I guess the folks at USA Hockey are too busy with the World Junior Championships to post a new Top 15 for the college ranks, so for this week (although a tad late) here are the Top 20 as determined by US College Hockey Online...
1 Miami 18-2-0
2 Michigan 18-2-0
3 Denver 16-4-0
4 Colorado College 12-6-0
5 Massachusetts 9-3-5
6 Notre Dame 17-5-0
7 New Hampshire 10-5-1
8 North Dakota 9-7-1
9 Northeastern 9-4-2
10 Michigan State 12-5-2
11 Boston College 8-4-5
12 Clarkson 10-6-1
13 Wisconsin 8-7-3
14 Mass.-Lowell 9-4-4
15 St. Cloud State 9-9-2
16 Minnesota 9-9-2
16 Minnesota-Duluth 6-6-4
18 Quinnipiac 10-5-2
19 Minnesota State 9-7-3
20 Michigan Tech 7-9-2
Kudos to the UMass Minutemen for winning their first Holiday Tournament and earning their highest ranking ever!
Lots of games on TV this weekend. Here's the schedule (all times Eastern).
Fri. Jan. 4
Dartmouth at Princeton ESPNU 4 p.m.
Wayne State at Minnesota FSN North 8 p.m.
Harvard at Quinnipiac NESN 7:30 p.m.
North Dakota at St. Cloud State CSTV 8 p.m.
Sat. Jan. 5
Lake Superior State at Michigan State FSN Detroit 5 p.m.
Dartmouth at Quinnipiac NESN 3 p.m.
Sun. Jan. 6
Nebraska-Omaha at Western Michigan ESPNU 4 p.m.
If I had to pick one to watch, I'd pick the North Dakota game...
So many expectations were placed on the shoulders of thier returning players featuring 2007 Hobey Baker Winner Ryan Duncan and even with the departure of Jonathan Toews to the NHL a trip to Denver in early April for the Frozen Four was marked on their travel calendars as the preseason polls placed them firmly in the No.1 spot.
After starting the season with a 6-0 spanking of defending National Champions Michigan State, a 0-0 tie with Boston College (called after 2 periods due to heavy fog in the arena and poor ice conditions) and a 3-0 win over Northeastern, they have been a .500 team splitting every series since then...Michigan Tech, Colorado College, Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, Denver, Minnesota and New Hampshire.
At present, they are fourth in the WCHA and will have to dominate the second half of the season or they risk the possibility of not even making the NCAA Tournament, much less make it to Denver...
Over the next nine weeks they will face St. Cloud, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State, Alaska-Anchorage, Minnesota, Denver, Bemidji State, Minnesota-Duluth and finish out the regular season at home against St. Cloud.
If the Fighting Souix can play as well as they look on paper, this should be an easy stretch for them considering it's chock-full of non-ranked and bubble teams with the only Top Ten opponent being Denver, presently at No.3. That said, if they fail to live up to their potential and continue with their so-so play their ranking will nosedive. They can not overlook any of these opponents and need to kick it up a few notches (like ten) and finish the season strong to not only have the rankings necessary but also the confidence to make it to Denver.
Come on boys....put the "fight" back in Fighting Souix and kick a little tail!!!
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