We've often said that the INCH Power Rankings
aren't constructed in a vacuum. Sometimes the way a team is
impacted has more to do with what's happened to teams around
them. It can be a matter of being in the right place at the
right time. Western Michigan moved up in the rankings despite
being swept. Boston University and Cornell also made gains,
despite losing to the last-place team in ECAC Hockey. It was
that kind of week.
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. |
 North
Dakota |
 1 |
Forward Brett Hextall, who scored three goals in his
first 23 games this season, scored three more in the Fighting
Sioux's tie and win at St. Cloud State. He has five goals
and two assists in his last five games. |
| 22-8-3 (17-6-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at St. Cloud State, 3-3 ot; W at St.
Cloud State, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Bemidji State, vs. Bemidji
State |
| 2. |
 Boston
College |
 1 |
It's not often that an elite team like Boston College
would score 15 goals over a three-game span and win just
once, but that's how the Eagles' week went. And the win
came in the game that rewards a trophy afterward. |
| 22-7-1 (16-6-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Northeastern, 7-6 ot (Beanpot
Championship); T vs. Northeastern, 7-7 ot; L at Northeastern,
2-1. THIS WEEK: at Massachusetts, vs. Massachusetts |
| 3. |
 Yale |
— |
Yale's penalty-kill might be its only real statistical
weakness, as the Bulldogs are currently ranked 35th nationally
in short-handed efficiency. But the Bulldogs do have six
short-handed goals, after potting two shorties in a comeback
win at Princeton on Sunday. |
| 22-5-0 (16-4-0
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Quinnipiac, 6-1; W at Princeton,
5-4. THIS WEEK: vs. Colgate, vs. Cornell |
| 4. |
 Union |
— |
Union has played seven two-game weekends since returning
from Minnesota's holiday tournament. Six times they won
both games and the other was a split against Dartmouth
and Harvard. |
| 24-7-3 (16-3-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Clarkson, 4-3 ot; W at St.
Lawrence, 5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Quinnipiac, vs. Princeton |
| 5. |
 Merrimack |
— |
The Warriors have been winning the close ones. Five
of the Ws in Merrimack's current eight-game win streak
have been by one goal and another was a 4-2 win at New
Hampshire. |
| 21-5-4 (15-5-3
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Massachusetts, 4-3 ot; W
vs. Massachusetts, 2-1. THIS WEEK: at Maine, at Maine |
| 6. |
 Miami |
2 |
Regardless of the outcome of their regular-season finale
at Lake Superior State, the RedHawks are locked into third
place in the CCHA standings thanks to Michigan’s
overtime win against Western Michigan Saturday. |
| 17-9-6 (14-7-5
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: at Lake Superior State,
at Lake Superior State |
| 7. |
 New
Hampshire |
2 |
UNH's three-point weekend at Vermont clinched a first-round
home-ice series when the Hockey East playoffs begin. The
Wildcats hold a two-point lead over BC and Merrimack with
four games remaining in the regular season. |
| 18-7-5 (16-4-3
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Vermont, 6-1; T at Vermont,
2-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Northeastern, at Northeastern |
| 8. |
 Denver |
2 |
The Pioneers have developed a troubling habit of allowing
their opponents to score first. Michigan Tech took 1-0
leads in both ends of its split at Magness Arena this
past weekend, marking the sixth and seventh consecutive
games DU has given up the first goal. |
| 19-8-5 (15-6-3
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Michigan Tech, 3-2; W vs. Michigan
Tech, 5-1. THIS WEEK: at Nebraska-Omaha, at Nebraska-Omaha |
| 9. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
2 |
With a winter storm currently bearing down on a good
chunk of the upper Midwest, it’s probably no coincidence
that the Bulldogs’ Mike Seidel (no, not that
Mike Seidel) scored a pair of goals in his team’s
6-2 win at Minnesota State Saturday. |
| 19-7-5 (14-6-4
WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Minnesota State, 3-1; W at Minnesota
State, 6-2. THIS WEEK: at Colorado College, at Colorado
College |
| 10. |
 Michigan |
1 |
When senior Carl Hagelin scored his second
goal of Saturday's game against Western Michigan with
three seconds remaining in overtime, he propelled his
team to its first OT win since Dec. 29, 2007, when the
Wolverines beat Michigan Tech for the Great Lakes Invitational
title on a goal 2:32 into the second extra session. |
| 21-9-4 (18-7-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Western Michigan, 6-3; W vs. Western
Michigan, 5-4 ot. THIS WEEK: at Northern Michigan, at
Northern Michigan |
| 11. |
 Notre
Dame |
1 |
There was a mini-Fighting Irish reunion in Toronto Saturday
when the host Maple Leafs welcomed the Ottawa Senators
to the Air Canada Centre. Former Fighting Irish standouts
Christian Hanson and Brett Lebda were in the Leafs' lineup,
while ex-ND All-American Erik Condra dressed for the Sens. |
| 20-9-5 (17-6-3
CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Ferris State, 3-2; W at Ferris State,
5-2. THIS WEEK: at Western Michigan, at Western Michigan |
| 12. |
 Rensselaer |
2 |
Goalie Allen York returned from injury and was yanked
in his first game back at St. Lawrence. He bounced back
the next night with 20 saves in a 5-1 win at Clarkson. |
| 19-9-4 (11-8-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L at St. Lawrence, 5-3; W at Clarkson,
5-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Princeton, vs. Quinnipiac |
| 13. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
— |
Freshman forward Brock Montpetit became the fifth Maverick
with 10 or more goals on the season when he scored early
in the third period of UNO’s win at Alaska Anchorage
Saturday. Minnesota Duluth is the only WCHA team with
as many players who’ve reached double digits in
goals. |
| 19-11-2
(15-7-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Alaska Anchorage, 3-2; W
at Alaska Anchorage, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Denver, vs. Denver |
| 14. |
 Boston
University |
2 |
BU's traditional Beanpot success is measured with championships,
but it's almost more impressive to look at the other end
of the scale. Monday's loss to Harvard marked just the
fourth time in the tournament's 59-year history that BU
finished fourth and the first time since 1980. |
| 16-9-7 (13-5-5
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L vs. Harvard, 5-4 (Beanpot Third
Place); W vs. Providence, 2-1; W at Providence, 1-0. THIS
WEEK: vs. Vermont, vs. Vermont |
| 15. |
 Wisconsin |
1 |
These Badgers run hot and cold—Wisconsin started
the season 6-2-1, then went 0-4-2 in its next six, followed
that stretch with by winning 13 of 15, and now enter this
weekend's series at St. Cloud State with a four-game winless
streak. |
| 19-11-4
(11-10-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Minnesota, 5-2; T vs.
Minnesota, 3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: at St. Cloud State, at St.
Cloud State |
| 16. |
 Western
Michigan |
1 |
Salute to round numbers: Senior center Max Campbell
needs two points to become the 50th Bronco skater to record
100 career points. The Strathroy, Ontario, native got
one step closer to that plateau with a goal in Friday’s
loss at Michigan. |
| 15-9-10
(9-8-9 CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Michigan, 6-3; L at Michigan,
5-4 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Notre Dame, at Notre Dame |
| 17. |
 Cornell |
NR |
Cornell was four-games under .500 twice this year, but
has climbed up the ECAC Hockey standings with a 9-3-2
record since the start of the new year. The Big Red control
their own destiny for a first-round bye in the ECACH playoffs. |
| 13-11-3
(11-7-2 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Harvard, 4-3; W
vs. Dartmouth, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: at Brown, at Yale |
| 18. |
 RIT |
— |
RIT saw an 11-game unbeaten streak snapped in its loss
at Robert Morris, one short of the school record at the
Division I level, when the Tigers rattled off 12-straight
wins last year. |
| 16-9-7 (15-4-6
Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: L at Robert Morris, 5-3. THIS
WEEK: vs. Niagara, at Niagara |
| 19. |
 Robert
Morris |
1 |
After dropping a pair of close games to the first-place
Tigers earlier this year, Robert Morris solved their Atlantic
Hockey rivals Saturday night, largely helped by a three-goal
scoring binge in less than four minutes in the first period. |
| 18-9-5 (13-7-5
Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. RIT, 5-3. THIS WEEK:
at Air Force, at Air Force |
| 20. |
 Minnesota |
NR |
Senior defenseman Cade Fairchild notched three assists
in the Gophers' win and tie at Wisconsin this past weekend,
giving him three goals and six assists in his last six
games. |
| 13-12-5
(10-10-4 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Wisconsin, 5-2; T at Wisconsin,
3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech, vs. Michigan Tech |