There weren't many games involving ranked teams,
but a slightly re-organized edition of the INCH Power Rankings
gets things organized before a full slate of games early this
week and into the weekend as holiday tournaments continue.
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 |
— |
Is there a more quietly excellent player in the nation
than
goaltender Jordan Pearce? He’s eighth nationally
in goals against average, 11th in save percentage, and
tied for second in wins. |
| 14-3-2 (10-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Union, vs. UMass
Lowell/Minnesota Duluth (Shillelagh Tournament) |
| 2. |
 Denver |
— |
A potential matchup with Boston University in this week’s
Denver Cup excites Pioneer fans; the prospect of doing
so without sophomore center Tyler Bozak (out for the remainder
of the regular season with a knee injury) doesn’t. |
| 13-5-1 (9-4-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Holy Cross, vs. Boston
University/Rensselaer (Denver Cup) |
| 3. |
 Boston
University |
— |
The Terriers hold a 32-27-3 advantage over RPI in the
all-time series between the former ECAC members, but lost
the most recent meeting to the Engineers in 2005. Don't
look ahead to a possible meeting with Denver in the final. |
| 11-4-1 (6-4-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Rensselaer,
vs. Denver/Holy Cross (Denver Cup) |
| 4. |
 Miami |
— |
Sophomore forward Carter Camper hopes he can pick up
where he left off prior to Christmas; he had 10 points
in the RedHawks’ three games before the break. |
| 12-3-3 (10-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Clarkson, vs. Army/Ohio
State (Ohio Hockey Classic) |
| 5. |
 Minnesota |
— |
Narrow-focus Gopher fans will tell you their team is
1-3-1 in
their last five outings, which isn’t great. But
big-picture types will point out that they’re five
games above .500, something they never accomplished last
season. |
| 8-3-5 (7-2-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Brown, vs. Western
Michigan/Northeastern (Dodge Holiday Classic) |
| 6. |
 Princeton |
— |
Mark Magnowski had three points in last year's win over
Nebraska-Omaha, including the game-winning, short-handed
goal at 15:15 of the third period. |
| 10-2-0 (7-1-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota
State, vs. Nebraska-Omaha |
| 7. |
 Northeastern |
— |
Each of Northeastern's two previous two-game winning
streaks were followed by a loss. Good news for Western
Michigan? Northeastern has won two straight. |
| 11-3-2 (8-2-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Western Michigan,
vs. Minnesota/Brown (Dodge Holiday Classic) |
| 8. |
 Boston
College |
— |
This weekend's exhibition games in the Canadian Maritimes
will be a good chance for Boston College to get into shape
between its last Hockey East series (a tie and loss vs.
BU in December) and its next league series (two games
at Vermont on Jan. 9-10). |
| 9-5-2 (5-4-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. New Brunswick
(Ex.), vs. New Brunswick (Ex.) |
| 9. |
 Cornell
|
— |
For the second time this season, Cornell rallied from
a 2-0 deficit to tie Colgate. This time, they got to decide
a tournament title via shootout, which Cornell won on
goals from Jared Seminoff and Blake Gallagher. The reward?
The Ned Harkness Cup—quite appropriate, especially
this year. |
| 8-1-3 (6-0-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. St. Cloud State, 3-2; T
vs. Colgate, 1-1 ot (Florida College Classic). THIS WEEK:
at Massachusetts |
| 10. |
 Vermont |
— |
The Catamounts haven't won their holiday
tournament since the 2005-06 season, but did so that year
with wins over Clarkson and Dartmouth. This year's path
could also be lined with former ECAC Hockey foes as the
Cats meet Colgate in the first round and possibly St.
Lawrence in the final. |
| 9-4-2 (6-3-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Colgate, vs.
St. Lawrence/Ferris State (Catamount Cup) |
| 11. |
 Air
Force |
— |
The Falcons are the only team in the country with three
players who have scored 20 or more points so far this
season – Jacques Lamoureux (24 points), Brent Olson
(23), and Greg Flynn (22). |
| 14-2-0 (11-1-0
Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Connecticut,
vs. Quinnipiac/Merrimack (UConn Hockey Classic), at Connecticut,
at Yale |
| 12. |
 Michigan |
 1 |
Even without linemate Aaron Palushaj, forward Louie
Caporusso fared just fine at the Great Lakes Invitational,
leading the Wolverines to a second straight GLI title
with four goals, including a natural hat trick in a first-round
win against Michigan Tech. |
| 13-7-0 (7-5-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan Tech, 5-0; W vs. Michigan
State, 5-1 (Great Lakes Invitational). THIS WEEK: Off |
| 13. |
 Wisconsin |
1 |
Since allowing six goals in a loss at St. Cloud State
Nov. 21, goaltender Shane Connelly has given up a total
of six goals in the ensuing seven games. The Badgers are
6-0-1 during that span, the lone tie coming against Lake
Superior State in the Badger Hockey Showdown final. |
| 10-7-3 (7-5-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Alabama-Huntsville, 5-0; T vs.
Lake Superior State, 1-1 ot (Badger Showdown) THIS WEEK:
vs. Northern Michigan, vs. Northern Michigan |
| 14. |
 Colorado
College |
 2 |
Forwards Chad Rau, Eric Walsky, and Bill Sweatt have
accounted for nearly half (29 of 59) of the Tigers’
goals this season. |
| 11-6-5 (7-5-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Sacred Heart, 2-2 ot; W vs. Sacred
Heart, 7-0. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 15. |
 Ohio
State |
— |
No one is talking about the Buckeyes, but perhaps we
should start – they’ve won six in a row and
nine of their last 10 heading into this weekend’s
Ohio Hockey Classic. |
| 11-6-1 (6-5-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Army, vs. Clarkson/Miami
(Ohio Hockey Classic) |
| 16. |
 Dartmouth |
— |
What I learned on my European vacation: How To Score
Short-Handed Goals. The Big Green got three of 'em on
Sunday in a win over Army, including the game-winner from
Rob Pritchard at 1:43 of overtime. |
| 7-4-0 (5-2-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Army, 5-4 ot. THIS WEEK:
vs. Bemidji State (Ledyard Bank Classic Championship),
at Quinnipiac, at Princeton |
| 17. |
 Minnesota
State |
— |
Defense may win championships, but offense wins
games for the Mavs – they’re 1-4-2 this season
when scoring two or fewer goals. |
| 8-7-3 (5-7-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. NEXT GAMES: at Princeton, at Yale,
vs. Nebraska-Omaha |
| 18. |
 Nebraska-Omaha
|
— |
The CCHA's Mavericks already defeated Union earlier
this season. Getting a win and a tie at Yale and Princeton
this week would move them into a tie for seventh in the
ECAC Hockey standings with five points. |
| 11-4-3 (7-4-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Yale, at Princeton,
at Minnesota State |
| 19. |
 Minnesota
Duluth
|
1 |
Notre Dame is riding a 14-game unbeaten streak but the
Bulldogs, another participant in this weekend’s
Shillelagh Tournament, are in the midst of a tidy seven-game
run without a loss. |
| 8-4-6 (5-4-5
WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. UMass Lowell, vs.
Union/Notre Dame (Shillelagh Tournament) |
| 20. |
 Alaska |
1 |
An overtime goal by Western Michigan’s Max Campbell
in a 3-2 win in Fairbanks on Dec. 20 snapped the Nanooks’
seven-game unbeaten streak. |
| 9-5-4 (7-4-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 6-3; L vs. Western
Michigan, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Michigan State, at Michigan
State |