Welcome to the HockeyBuzz NCAA Top-10 Power Rankings
There were several overtime games, close games, and games that saw Cornell put up 11 goals in another wild weekend of college hockey.
It was a relatively clean weekend across the board for the current powerhouses of college hockey with teams in my top-five rankings having another solid weekend across the board.
Here are this week’s HockeyBuzz NCAA Top-10 Power Rankings:
1) Michigan 10-2-0 (5-1-0 Big Ten) | Last Week: 2
Michigan jumps back into the top spot of my weekly rankings after a weekend sweep at Penn State. The weekend sweep was their second in a row and a four-game span where they scored five or more goals in three of them. Seattle Kraken prospect Matty Beniers had a six-point weekend with three goals and three assists.
2) St. Cloud State 9-3-0 (3-1-0 NCHC) | Last Week: 1
The Huskies had their five-game win streak snapped Saturday night with an overtime loss to Omaha. The drop from the top spot is more about what Michigan was able to do this weekend. Two of the Huskies three losses have come in overtime. Next up for St. Cloud is a weekend trip to Western Michigan.
3) Minnesota State 9-3-0 (5-1-0 CCHA) | Last Week: 3
The Mavericks remain in the third spot after a dominating weekend against Bowling Green. With their third straight conference victory, Minnesota State is now tied with Bemidji State for the top spot in the CCHA with 15 points. Junior forward and
Jets prospect, Nathan Smith had himself another stellar weekend, posting four points in the two games.
4) Minnesota Duluth 7-2-1 (2-1-1 NCHC) | Last Week: 4
After a 5-0 shutout of Colorado College on Friday, the Bulldogs skated to a 0-0 tie the following night, ultimately earning the extra point in the shootout. With every conference point up for grabs being important ones in a very talented conference, Saturday’s outcome was a bit of a disappointment.
5) Quinnipiac 9-1-2 (2-0-0 ECAC) | Last Week: 5
The Bobcats continue the trend of teams not moving from the previous week’s rankings, holding onto the fifth spot. Winners of five straight, Quinnipiac swept Arizona State this past weekend including a comeback win Friday night that saw the Bobcats erase a 3-0 deficit.
6) North Dakota 8-3-0 (4-0-0 NCHC) | Last Week: 9
After losses in three of four, North Dakota has fired off four-straight wins with sweeps of Denver and then Miami (OH) this past weekend. The Fighting Hawks have continued to find success, led by Senators prospect Jake Sanderson who leads the team in points with 15.
7) UMass 6-3-1 (4-1-1 Hockey East) | Last Week: 10
I had a hard time figuring out who to put here, but even with their not-so-great performance against Boston University this past weekend, the Minutemen have turned things around after their ugly opening weekend and look like a legitimate threat in Hockey East once again. Freshman and Hurricanes’ prospect Scott Morrow looks like that next ace on defense that UMass continues to produce year-after-year. He’s second on the team in points with nine.
8) Minnesota 7-5-0 (4-2-0 Big Ten) | Last Week: 7
After a weekend sweep of Notre Dame to end October, the Golden Gophers have split weekend sets with Wisconsin and most recently Ohio State. I liked their response on Saturday, shutting out the Buckeyes 2-0 after Friday’s 4-3 loss.
9) Cornell 5-1-0 (3-1-0 ECAC) | Last Week: NR
Cornell makes its first appearance in my weekly power rankings. A 4-1 victory over Union on Friday, followed by an 11-3 victory over Rensselaer Saturday put a stamp on an impressive start to the season. Their lone loss came to Harvard in a one-goal game on Nov. 5.
10) Western Michigan 6-4-0 (1-3-0 NCHC) | Last Week: 6
The Broncos are holding on by a thread in my rankings after dropping a pair of games at Denver. They’ve now lost three straight games and have fallen a bit behind in the conference with just three points. Set to host St. Cloud State this upcoming weekend, the Broncos will look for a bounce back weekend and an opportunity to climb the ladder in the NCHC.
Previously ranked teams missing the cut: Harvard
Other teams considered: Denver, Ohio State, Omaha 
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