With all the shuffling that took place in this
week's INCH Power Rankings, we can tell you this with certainty:
We still rated 20 teams, and the top two are still Miami and
North Dakota. They're joined on the upper rungs of our weekly
list by Cornell.
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 |
— |
You know you've had a rough go at a particular road
venue when you get a sweep and your school's all-time
win total in that arena nearly doubles. That's what happened
to the RedHawks, who got all-time wins nos. 4 and 5 at
Yost Ice Arena this past weekend. |
| 8-1-1 (5-1-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Michigan, 3-1; W at Michigan 5-1.
THIS WEEK: vs. Ferris State, vs. Ferris State |
| 2. |
 North
Dakota |
— |
The Fighting Sioux have scored three or more goals seven
times in eight games this season, the lone exception being
a 2-1 loss at Alaska Anchorage on Oct. 24. |
| 6-1-1 (4-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Michigan Tech, 4-2; W at Michigan
Tech, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State, vs. St. Cloud
State |
| 3. |
 Cornell
|
 2 |
Talk about feeling shame in the penalty box, through
three games Cornell's power play is clicking at a 44.4
percent rate, converting 8 of 18 chances thus far. |
| 3-0-0 (2-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Dartmouth, 5-1; W vs. Harvard
6-3. THIS WEEK: at Yale, at Brown |
| 4. |
 Denver |
 1 |
Saturday's 7-3 loss to Alaska Anchorage at Sullivan
Arena snapped the Pioneers' 13-game unbeaten streak on
the Seawolves' home ice. |
| 6-3-1 (4-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Alaska-Anchorage, 3-2; L at Alaska-Anchorage,
7-3. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 5. |
 UMass
Lowell |
4 |
Nick Schaus is Lowell's best defenseman, and right now,
he's their top scorer, too. The senior's nine points (four
goals, five assist) are tops on the team and tied for
ninth in Hockey East. |
| 5-2-1 (3-1-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T at Vermont, 3-3 ot; W vs. New
Hampshire, 6-3. THIS WEEK: at Alabama-Huntsville, at Alabama-Huntsville |
| 6. |
 Michigan |
2 |
Miami became the first team to sweep Michigan in Ann
Arbor since Oct. 26-27, 2001, when Northern Michigan did
it. Those Wildcats were coached by Rick Comley, who brings
his Michigan State squad to Yost Friday. |
| 4-4-0 (2-2-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Miami, 3-1; L vs. Miami 5-1. THIS
WEEK: vs. Michigan State, at Michigan State |
| 7. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
1 |
Apropos of nothing, the Mavericks' roster boasts players
from 11 different states—California, Illinois, Indiana,
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New York, North
Dakota, Virginia, and Wisconsin. |
| 4-1-3 (1-1-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Michigan State, 3-0; T at Michigan
State, 3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Lake Superior State, vs.
Lake Superior State |
| 8. |
 Notre
Dame |
— |
The Irish have scored a total of 23 goals in their first
10 games this season. That's the same number they scored
last season in five games against Northern Michigan, this
weekend's opponent. |
| 5-4-1 (2-1-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Alaska, 3-2; L at Alaska, 3-1. THIS
WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan, vs. Northern Michigan |
| 9. |
 Alaska |
2 |
The Nanooks are off to a terrific start, but they've
played all of their first eight games on Alaskan soil.
That changes this weekend when Alaska shuffles off to
Bowling Green for the first of three road series in four
weekends. |
| 6-1-1 (3-1-0
CCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Notre Dame, 3-2; W vs. Notre Dame,
3-1. THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green, at Bowling Green |
| 10. |
 Bemidji
State |
3 |
Matt Read has 14 points through eight games
and Bemidji State is one of two remaining teams without
a loss on their ledger. |
| 7-0-1 (4-0-0
CHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Robert Morris, 2-0; W vs. Robert
Morris, 6-1. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota, at Minnesota |
| 11. |
 Vermont
|
1 |
Senior forward Brayden Irwin leads the team in goals
(four), assists (five), points (nine), penalty minutes
(25), plus-minus (+7) and shots on goal (20). |
| 3-3-1 (2-2-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T vs. UMass Lowell, 3-3 ot; W
vs. Providence, 3-0 |
| 12. |
 Yale |
5 |
Sean Backman's goal with six seconds left in the third
period of Saturday's game tied the score and helped Yale
salvage at least one point in the standings on the weekend
trip to New York's Capital Region. |
| 1-1-1 (0-1-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L at Rensselaer, 5-2; T at Union,
3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Cornell, vs. Colgate |
| 13. |
 Michigan
State |
3 |
Interested spectators will be keeping an eye on Spartan
forward Corey Tropp Friday — and not just because
he's the top scorer in the CCHA with 15 points in 10 games
— when MSU travels to Yost Ice Arena to face Michigan. |
| 7-2-1 (4-1-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 3-0; T vs. Nebraska-Omaha,
3-0. THIS WEEK: at Michigan, vs. Michigan |
| 14. |
 Massachusetts |
3 |
The schedule hasn't been overly difficult, so the Minutemen
can legitimize their early-season hot streak with a pair
of home games against UNH this weekend. Those two teams
have played some great games in recent years. |
| 6-1-0 (3-1-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Niagara, 4-1; W at Niagara,
4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. New Hampshire, vs. New Hampshire |
| 15. |
 Colorado
College |
— |
Senior forward Bill Sweatt, the WCHA's second-leading
scorer, has 4-8—12 in his last five games. |
| 5-2-1 (4-1-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota Duluth, 4-3; W vs. Minnesota
Duluth, 6-2. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota State, at Minnesota
State |
| 16. |
 Minnesota
Duluth
|
2 |
The Bulldogs close out the first half of the season
(isn't it a little early to be saying that?) with six
of their next eight at home starting with two games against
Michigan Tech this weekend. |
| 6-3-1 (3-2-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Colorado College, 4-3; L at Colorado
College, 6-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech, vs. Michigan
Tech |
| 17. |
 Princeton |
3 |
Junior goalie Alan Reynolds made just his fifth career
start Saturday, and it was a good one. He had 31 saves
in a 4-1 win over Clarkson. |
| 2-2-0 (1-1-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. St. Lawrence, 5-2; W vs.
Clarkson, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Dartmouth, vs. Harvard |
| 18. |
 Boston
College |
2 |
BC followed up a disappointing loss -- a 4-1 lead turned
into a 4-4 tie in Durham -- with a 5-1 pounding of Northeastern
on Saturday. |
| 3-2-1 (2-2-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T at New Hampshire, 4-4 ot; W
vs. Northeastern, 5-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Vermont, vs. Vermont |
| 19. |
 Quinnipiac |
NR |
The Bobcats' lineup features as many as eight freshmen,
but seniors Brandon Wong (11 points) and Eric Lampe (10)
are leading the way. |
| 6-1-0 (2-0-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Clarkson, 4-2; W vs. St.
Lawrence, 5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Harvard, vs. Dartmouth |
| 20. |
 Wisconsin |
1 |
It took place in Saturday's 5-2 loss to Minnesota, but
the third-period goal scored by defenseman Ryan McDonagh—he
wheeled around in the near faceoff circle and swatted
the puck into the net with a baseball swing—was
highlight-reel caliber. |
| 4-3-1 (2-3-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Minnesota, 4-2; L vs. Minnesota,
5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska-Anchorage, vs. Alaska-Anchorage |