The regular season is complete, and Miami moved
back into the top spot in the Inside College Hockey Power
Rankings. Our notes on the rest of the teams serves as a brief
preview of what to expect in playoff action coming up this
weekend.
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 |
Is Ohio State an intra-state rival? Sure, but the RedHawks
have owned the series in recent years. Since the start
of the 2005-06 season, Miami is 15-3-4 against the Buckeyes. |
| 24-5-7 (21-2-5
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Ohio State (CCHA
Quarterfinal Series) |
| 2. |
 Denver |
 1 |
Colorado College snapped the Pioneers’ 10-game
winning streak with a 2-1 win at Magness Arena Friday,
but DU ended the Tigers’ four-year stranglehold
on the Gold Pan, given to the winner of the season series
between the two teams, with a 7-3 rout in Colorado Springs
Saturday. |
| 25-7-4 (19-5-4
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Colorado College, 2-1; W at Colorado
College, 7-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech (WCHA First
Round Series) |
| 3. |
 Wisconsin |
— |
The Badgers have had some legendary playoff tussles
with this weekend’s first-round foe, Alaska Anchorage.
In 2004, UAA upset Wisconsin in a three-game series in
Madison. The next year, the Badgers and Seawolves again
needed three games to determine a winner—Wisconsin
prevailed in the rubber match, 2-1, on goals by Joe Pavelski
and Adam Burish. |
| 22-9-4 (17-8-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Minnesota, 3-2; L at Minnesota,
6-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage (WCHA First Round
Series) |
| 4. |
 North
Dakota |
2 |
Could the Fighting Sioux's upcoming playoff series with
Minnesota be any more even? Not only do both teams have
identical 1-1-2 marks against one another this season,
but both the goals for and against (11-11) are also mirror
images. |
| 20-11-5
(15-10-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Michigan Tech, 5-1; W
vs. Michigan Tech, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota (WCHA
First Round Series) |
| 5. |
 Yale |
— |
When the week off doesn't go your way: Yale's Sean Backman
suffered
an injury and will likely miss the rest of the season. |
| 19-7-3 (15-5-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Brown (ECAC
Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |
| 6. |
 Boston
College |
2 |
Freshman Parker Milner saw action in all three wins
against UMass, this weekend's foe, and had a .955 save
percentage. John Muse stopped all 16 Minutemen shots he
faced in his only appearance in the series. |
| 21-10-3
(16-8-3 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T at New Hampshire, 3-3
ot; W vs. New Hampshire, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Massachusetts
(Hockey East Quarterfinal Series) |
| 7. |
 St.
Cloud State |
3 |
The Huskies' first-round playoff opponent, Minnesota
State, may be a no. 8 seed, but the Mavericks, who took
three of four points from SCSU last weekend, own a 12-5-3
advantage in the series since the start of the 2003-04
season. |
| 20-11-5
(15-9-4 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Minnesota State, 4-2; T
vs. Minnesota State, 2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota
State (WCHA First Round Series) |
| 8. |
 Cornell
|
1 |
This weekend will be the fourth time that Cornell has
hosted Harvard in a quarterfinal series (1990, 1997, 2000)
and the Big Red has advanced in two games every time. |
| 17-8-4 (14-5-3
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Harvard (ECAC
Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |
| 9. |
 Michigan
State |
— |
Spartan left wing Andrew Rowe, a junior from Muskegon,
gets this rivalry thing. He's scored a goal in all four
of Michigan State's games against Michigan this year,
three of which were wins. |
| 19-11-6
(14-8-6 CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan
(CCHA Quarterfinal Series) |
| 10. |
 Bemidji
State |
— |
Bemidji State's reward for winning College Hockey America
is a "road" game against the Purple Eagles,
as last-place Niagara hosts the league tournament at Dwyer
Arena. They split the regular-season series at Niagara. |
| 23-8-3 (14-3-1
CHA) LAST WEEK: W at Alabama-Huntsville, 3-2; T at Alabama-Huntsville,
2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Niagara (CHA Semifinal at Niagara
Falls, N.Y.) |
| 11. |
 Alaska |
4 |
The Nanooks extended their unbeaten streak to 10 in
a row with a pair of wins against Western Michigan in
Fairbanks. Their last defeat was a 3-2 loss to this week's
opponent, Northern Michigan, in Marquette on Jan. 30.
|
| 18-9-9 (11-9-8
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 4-0; W vs. Western
Michigan, 4-1 (CCHA First Round Series). THIS WEEK: at
Northern Michigan, at Northern Michigan (CCHA Quarterfinal
Series) |
| 12. |
 Union |
— |
Union was 6-2-3 in its ECAC Hockey home games this season,
including a 7-3 win over Quinnipiac, who visits this weekend
in a quarterfinal playoff series. |
| 18-10-6
(12-6-4 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Quinnipiac
(ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |
| 13. |
 New
Hampshire |
2 |
The Wildcats win Hockey East's regular-season title
for the third time in four years, but enter the playoffs
having allowed the first goal in four straight games. |
| 16-11-7
(15-6-6 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: T vs. Boston College,
3-3 ot; L at Boston College, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Vermont
(Hockey East Quarterfinal Series) |
| 14. |
 Ferris
State |
— |
Revenge might be on the minds of the Bulldogs during
this weekend's quarterfinal playoff series against visiting
Nebraska-Omaha. The Mavs knocked Ferris out of the CCHA
tournament last season with a first-round sweep in Omaha. |
| 19-11-6
(13-9-6 CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Nebraska-Omaha
(CCHA Quarterfinal Series) |
| 15. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
2 |
Maybe it's a good thing for the Bulldogs that this weekend's
first-round playoff series with Colorado College is a
best-of-three affair. UMD, which took three of four from
the Tigers during the regular season, hasn't won back-to-back
games since sweeping Minnesota State on Jan. 15-16. |
| 20-15-1
(16-11-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Alaska Anchorage, 3-2;
W at Alaska Anchorage, 6-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Colorado College
(WCHA First Round Series) |
| 16. |
 Colorado
College |
1 |
Since advancing to the Frozen Four in 2005, the Tigers
have lost three of their four first-round playoff series,
falling to St. Cloud State in 2006, Michigan Tech in 2007,
and Minnesota Duluth in 2009. |
| 18-15-3
(12-13-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Denver, 2-1; L vs. Denver,
7-3. THIS WEEK: at Minnesota Duluth (WCHA First Round
Series) |
| 17. |
 RIT |
1 |
When RIT last hosted Connecticut, the Tigers posted
13 goals over two games on Halloween weekend. Defenseman
Al Mazur had a hat trick the first night and fellow blueliner
Dan Ringwald potted three the next night. |
| 22-11-1
(22-5-1 Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs.
Connecticut (Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |
| 18. |
 Northern
Michigan |
1 |
Don't expect any blowouts in the Wildcats' quarterfinal
playoff series with Alaska this weekend. In the four meetings
between the two teams this season, three ended in ties
and one was a 3-2 NMU win. |
| 17-11-8
(13-9-6 CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska (CCHA
Quarterfinal Series) |
| 19. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
1 |
With its first-round sweep of Bowling Green
last weekend, the Mavericks improved to 10-3-1 in their
last 14 games. During that span, UNO has outscored its
opponents by a 58-38 margin. |
| 20-14-6
(13-12-3 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Bowling Green, 6-1; W
vs. Bowling Green, 6-1. THIS WEEK: at Ferris State (CCHA
Quarterfinal Series) |
| 20. |
 UMass
Lowell |
NR |
The River Hawks visit Maine to face the last team to
beat them (3-0-2 since). UMass Lowell has allowed 1.4
goals per game since the Black Bears hung eight on the
board at Alfond Feb. 19. |
| 18-14-4
(12-11-4 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Vermont, 5-2; T
vs. Vermont, 1-1 ot. THIS WEEK: at Maine (Hockey East
Quarterfinal Series) |