Based on the preponderence of Christmas colors
at the top of this week's Power Rankings, it must be a sign
that everyone at INCH World Headquarters is in the holiday
mood. True, candy cane-clad Miami and Cornell are mired among
the tinsel gold trim of Denver and Boston College this week,
but it's no gift--the RedHawks, Pioneers, Big Red and Eagles
have earned those spots. So, too, has another red-and-white
club, Wisconsin, this week's big mover.
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 |
In their last 12 CCHA matches, the RedHawks have outscored
their opponents by a 36-12 margin. Miami is 9-0-3 in the
league during that span. |
| 13-2-5 (10-1-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Ohio State, 6-0; W vs. Ohio State,
4-3. NEXT ACTION: at Robert Morris, Jan. 8 |
| 2. |
 Denver |
 1 |
Say this about the Pioneers: when they lose, they really
get shellacked. In their five defeats this season, they've
allowed a combined 26 goals. |
| 11-5-2 (9-3-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Minnesota Duluth, 3-2; L at Minnesota
Duluth, 6-3. NEXT ACTION: Denver Cup, Jan. 1-2 |
| 3. |
 Cornell
|
1 |
If Cornell faces Maine in the second game at the Florida
College Classic, it will be the third in a stretch of
four games against ranked teams (Union, CC, Maine, UNH). |
| 7-2-2 (6-2-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. NEXT ACTION: Florida College
Classic, Dec. 29-30 |
| 4. |
 Boston
College |
5 |
BC was not whistled for a single penalty in Saturday's
win. Fans were probably happy to get out of Providence's
rink in under two hours (1:58 time of game), and Nick
Petrecki was probably disappointed. |
| 10-3-2 (7-3-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Harvard, 3-2; W at Providence,
3-1. NEXT ACTION: at Denver Cup, Jan. 1-2 |
| 5. |
 Colorado
College |
2 |
Senior forward Mike Testwuide scored a goal at St. Cloud
State Friday and added a goal and an assist against the
Huskies Saturday. He's recorded at least one goal in six
of the Tigers' last eight games. |
| 11-4-3 (8-3-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at St. Cloud State, 4-4 ot; W at St.
Cloud State, 4-1. NEXT ACTION: at Florida College Classic,
Dec. 29-30 |
| 6. |
 Yale |
— |
Yale is also the nation’s highest-scoring team
with 4.33 goals per game (52 in 12 games). They could
play the nation's second-highest scoring team, Wisconsin,
at the Badgers' tournament in early January. |
| 7-3-2 (4-1-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. NEXT ACTION: at Badger Showdown,
Jan. 2-3 |
| 7. |
 Wisconsin |
4 |
The Badger Showdown at the Kohl Center Jan. 2-3 should
be a terrific weekend of hockey as the hosts are joined
by two teams rated in the top 15 of these very Power Rankings,
Yale and Ferris State, and a vastly improved Merrimack
squad. |
| 11-5-2 (8-4-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at North Dakota, 3-3 ot; W at North
Dakota, 4-3. NEXT ACTION: Badger Showdown, Jan. 2-3 |
| 8. |
 North
Dakota |
5 |
The Fighting Sioux gave up more than two goals once
in their nine games en route to a 7-1-1 start. They've
allowed three or more goals six times in the nine games
since and are 2-5-2 in that stretch. |
| 9-6-3 (6-6-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Wisconsin, 3-3 ot; L vs. Wisconsin,
4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. USA Under-20 Team (Ex.) |
| 9. |
 Quinnipiac |
1 |
The Bobcats scuffled a bit in a three-game winless streak
following eight consecutive wins, but got on track with
a 5-2 win Saturday that featured five different goal scorers. |
| 13-3-1 (7-2-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: T at Holy Cross, 1-1 ot; W vs.
American International. 5-2. NEXT ACTION: at Harvard,
Dec. 29 |
| 10. |
 Bemidji
State |
5 |
The two losses to visiting Minnesota State this past
weekend extended the Beavers' losing streak against the
Mavericks to six in a row. BSU's last win in the series
was a 3-2 decision in Mankato on Nov. 4, 2006. |
| 13-4-1 (8-0-0
College Hockey America) LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota State,
5-1; L vs. Minnesota State, 3-2. NEXT ACTION: at Western
Michigan, Jan. 2-3 |
| 11. |
 Michigan
State |
1 |
Forward Corey Tropp closed out a sensational first half
of the season with a hat trick in Saturday's win against
Bowling Green. Tropp has scored 16 goals in 20 games this
season; MSU's leading goal-getter last season had 14 goals
in 38 games. |
| 12-6-2 (9-3-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Bowling Green, 3-2 ot; W vs. Bowling
Green, 4-1. NEXT ACTION: Great Lakes Invitational, Dec.
29-30 |
| 12. |
 UMass
Lowell |
2 |
The River Hawks are a clear favorite at Dartmouth's
holiday tournament, as the other three teams - Northeastern
(40th), Holy Cross (44th) and Dartmouth (51st) - all rank
among the worst teams in the country in winning percentage. |
| 10-6-1 (5-4-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Princeton, 4-1; L vs. Princeton,
3-2. NEXT ACTION: at Ledyard Bank Classic, Jan. 2-3 |
| 13. |
 Massachusetts |
— |
Will Ortiz scored his sixth and seventh goals of the
season to help UMass end a three-game losing streak with
a win over Merrimack. |
| 10-5-0 (6-4-0
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Merrimack, 4-1. NEXT ACTION:
at UConn Hockey Classic, Dec. 29-30 |
| 14. |
 Ferris
State |
1 |
At 13-3-2 overall, the Bulldogs are off to their best
start through 18 games since 1979-80 when they opened
with a 14-4-0 mark. The 2002-03 FSU team that won the
CCHA regular-season title started 13-5-0. |
| 13-3-2 (8-2-2
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Western Michigan, 3-0; W vs. Western
Michigan, 4-3. NEXT ACTION: at Badger Showdown, Jan. 2-3 |
| 15. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
1 |
Notice a trend with these Bulldogs? When they score
three or more goals this season, they're 11-0-1. When
they score two or fewer goals, they're 0-6-0. |
| 11-6-1 (8-5-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Denver, 3-2; W vs. Denver, 6-3.
NEXT ACTION: at Catamount Cup, Jan. 2-3 |
| 16. |
 Union |
2 |
Don't leave early when Capital District rivals Union
and RPI get together. The Dutchmen scored twice in the
final minute of the third period to win on Wednesday.
In the previous meeting, RPI tied the game with one second
left in the third and Union won in overtime. |
| 8-3-5 (4-0-3
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Rensselaer, 5-4; W vs. US
NTDP Under-18s, 4-1. NEXT ACTION: at UConn Hockey Classic,
Dec. 29-30 |
| 17. |
 Alaska |
1 |
Senior forward Dion Knelsen needs six points to join
the Nanooks' century club. He'd become the first UAF skater
to reach 100 career points since Knelsen's ex-teammates
Curtis Fraser and Kyle Greentree did it during the 2006-07
season. |
| 9-5-4 (6-5-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 4-3; L vs. Nebraska-Omaha,
5-3. NEXT ACTION: at Nebraska-Omaha, Jan. 8-9 |
| 18. |
 New
Hampshire |
1 |
Senior forward Bobby Butler has quietly put together
an excellent UNH career. He's played in 131 games and
has 45 goals and 92 points and leads this year's Wildcats
in scoring with 13 goals and 24 points. |
| 8-6-3 (8-2-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Providence, 4-3. NEXT ACTION:
vs. Cornell, Jan. 3 |
| 19. |
 Maine |
1 |
Maine last won the Florida College Classic,
which they co-host with Cornell, in the 2006-07 season.
The Black Bears scored 14 goals in two wins that weekend
in Florida. |
| 9-7-1 (7-4-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Northeastern, 5-1. NEXT
ACTION: Florida College Classic, Jan. 29-30 |
| 20. |
 St.
Cloud State |
3 |
Of the Huskies' nine series during the first half of
the season, seven were against teams currently rated among
the top 20 in this week's INCH Power Rankings. |
| 8-7-3 (7-5-2
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Colorado College, 4-4 ot; L vs.
Colorado College, 4-1. NEXT ACTION: vs. Brown, Jan. 2-3 |