To Date: 21-18—39, 8 PPG, 3 SHG, 4 GWG, +14
The Buzz: True story: about 10:30 p.m. Monday, an INCH staffer was kicking around the idea of flipping Gerbe and Porter in this week's Tracker. Then Gerbe scores a minute into the third period of the Eagles' Beanpot opener against Boston University to even the game at 3-3. About an hour later, Gerbe buried his 21st goal of the year seven minutes into OT, derailing the Terriers' bid for a fourth straight Beanpot title.

Now, we think the 'Pot is overhyped, but the folks in the Hub feel otherwise. Great players make great plays in crucial situations. That's what Gerbe did Monday. And that's why he's still the first name on this list.

To Date: 23-19—42, 13 PPG, 3 GWG, +16
The Buzz: The good news is that Porter, who was held scoreless in the Wolverines' loss and tie against Michigan State two weekends ago, bounced back with two goals and an assist in the series with Northern Michigan last weekend. The bad news is that Michigan's winless streak was extended to four with a pair of ties with the Wildcats, the CCHA's ninth-place team.

The good news for Porter is U-M's season reaches critical mass this coming weekend when the team travels to Oxford, Ohio for two games with top-ranked Miami. A heroic effort against the RedHawks would likely propel him to the top of this list. The bad news is that heroic efforts versus Miami don't happen often — the team leads the nation in scoring defense, giving up an average of 1.54 goals per game.

To Date: 20-3-0, 1.50 GAA, .937 save pct., 2 shutouts
The Buzz: Nice segue, eh? Zatkoff and his Miami teammates took last weekend off, which means the RedHawks will have had a full two weeks to prepare for the visit from Michigan by the time the puck drops on this series Friday.

In addition to helping Miami move closer to the CCHA regular-season title, Zatkoff would also be likely to receive a bump in stature on the Big Board with a big weekend against the Wolverines. And he has been big just about every weekend this season — Zatkoff has allowed two or fewer goals in all but three of his starts.

Consider Fornataro the prototypical UNH player. He's put up solid numbers over his career, including 40 points last season, but has garnered little acclaim for his efforts. That is likely to change this season as the Calgary native — who's headed for career bests in goals, assists, and points — is leading the Wildcats' bid for the Hockey East regular-season crown. In 11 games between Nov. 3-Dec. 28, Fornataro scored one goal and seven assists, with all but one of those points coming in consecutive games against Brown and UMass Lowell. In UNH's last nine games, he's posted 4-10—14, and the 'Cats' record during that span is 7-2-0 overall, 6-0-0 in league play.