Many of the nation's best teams earned the past
weekend off, as several received playoff byes in league tournaments.
For those in the WCHA and in Hockey East, they generally proved
their mettle and maintained positions. There's not a lot of
movement in this week's edition of the INCH Power Rankings,
but after observing what happened in playoff series around
the country, they'll be prepared to defend against upsets
as league playoffs begin in earnest.
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 |
— |
Jason Gregoire extended his point streak to 12 games
with four goals and two assists in the Fighting Sioux’s
weekend sweep of Michigan Tech. The junior forward has
14 goals and nine assists in his last dozen matches. |
| 26-8-3 (21-6-1
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Michigan Tech, 6-1; W at Michigan
Tech, 11-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Michigan Tech (WCHA First-Round
Series) |
| 2. |
 Boston
College |
— |
BC doesn't need no stinkin' regular-season titles -
the Eagles are made for March. But they'll take it this
year, after sweeping UNH in a the final weekend of the
regular season to overtake the Wildcats for first place
in Hockey East. |
| 26-7-1 (20-6-1
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. New Hampshire, 4-0; W at
New Hampshire, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Massachusetts (Hockey
East Quarterfinal Series) |
| 3. |
 Union |
— |
Union has never faced Colgate in an ECAC Hockey playoff
series. That will change this weekend, when the Raiders
visit the Capital District for the second straight weekend.
Colgate knocked off RPI in a first-round series. |
| 25-7-4 (17-3-2
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Colgate (ECAC
Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |
| 4. |
 Yale |
— |
Last year, Yale was bounced from the ECAC Hockey playoffs
by the 11th-place team in the regular season. This year,
circumstances result in Yale getting the 11th-seed again.
The Bulldogs are hoping for a better outcome. |
| 23-5-1 (17-4-1
ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Lawrence
(ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |
| 5. |
 Miami |
— |
The RedHawks have been to back-to-back Frozen Fours,
but that’s nothing compared to Miami’s synchronized
skating team, which won its seventh straight collegiate
national title in Ontario, Calif., this past weekend. |
| 19-9-6 (16-7-5
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska (CCHA Quarterfinal
Series) |
| 6. |
 Michigan |
 2 |
Even though the Wolverines will be a heavy favorite
in their CCHA playoff quarterfinal series, the health
of senior forward Louie Caporusso, the team’s second-leading
scorer, is a concern. He hurt his knee in the second-to-last
game of the regular season against Western Michigan. |
| 23-9-4 (20-7-1
CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Bowling Green (CCHA
Quarterfinal Series) |
| 7. |
 Merrimack |
— |
A little more perspective on how far these Merrimack
seniors have come since arriving on campus: With 22 wins
this year, they've already surpassed their total victories
from their first two years at Merrimack (21) when they
failed to make the Hockey East playoffs each year. |
| 22-8-4 (16-8-3
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Providence, 6-1; L at Providence,
5-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Maine (Hockey East Quarterfinal Series) |
| 8. |
 New
Hampshire |
 2 |
After closing the regular season with two losses, it's
a safe bet that UNH is happy to see Vermont on its way
to the Whitt. New Hampshire was 2-0-1 against the Catamounts
this year, including victories by 5-1 and 6-1 scores. |
| 19-9-6 (17-6-4
Hockey East) LAST WEEK: L at Boston College, 4-0; L vs.
Boston College, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Vermont (Hockey East
Quarterfinal Series) |
| 9. |
 Denver |
— |
Senior captain Kyle Ostrow, who had missed the Pioneers’
six games prior to this weekend after undergoing emergency
abdominal surgery Feb. 11 in Minneapolis, got the game-winning
goal in DU’s 3-2 triumph over St. Cloud State Saturday. |
| 21-10-5
(17-8-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. St. Cloud State, 3-2; W
vs. St. Cloud State, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Minnesota State
(WCHA First-Round Series) |
| 10. |
 Notre
Dame |
— |
The Fighting Irish have scored 128 goals
in 36 games this season. In 38 games a year ago, Notre
Dame managed just 90 goals, quite a drop after registering
135 or more in the three previous campaigns. |
| 21-10-5
(18-7-3 CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Lake Superior
State (CCHA Quarterfinal Series) |
| 11. |
 Minnesota
Duluth |
— |
Tough first-round series for the Bulldogs, who host
St. Cloud State this weekend. The Huskies won and tied
Amsoil Arena last month—and probably should’ve
swept had UMD not rallied from a 3-0 deficit to salvage
a draw in the series finale. |
| 20-9-6 (15-8-5
WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Nebraska-Omaha, 4-1; L vs. Nebraska-Omaha,
5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State (WCHA First-Round
Series) |
| 12. |
 Nebraska-Omaha |
— |
Tough first-round series for the Mavericks, who host
Bemidji State this weekend. The Beavers were 3-0-1 against
UNO during the regular season and are the only WCHA opponent
the Mavs failed to beat in their first year in the circuit. |
| 21-13-2
(17-9-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Minnesota Duluth, 4-1; W
at Minnesota Duluth, 5-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Bemidji State
(WCHA First-Round Series) |
| 13. |
 Boston
University |
— |
BU will be ready if, as expected, this weekend's playoff
games are nail-biters. In the Terriers' last 15 games,
11 have been decided by a one-goal margin, two were ties,
and the other two were BU victories by a 3-1 score. |
| 18-10-8
(15-6-6 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Northeastern, 3-2;
L vs. Northeastern, 4-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Northeastern (Hockey
East Quarterfinal Series) |
| 14. |
 Western
Michigan |
— |
When Bowling Green knocked Northern Michigan out of
the CCHA playoffs Sunday, it meant three of the head coaches
whose teams are still in pursuit of the Mason Cup are
ex-Miami assistants—Bowling Green’s Chris
Bergeron, Miami’s Enrico Blasi, and Western Michigan’s
Jeff Blashill. |
| 16-10-10
(10-9-9 CCHA) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Ferris State
(CCHA Quarterfinal Series) |
| 15. |
 Minnesota |
1 |
Freshman forward Nick Bjugstad scored three goals in
the Gophers’ tie and win at Bemidji State this past
weekend, including the game-winner in Saturday’s
OT win. In the last seven games, Bjugstad has six goals
and four assists. |
| 16-12-6
(13-10-5 WCHA) LAST WEEK: T at Bemidji State, 3-3 ot;
W at Bemidji State, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage
(WCHA First-Round Series) |
| 16. |
 Maine |
2 |
Forget the weather, Maine is coming in to March like
a lion, with six wins and a tie in its last seven regular-season
games. They've outscored opponents 30-10 in that stretch. |
| 17-10-7
(14-8-5 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Massachusetts, 4-3;
T at Massachusetts, 4-4 ot. THIS WEEK: at Merrimack (Hockey
East Quarterfinal Series) |
| 17. |
 Wisconsin |
— |
Justin Schultz scored his 18th goal of the season in
the Badgers’ 3-1 win against Colorado College Saturday.
He’s just one marker shy of tying the single-season
record for goals by a Badger defenseman set by Sean Hill
back in 1990-91. |
| 20-14-4
(12-13-3 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L vs. Colorado College, 3-2;
W vs. Colorado College, 3-1. THIS WEEK: at Colorado College
(WCHA First-Round Series) |
| 18. |
 Colorado
College |
1 |
Home-ice advantage? Maybe not for the Tigers, who’ve
lost three of the last four WCHA first-round playoff series
they’ve hosted. The lone triumph was a sweep of
Alaska Anchorage in 2008. |
| 19-16-3
(13-13-2 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Wisconsin, 3-2; L at Wisconsin,
3-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Wisconsin (WCHA First-Round Series) |
| 19. |
 Dartmouth |
1 |
The Big Green will host travel-partner Harvard in an
ECAC Hockey quarterfinal series. Dartmouth blasted the
Crimson by scores of 8-2 and 5-2 in a home-and-home series
back in November. |
| 16-10-3
(12-8-2 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Harvard
(ECAC Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |
| 20. |
 RIT |
NR |
The Tigers 15-3-1 all-time against American International,
but one of those losses came earlier this year. The teams
split a weekend series at AIC on the first weekend of
December. |
| 16-10-8
(15-5-7 Atlantic Hockey) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs.
American International (Atlantic Hockey Quarterfinal Series) |