays, including all 15 Alaska man-advantage opportunities
in a split with the Nanooks in Oxford this past weekend. |
| 4-2-2 (4-1-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Alaska, 2-1; W vs. Alaska, 5-0.
THIS WEEK: vs. Ferris State, vs. Ferris State |
| 12. |
 Notre
Dame |
2 |
Everyone remembers the outcome of last season's national
championship game with Boston College, but the Fighting
Irish are 3-0-1 in the last four regular-season meetings
against the Eagles. |
| 4-3-0 (2-2-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Northern Michigan, 3-2; W at Northern
Michigan, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Boston College, at Providence |
| 13. |
 Minnesota
State |
3 |
Goalie Mike Zacharias was the hero of Friday's 3-3 tie
at Minnesota, stopping 47 shots and picking up an assist
on the Mavericks' first goal. |
| 3-2-1 (1-2-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Minnesota, 3-3 ot; L vs. Minnesota,
6-3. THIS WEEK: at Alaska Anchorage, at Alaska Anchorage |
| 14. |
 Air
Force |
2 |
Atlantic Hockey opponents are trying to find a way to
cool Air Force's jets. Get it? Jets? And they have an
ally this week, as Air Force takes the upcoming weekend
off. |
| 8-0-0 (6-0-0
Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bentley, 5-1; W vs.
Bentley, 8-2. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 15. |
 Cornell
|
— |
The Big Red had won 12 of 13 against Princeton prior
to last year's pair of one-goal Tiger victories in the
series. Friday's happy hour tilt (a 4 p.m. start on ESPN
U) is Cornell's opportunity to start a new streak. |
| 0-0-0 (0-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Princeton,
at Quinnipiac |
| 16. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
NR |
The Bulldogs scored five goals against St. Cloud State
Saturday, giving them 27 in seven games this season. UMD
scored 25 goals over its last 17 games of the 2007-08
campaign. |
| 4-1-2 (1-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Cloud State, 5-1. THIS WEEK:
at Denver, at Denver |
| 17. |
 Vermont |
— |
Two of Justin Milo's four goals on the season are game-winners,
including Sunday night's overtime strike against Dartmouth.
He had a total of three goals in his freshman year at
Cornell. |
| 3-2-1 (0-2-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Boston University, 7-2;
W at Dartmouth, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Providence, at Lowell |
| 18. |
 Massachusetts |
NR |
James Marcou shouldn't be left out of the mix when talking
about Hockey East's super sophomores. He had three goals
and five assists as UMass stung Providence for 14 goals
in a weekend sweep. |
| 4-1-1 (2-0-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Providence, 9-4; W at Providence,
5-1. THIS WEEK: at Merrimack |
| 19. |
 Clarkson |
1 |
The Golden Knights open their ECAC Hockey schedule by
hosting Brown and Yale, two teams that Clarkson has compiled
a 10-2-0 record against over the last three years. |
| 1-1-2 (0-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Carleton, 5-3 (Ex.). THIS
WEEK: vs. Brown, vs. Yale |
| 20. |
 Alaska
Anchorage |
1 |
For those of you who think a split at Michigan Tech
is no great feat, consider that the Seawolves have won
a total of five WCHA road games over the past three seasons. |
| 5-2-1 (2-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Michigan Tech, 4-2; W at Michigan
Tech, 2-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota State, vs. Minnesota
State |