After a season of uncertainty, it appears that
we’re finally starting to see some consistency developing
atop the INCH Power Rankings. Miami and Denver have been at
or near the top since the beginning, and Wisconsin has been
moored in the top three for a few weeks. Now it appears St.
Cloud State is ready to take up residency in that lofty territory.
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 |
— |
The RedHawks, who ran their unbeaten streak against
CCHA opponents to 20 straight with a weekend sweep of
Lake Superior State, can clinch their third league regular-season
title with a win, a shootout win, or a Ferris State loss. |
| 20-4-6 (17-1-4
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Lake Superior State, 2-0; W vs.
Lake Superior State, 10-4. THIS WEEK: at Bowling Green,
at Bowling Green |
| 2. |
 Denver |
— |
Sophomore forward Joe Colborne had a goal in the Pioneers’
win against Mercyhurst Friday and added an assist in DU’s
overtime win at Air Force Saturday to extend his current
point streak to 10 games. |
| 18-6-4 (12-4-4
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Mercyhurst, 4-1; W at Air Force,
2-1 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota, vs. Minnesota |
| 3. |
 Wisconsin |
— |
Indeed, Saturday was a great day for hockey. “The
biggest outdoor celebration in Wisconsin history probably
took place today at Camp Randall watching a hockey game
and that’s pretty cool,” Badger coach Mike
Eaves said after the game. |
| 16-7-4 (11-6-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan, 3-2 (Camp Randall Classic).
THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota State, vs. Minnesota State |
| 4. |
 St.
Cloud State |
 1 |
Senior forward Ryan Lasch had three goals and three
assists in the Huskies’ tie and win against Alaska
Anchorage, allowing him to pass Mark Hartigan and move
into third place on the school’s all-time scoring
list with 167 career points. |
| 18-8-4 (13-6-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Alaska Anchorage, 4-4 ot; W vs.
Alaska Anchorage, 6-0. THIS WEEK: vs. North Dakota, vs.
North Dakota |
| 5. |
 Yale |
1 |
The Bulldogs saw an early 2-0 lead disappear against
rival Harvard but scored three third-period goals in a
six-minute span to get the win. |
| 14-6-3 (10-4-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Dartmouth, 4-2; W vs. Harvard,
6-3. THIS WEEK: at Colgate, at Cornell |
| 6. |
 Cornell
|
 2 |
Justin Krueger is an all-league candidate on defense,
but not for his offensive production. He scored his first
goal of the year in Friday's win at Quinnipiac. |
| 13-6-3 (10-3-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Quinnipiac, 2-0; L at Princeton,
5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Brown, vs. Yale |
| 7. |
 Colorado
College |
3 |
After a stretch of 17 straight starts, freshman goaltender
Joe Howe got Saturday night off. Fellow rookie Mike Shibrowski
made 31 saves in his first career start, earning the win
in the Tigers’ 5-3 triumph over Mercyhurst. |
| 17-10-3
(11-8-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Air Force, 2-0; W vs. Mercyhurst,
5-3. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 8. |
 Michigan
State |
1 |
After putting just 16 shots on goal in a shutout loss
at Alaska Friday, the Spartans launched 14 first-period
shots at Nanook goaltender Scott Greenham Saturday. Unfortunately
for MSU, only one reached the back of the net as the two
teams skated to a 1-1 draw. |
| 17-10-5
(12-7-5 CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Alaska, 2-0; T at Alaska,
1-1 ot. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 9. |
 North
Dakota |
— |
The Sioux come out of last weekend’s bye to embark
on a three-week stretch that will likely define their
season—a series at St. Cloud State followed by two
games against Minnesota Duluth in Grand Forks and a trip
to Colorado College for a pair of games to close out the
month. |
| 13-10-5
(8-9-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at St. Cloud State,
at St. Cloud State |
| 10. |
 Bemidji
State |
1 |
Hope the Beavers used the bye weekend wisely, because
they’ve got a lot of traveling to do before the
end of the regular season. Three of BSU’s final
four series are on the road—at Robert Morris, at
Nebraska-Omaha, and at Alabama-Huntsville. |
| 18-6-2 (10-2-0
CHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Robert Morris, at Robert
Morris |
| 11. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
3 |
Maybe the Bulldogs want to avoid finishing first in
the WCHA to steer clear of a first-round playoff series
against Michigan Tech. UMD has been the victim in two
of the Huskies’ five wins this season, the most
recent coming Friday in Houghton. |
| 18-11-1
(14-7-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Michigan Tech, 3-1; W at
Michigan Tech, 3-2. THIS WEEK: Off |
| 12. |
 Boston
College |
2 |
The Eagles have scored five, six, and seven goals in
three straight wins and can make it an especially memorable
run by posting a snowman in Monday's Beanpot final. |
| 15-8-2 (11-6-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Harvard, 6-0 (Beanpot);
W at Massachusetts, 7-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Boston University
(Beanpot Championship); at UMass Lowell, vs. UMass Lowell |
| 13. |
 Union |
2 |
The scariest thing about Union's 11-2 win against Clarkson
was that the Dutchmen actually trailed 20 seconds into
the game. Union tied the game 28 seconds later and never
looked back. |
| 15-7-6 (9-3-4
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Clarkson, 11-2; W vs. St.
Lawrence, 4-2. THIS WEEK: at Dartmouth, at Harvard |
| 14. |
 Maine |
2 |
Maine swept rival New Hampshire in back-to-back home
games even though the Black Bears trailed 2-0 in both
contests. Maine's last sweep of New Hampshire came in
January of 2004. |
| 14-9-3 (11-6-2
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. New Hampshire, 3-2; W vs.
New Hampshire, 6-3. THIS WEEK: at Boston University, at
Boston University |
| 15. |
 Ferris
State |
3 |
The Bulldogs are 1-5-2 in their last eight games and
play four of their six remaining regular-season matches
on the road. That’s not good news for a team that
has a 3-4-3 road record in the CCHA. |
| 17-9-4 (11-7-4
CCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Northern Michigan, 3-3 ot; L vs.
Northern Michigan, 4-0. THIS WEEK: at Lake Superior State,
at Lake Superior State |
| 16. |
 St.
Lawrence |
1 |
Senior Mike
McKenzie tweeted how much he likes playing at RPI's
Houston Field House, and wasn't lying. He had a goal and
two assists in Friday's game. |
| 14-10-5
(8-5-3 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: T at Rensselaer, 3-3 ot;
L at Union, 4-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Quinnipiac, vs. Princeton |
| 17. |
 New
Hampshire |
4 |
UNH led 2-0 in both games this weekend at Maine, and
suffered their first losses of the year when holding a
lead after the first period. They were 8-0-0 in those
situations prior to the Maine series. |
| 13-10-4
(12-5-3 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Maine, 3-2; L at
Maine, 6-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Providence |
| 18. |
 Rensselaer |
NR |
Chase Polacek has surpassed the 100-point mark in his
career, the first Engineer player to achieve that since
Kirk MAC Donald in the 2006-07 season. |
| 15-12-3
(8-6-2 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: T vs. St. Lawrence, 3-3
ot; W vs. Clarkson, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at Harvard, at Dartmouth |
| 19. |
 Michigan |
1 |
Think the Wolverines are kicking themselves
after losing to Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium Saturday?
"If it weren't for the penalties in the last five
minutes, we'd be sitting here talking about a victory,"
coach Red Berenson lamented after the game. |
| 16-13-1
(11-9-1 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Bowling Green, 2-1; L at
Wisconsin, 3-2 (Camp Randall Classic). THIS WEEK: vs.
Bowling Green, at Nebraska-Omaha, at Nebraska-Omaha |
| 20. |
 Massachusetts |
1 |
Big crowds are nice, but when UMass draws big home crowds
they haven't given the fans much to cheer about. The Minutemen
are 1-5-1 in their program history when playing in front
of 7,000 fans or more at home. |
| 16-11-0
(11-9-0 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Boston College,
7-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Northeastern, at Northeastern |