Coming out of a week where COVID postponements were high across college hockey, this past week saw less postponed games across the board.
With mostly conference games left from here on out, things should get interesting as we near conference tournaments. Only the CCHA has a wide gap between the first and second spots with Minnesota State leading by 10 points.
Atlantic Hockey:
AIC continued its hot start to 2022 with a non-conference win over Connecticut—a rescheduled COVID postponement—and a pair of conference wins over Mercyhurst. Sacred Heart and Bentley split their big series over the weekend while Canisius struggled in wins over Holy Cross, Friday’s coming in the shootout.
Big Ten:
Chasing Michigan in the standings, Ohio State and Notre Dame split their weekend set in a pair of good hockey games. Michigan, however, did their part by sweeping Penn State. Wisconsin walked away from their series with Michigan State with a much-needed sweep.
CCHA:
Someone finally managed to snap Minnesota State’s eight game win streak on Friday, as the Mavericks and Northern Michigan split the weekend set. Michigan Tech had the conference’s best weekend, shutting out Lake Superior State in both games.
ECAC:
Quinnipiac continued to roll with a shutout of Harvard and a 3-1 win over Yale. Cornell was impressive in a shutout of Yale, while Clarkson looked very strong in wins over Union and RPI in what is proving to be a deeper ECAC than originally expected.
Hockey East:
UMass-Lowell continued their hot stretch with a sweep of Maine, padding their lead in Hockey East. New Hampshire had a nice weekend with a surprising sweep over a Boston College team that continues to struggle to string together solid 60-minute efforts.
NCHC:
It was a very strong showing from Denver in a weekend sweep over Omaha. The Pioneers continue to climb the NCHC standings, making things in the conference more difficult. Miami and Minnesota Duluth split their weekend series, with Miami winning Saturday in the shootout.
Here are this week’s HockeyBuzz NCAA Top-10 Power Rankings:
1) Minnesota State 21-5-0 (15-3-0 CCHA) | Last week: 1
Even with their eight-game win streak coming to and end, the Mavericks are still the top team in the nation. They’ve lost twice since starting the year 6-2 and have not lost twice in a calendar month since October. Junior Nathan Smith leads the nation in points with 35.
2) Quinnipiac 16-1-3 (7-0-1 ECAC) | Last week: 2
Playing over the weekend for the first time in over a month, rust was not an issue for Quinnipiac, returning to action with a 3-0 shutout of Harvard and a 3-1 win over Yale the following night. The Bobcats are one of two teams in the country (UMass) that have yet to lose a conference game in regulation. Sophomore Ty Smilanic had two goals and an assist over the weekend.
3) Michigan 18-6-1 (9-5-0 Big Ten) | Last week: 3
With how well teams like Ohio State, Notre Dame and even Minnesota is playing behind them, Michigan needed to take advantage of their weekend series with a struggling Penn State. They did just that. Their weekend sweep sets up a huge weekend series with Minnesota, one that could see Minnesota leapfrog Michigan with a sweep.
4) Denver 14-5-1 (7-3-0 NCHC) | Last week: 6
Denver jumps up in the rankings after a solid weekend sweep of Omaha. The Pioneers have wins in 10 of their last 12. Offense continues to be a strong suit for Denver, led by Bobby Brink, Carter Savoie and Massimo Rizzo.
5) Western Michigan 14-5-0 (6-4-0 NCHC) | Last week: 4
Scheduled to play their first games since the holiday break, the Broncos had their series with Colorado College postponed due to COVID related issues. The games have been rescheduled for Feb. 4 and Feb. 5.
6) St. Cloud State 12-6-0 (4-4-0 NCHC) | Last week: 5
The Huskies much anticipated showdown with Denver this past weekend was postponed until February, the Huskies second straight weekend of COVID related postponements. On the bright side, forward Sam Hentges and defenseman Nick Perbix were named to the U.S. Olympic Men's Hockey Team.
7) Cornell 12-3-1 (7-1-1 ECAC) | Last week: 9
I’m going to jump Cornell up two spots in the rankings here as they continue to quietly put together an excellent season. After a postponement with Brown, the Big Red traveled to Yale and skated to a 3-1 victory. Cornell’s biggest test of the season awaits this coming weekend when they host Quinnipiac on Saturday. Not to be overlooked, they’ll host Princeton a night prior.
8) Notre Dame 16-7-0 (9-5-0 Big Ten) |Last week: 8
The Irish continues to get the job done in conference play, splitting their key series with Ohio State this past weekend. Notre Dame will host Boston College on Wednesday, a rescheduled contest from earlier in the season before they host Minnesota this coming weekend in what is going to be a big series for both programs.
9) Minnesota Duluth 12-8-2 (5-3-2 NCHC) | Last week: 7
The Bulldogs continue to struggle after a hot start to the season. They failed to take advantage of their series with Miami, dropping Saturday’s game in the shootout after a solid 4-1 win on Friday. Duluth has just two wins since November and has lost five times in regulation in that span. They’re in danger of falling out of the rankings and more importantly, the race for the NCHC conference championship.
10) UMass Lowell 13-3-3 (10-2-1 Hockey East) | Last week: NR
The final spot in the rankings is always the most difficult to decide and that was no different this week. But with UMass Lowell continuing to roll and starting to run away with the top spot in Hockey East, they’re deserving of the spot. A weekend sweep of Maine was the latest instance of the River Hawks continuing their Hockey East dominance as they show no signs of slowing down.
Previously ranked teams missing the cut: Northeastern
Other teams considered: Minnesota, North Dakota, Michigan Tech and Minnesota
Top-10 Power Rankings:
Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Week 6
Week 7
Week 8
Week 9
Week 10
Prospect Reports:
Nathan Smith - Minnesota State/Jets Prospect
Josh Doan – Arizona State/Coyotes Prospect
Scott Morrow – UMass/Hurricanes Prospect
Mason Lohrei Ohio State/Bruins Prospect
Carter Savoie Denver/Oilers Prospect 
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