USCHO.com National Polls Weekly Analysis

by Chris Aliano

Nov. 16, 2009

Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Miami	(42)	8-1-3	986	1
2	North Dakota	( 2)	7-2-1	916	2
3	Denver	( 2)	6-3-1	855	4
4	Mass.-Lowell	( 3)	7-2-1	824	5
5	Cornell		4-1-0	781	3
6	Michigan State	( 1)	9-2-1	727	13
7	Colorado College		7-2-1	695	10
8	Bemidji State		8-1-1	658	7
9	Yale		2-1-2	506	12
10	Alaska		7-2-1	505	9
11	Massachusetts		7-2-0	414	14
12	Nebraska-Omaha		5-2-3	371	11
13	Quinnipiac		8-1-0	366	20
14	Notre Dame		5-5-2	299	8
15	Wisconsin		6-3-1	242	NR
16	Michigan		4-6-0	230	6
17	Vermont		4-4-1	222	15
17	Boston College		4-3-1	222	16
19	Princeton		3-2-1	181	19
20	Minnesota-Duluth		7-4-1	175	18
Others Receiving Votes: Ferris State 128, St. Cloud State 46, Colgate 43, Boston University 41, Merrimack 17, Rensselaer 16, Providence 12, Union 9, Northeastern 8, RIT 3, New Hampshire 2

 Initial thoughts: Well folks, there it is.  Your Boston University Terriers have been shown the door from the national rankings, sitting at 24th in the country behind powerhouses such as Ferris State, St. Cloud State and Colgate...sheesh.  Apparently their 6-4 rebound win against upstart Merrimack was not enough to convince the voters to keep them in.  But who are we kidding?  Their 3-6 start warrants the booting!  And to be honest, after getting drubbed 6-3 the night before, I'm surprised they're receiving any votes... With Nick Bonino back in the lineup, though, they could get back above .500 before their Red Hot Hockey date with Cornell.  They'll have to sweep a home-and-home against UNH and top Harvard, though.


Stock Rising: Quinnipiac.  Well look at these Bobcats!  Their offense is top notch in the country, averaging more than four goals per game, and they're doing it with youth!  QU was College Hockey News' Team of the Week back in early October, and the article cited as many as ten freshmen in a lineup that swept Ohio State then and is off to a torrid 8-1-0 start!  They're yet to get into the meat of their ECAC schedule, though.  While the conference features powers in Cornell and Yale, Quinnipiac has to be the dark horse.


Stock Falling: Michigan.  Remember when that Oct. 24 game pitting the Wolverines against BU actually meant something?  Michigan coughed that one up to the Terriers, and have been reeling since.  Back-to-back weekends against Miami and Michigan State have equaled four straight losses.  Remember last week when I said that after the weekend doubleheader between these two rivals that they could possibly swap spots in the polls when all was said and done.  Well look at that!  The Spartans sweep, are sitting pretty at No. 6, and the poor Wolverines fall all the way to 16th and are under .500.  Hopefully they can right the ship against Bowling Green this weekend.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Wisconsin.  Badgers are back in business after sweeping sweeping Alaska-Anchorage and reenter the rankings at No. 15.  At 6-3-1, Wisconsin has, for the most part, survived its early season schedule and is starting to play the part of a national tournament team, unlike most of last season.  The WCHA is a battleground, though, and if they stumble against St. Cloud State this weekend, who is knocking at the door of the Top 20, the Badgers could be bounced from the rankings as quickly as they entered.

Surviving the Shootout... Miami technically dropped two conference games over the weekend against Ferris State, (Miami lost both games in shootouts, including an 11-round thriller on Saturday night, meaning their overall record reflects two more ties instead of losses) but because North Dakota and Cornell both lost as well the Redhawks retained their top spot.

Looking Ahead: Several big matchups this weekend between conference foes can have implications in next week's rankings.  In the CCHA, Michigan State and Notre Dame host each other in a marquee home-and-home.  The Fighting Irish are struggling to score while Michigan State looks as good as it did in 2007.  Princeton travels to Cornell on Friday night for the ECAC matchup of the weekend, but the biggest battle is out west, where Denver hosts North Dakota for two games.