Ok first up the rankings...
My partner in crime, Chris, is on vacation this week and left me with these instructions: "if at all possible BC should not be #1 :)" - That's the UNH/Hockey East bias coming out in him...lol
Here are last week's rankings with their records and how they did this weekend:
1 Colorado College 4-0-2 (Tied DU 2-2 & won 3-2)
2 Boston College 3-1-0 (Beat Merrimack twice - 4-1, 4-3 OT)
3 Boston University 4-1-0 (Beat Vermont 7-2)
4 Denver 4-1-0 (Tied CC 2-2 & lost 3-2)
5 Minnesota 3-0-1 (Tied MN State 3-3 and beat them 6-3)
6 Miami 3-1-2 (Split with Alaska losing 2-1 and then winning 5-0)
7 New Hampshire 3-1-1 (Beat NU 4-2 and then tied 2-2)
8 Michigan 4-2-0 (beat OSU 4-3 and then 6-1)
9 Northeastern 5-0-1 (Lost to UNH 4-2 and then tied 2-2)
10 Princeton 0-0-0 (Beat Brown 4-1 & Ontario IT 8-2 - exhibition)
11 Minnesota State 3-1-0 (Tied MN 3-3 and then lost 6-3)
12 Michigan State 3-2-1 (Beat Western Mich 3-1 and won 3-2 in SO)
13 Notre Dame 2-3-0 (Beat Northern Mich 3-2, 4-2)
14 Clarkson 1-1-2 (lost in exhibition to Carleton)
15 Vermont 2-1-1 (Lost to BU 7-2)
No drastic changes to this weeks rankings because everyone who was supposed to win did, but the question is...Is a win a win? or does who you beat and how much you beat them by make a difference??
1 Colorado College 5-0-3 - Tough set against Denver, I didn't see the first game, but the second game was a pretty decisive win. Richard Bachman is a beast in goal. I'm not sure how he made some of the saves he made but he did. It's evident why he was last year's WCHA Rookie AND Player of the Year.
2 Boston College 5-1-0 - Held serve against Merrimack - Captain Brock Bradford comes through for the Eagles scoring the game tying goal and the game winning goal in OT, bumping his season totals to 6g, 3a.
3 Boston Univeristy 5-1-0 - As a UMass alum, what I'm about to say is sacreligious, but I'm going to say it anyway...I LOVE BU!! They kick butt and take names!! They are sooooo my type of team and I love watching them play, but more about this later... - It's possible that BU and BC could flip spots.
4 Denver 4-2-1 - Yes, they lost and tied, yet retain the No. 4 spot. People below them won, but also tied and did it against lesser opponents, therefore DU stays put.
5 Minnesota 4-0-2
6 New Hampshire - 4-1-2
7 Michigan 6-2-0
8 Miami 4-2-2
9 Northeastern 5-1-2
10 Princeton 1-0-0
11 Michigan State 5-2-1
12 Notre Dame 4-3-0
13 Minnesota State 3-2-1
14 Air Force 8-0-0 - It might be against weaker teams, but 8-0 is impressive and even more so when you have a goal differential of 41 to 12!!
15 UMass 4-1-1 - Now my bias might be showing, but they kicked butt this weekend and found their offense in a weekend sweep of Providence
Clarkson and Vermont drop off the poll for now.
Props to Wisconsin for FINALLY winning!! I have a huge soft spot for this team. They've had the toughest schedule thus far this season and I was so happy to see them finally get a W (5-2 against North Dakota). Hopefully it's a sign of things to come. They've got their work cut out for them if they want to make a run in the WCHA playoffs and earn a spot in the NCAAs, but I believe they can do it. :)
Now...back to BU. They know what it means to go for the kill. They don't want to just win, they want to dominate and destroy - as evidenced by their back-to-back 7-2 victories. They have done that in every game - even in their loss to UNH they were dominate. What's even better is that they do it as a team...it's not about individual efforts. My favorite is freshman goaltender Grant Rollheiser. He and fellow freshman, Kerian Millan, are rotating as starters and when Grant isn't playing, he's cheering. He's standing up, leaning over the boards, shouting words of encouragement to his teammates, giving them love taps and pats on the back when they get through a shift. When most back up goaltenders just sit there and maybe open the door for their mates, Grant is a true team player and I think it rocks!
I've gotten several emails about the NHL Network's coverage of college hockey and yes, they will be doing more of it. In fact, the Wisconsin/North Dakota game started their season of coverage. Every Friday night, they will be showing a game involving the CCHA, WCHA and ECAC. As always, I will be sure to keep you posted on which teams/games are available on TV every weekend.
That's all for now, I'll be sure to update later this afternoon when the real rankings are released by USA Hockey.
Till then!
Julie
[email protected]
Official Rnakings from USA Hockey:
1. Colorado College 5-0-3
2. Boston College 5-1-0
3. Boston University 5-1-0
4. Minnesota 4-0-2 - clearly, I disagree with this. Doesn't a tie and a close loss to the No. 1 team in the country equal or better than a tie and a win to the No. 11 team??
5. New Hampshire 4-1-2 - ditto...but substitute No. 11 with No. 9...
6. Denver 4-2-1 - jipped!!
7. Michigan 6-2-0
8. Miami 4-2-2
9. Princeton 1-0-0 - had these two flipped, but I'm not opposed
10. Northeastern 5-1-2
11. Michigan State 4-2-2
12. Notre Dame 4-3-0
13. Minnesota State 3-2-1
14. Air Force Academy 8-0-0
15. Clarkson 1-1-2
Others receiving votes: University of Massachusetts, 27; University of Vermont; 23
In all not too bad and I'd like to pat myself on the back for including Air Force and getting that one right. Still think UMass deserves the nod with thier 4-1-1 record over Clarkson, but I'll get over it...
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