December 7, 2008
INCH Power Rankings

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

The top-10 teams in this week's INCH Power Rankings took care of business, accumulating an aggregate record 12-1-2, and the two ties and loss were the result of the series between current No. 4 Boston University and No. 9 Boston College. That's not to say there wasn't any movement among the top 10, and we also welcome Minnesota Duluth to the rankings after a win and tie at Colorado College.

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. Notre Dame
The Irish are currently in the midst of a seven-game road winning streak during which they've allowed a total of eight goals.
12-3-2 (8-2-2 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Ferris State, 3-1; W at Ferris State, 1-0. THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green, vs. Bowling Green
2. Minnesota
Was the Gophers' 11-game unbeaten start to the season deceiving? Despite the early success, Minnesota has yet to win more than two games in a row.
7-2-5 (6-1-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Colorado College, vs. Colorado College
3. Denver
1
We had Joe Colborne (15 points in 17 games) and Patrick Wiercioch (14 points in 15 games) pegged as top incoming freshmen. We didn't see Luke Salazar (10 goals, 15 points in 16 games), however … and it's not because he's 5-7.
11-5-1 (7-4-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Michigan Tech, 6-0; W at Michigan Tech, 6-1. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, at Minnesota State
4. Boston University
1
It's not the best way to judge a rivalry, but nine sets of matching minors or misconducts over two nights shows a little bit of the intensity that rises when BU and BC get together.
10-4-1 (5-4-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T vs. Boston College, 1-1 ot; W at Boston College, 3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. UMass Lowell
5. Princeton
1
Zane Kalemba's stats in three games against Quinnipiac this year: three wins, .977 save percentage, 1.50 goals-against average.
10-2-0 (7-1-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Quinnipiac, 4-1. THIS WEEK: Off
6. Miami
3
Sophomore forward Carter Camper had a hat trick in the RedHawks' 7-3 win at Western Michigan Sunday. We weren't there, but we assume he was a happy Camper.
10-3-3 (10-2-2 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Western Michigan, 4-2; W at Western Michigan, 7-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Rensselaer, vs. Rensselaer
7. Northeastern
Want another reason to believe that Northeastern won't leave these rankings anytime soon? Only five of their first 16 games have been played at home. They're 4-0-1 in those games including wins over BC and UNH.
11-3-2 (8-2-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Maine, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: Off
8. Vermont

Coach's take on the exhibition win: "I thought, to be honest with you, we had one really good line tonight; we had pieces, parts of other lines," Vermont head coach Kevin Sneddon said. "... I don't think we sharpened the saw as we wanted to do, to be honest with you. We did some OK things offensively, but I don't think we had enough players take advantage of this game."

9-3-2 (6-3-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. USNTDP Under-18s, 6-4 (Ex.). THIS WEEK: at St. Lawrence
9. Boston College
6
After a 5-1-0 start, Boston College is a .500 team over their last 10 games at 4-4-2, and for the second time this season were held to just one goal in each of back-to-back games.
9-5-2 (5-4-2 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T at Boston University, 1-1 ot; L vs. Boston University, 3-1. THIS WEEK: Off
10. Cornell
3
The Big Red have won four straight games at home, which might not seem like a lot at Cornell-friendly Lynah Rink, but they haven't posted four straight Ws at home since a 2006 playoff series against Clarkson and the first three regular-season games of 2006-07 season.
7-1-2 (6-0-2 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Clarkson, 4-1; W vs. St. Lawrence, 1-0. THIS WEEK: Off
11. Air Force
1
Saturday's overtime loss to RIT snapped the Falcons' 15-game home unbeaten streak. The last time AFA lost at home? Jan. 12, 2008, dropping a 4-3 OT decision to … RIT. Ah, the circle of life.
14-2-0 (11-1-0 Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. RIT, 2-0; L vs. RIT, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: Off
12. Michigan
2
The line of Louie Caporusso, Aaron Palushaj, and David Wohlberg combined for 4-9—13 in the Wolverines' weekend sweep of Michigan State.
11-7-0 (7-5-0 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan State, 6-1; W at Michigan State, 5-3. THIS WEEK: Off
13. Colorado College
2
Eight days after getting pulled when he allowed four goals on 17 shots in a loss to Air Force, Dallas Stars prospect Richard Bachman was yanked after giving up five goals on 18 shots in a loss to UMD. Blame Sean Avery.
9-5-4 (6-4-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Minnesota Duluth, 1-1 ot; L vs. Minnesota Duluth, 7-4. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota, at Minnesota
14. Minnesota State
2
Things will change, obviously, but as of right now, the Mavs have just two games remaining against sub.-500 opposition – and those are against 7-8-1 North Dakota in Grand Forks.
8-5-3 (5-5-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. St. Cloud State, 4-2; L at St. Cloud State, 6-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Denver, vs. Denver
15. Dartmouth
How to spend some time in December during a long break between games? Head to Europe for a little hockey and a little culture. The Big Green are heading to Sweden and Denmark this month.
6-4-0 (5-2-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: Off
16. Wisconsin
4
We're rooting for the Badgers to extend their current winning run to seven games, just so someone, somewhere has to look up the last time a team had a seven-game winless streak and a seven-game winning streak in the same season.
9-7-2 (7-5-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 3-2; W vs. Alaska Anchorage, 7-2. THIS WEEK: Off
17. Ohio State
1
The Buckeyes have won games in Pittsburgh, and Cleveland this season, which puts them ahead of the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC North.
9-6-1 (6-5-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Robert Morris, 7-4. THIS WEEK: vs. Bentley, vs. Bentley
T-18. Alaska
Nebraska-Omaha
TIED
Is it just us, or does the idea of settling a 0-0 tie with a shootout seem counterproductive?
ALASKA: 8-4-4 (6-3-3 CCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Nebraska-Omaha, 0-0 ot; T at Nebraska-Omaha, 1-1 ot. THIS WEEK: Off
NEBRASKA-OMAHA: 9-4-3 (5-4-3 CCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Alaska, 0-0 ot; T vs. Alaska, 1-1 ot. THIS WEEK: at Lake Superior State, at Lake Superior State
20. Minnesota Duluth
NR
A tie and win at Colorado College gave the Bulldogs a five-game unbeaten streak, their longest since going 4-0-1 between Feb. 19-March 5, 2005.
7-4-5 (4-4-4 WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Colorado College, 1-1 ot; W at Colorado College, 7-4. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech, vs. Michigan Tech

Dropped out: UMass Lowell

Bubble-licious: New Hampshire, St. Cloud State