Welcome to the HockeyBuzz NCAA Top-10 Power Rankings
College hockey followed up Thanksgiving with some feasts of their own.
In Atlantic Hockey, defending regular and postseason champion AIC blew a 4-1 lead Friday night to Canisius in a rematch of last year’s conference final. The two teams split the set after AIC bounced back on Saturday.
In CCHA action, Lake Superior State snuck away with a 1-0 shutout over Minnesota State Friday, scoring their lone goal shorthanded. The Mavericks responded Saturday, with a shutout of their own.
With several teams off playing non-conference games, Hockey East had one lone conference game this weekend as UMass-Lowell skated past Maine 2-0.
Of those non-conference games, Minnesota and North Dakota highlighted the weekend, splitting their series after Minnesota pushed forward with the lopsided 5-1 victory Friday night.
Here are this week’s HockeyBuzz NCAA Top-10 Power Rankings:
1) Minnesota Duluth 10-3-1 (3-2-1 NCHC) | Last week: 2
The Bulldogs swept their non-conference weekend set over Alaska Fairbanks. After coasting to the 5-1 victory on Friday, overtime was needed Saturday where the Bulldogs would pick up the 1-0 win on Noah Cates game winner.
2) Western Michigan 10-4-0 (3-3-0 NCHC) | Last week: 3
The Broncos continue to roll, once again walking out of the weekend with a sweep, their second in a row. Western Michigan put up eight goals on Friday and five more on Saturday in their dominating weekend over St. Lawrence. Senior Drew Worrad leads the nation in points with 25.
3) Michigan 12-4-0 (5-3-0 Big Ten) | Last week: 4
As expected, Michigan shook off it’s sweep to Notre Dame, having no issues against a weak Niagara squad. The Wolverines scored 10 times in total in their weekend sweep, getting back on track before a tough weekend ahead hosting Minnesota.
4) Minnesota State 12-4-0 (8-2-0 CCHA) | Last week: 1
A bit of a fall here for Minnesota State, but as mentioned above, they split their weekend series with Lake Superior. Dryden McKay got the night off Friday before returning on Saturday. In Friday’s loss the Mavericks outshot the Lakers 22-10 but couldn’t muster much offense.
Saturday was a much more complete effort, holding the Lakers to five shots for McKay’s third straight shutout.
5) Quinnipiac 10-1-3 (3-0-1 ECAC) | Last week: 5
The Bobcats had the weekend off to enjoy the long holiday weekend. Next up for Quinnipiac is a pair of conference games, Friday at RPI and Saturday at Union.
6) North Dakota 10-5-0 (5-1-0 NCHC) | Last week: 7
The Fighting Hawks saved their weekend with Saturday’s 3-1 win over Minnesota, a much-needed response after Friday’s lackluster performance. North Dakota still sits atop the always difficult NCHC standings with 15 points. Up next is another tough weekend as they travel to St. Cloud State for a pair of conference games.
7) St. Cloud State 9-5-0 (3-3-0 NCHC) | Last week: 6
The Huskies also had the Thanksgiving weekend off as they prepare for their upcoming set with North Dakota.
8) Notre Dame 10-3-0 (4-2-0 Big Ten) | Last week: 8
Notre Dame had one game scheduled this week and that was at home against Boston College. But with COVID issues surrounding the Eagles, the game was postponed. The plan is to reschedule the game, likely for some time in January.
9) Minnesota 9-7-0 (5-3-0 Big Ten) | Last week: 9
I really liked the way Minnesota played Friday in their win over North Dakota. Junior Ben Myers continued his hot start with three points over the weekend, leading the team with 16. This upcoming weekend Minnesota heads to Michigan and with it, a chance to prove their worth in the Big Ten.
10) Cornell 8-1-0 (5-1-0 ECAC) | Last week: NR
I like when I can bring teams back into the rankings after falling off the previous week. The Big Red won their only game this weekend, beating Boston University to win the Red Hot Hockey crown. Cornell has ripped off six straight wins and has just one loss on the year.
Previously ranked teams missing the cut: UMass
Other teams considered: Denver, UMass-Lowell, Northeastern
Previous Rankings:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Prospect Reports:
Nathan Smith - Minnesota State/Jets Prospect
Josh Doan – Arizona State/Coyotes Prospect 
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