USCHO.com National Rankings

By Chris Aliano
November 9th, 2009

Team	(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1	Miami	(49)	8-1-1	999	1
2	North Dakota	( 1)	6-1-1	948	3
3	Cornell		3-0-0	855	5
4	Denver		6-3-1	830	2
5	Mass.-Lowell		5-2-1	778	8
6	Michigan		4-4-0	653	4
7	Bemidji State		7-0-1	599	11
8	Notre Dame		5-4-1	549	9
9	Alaska		6-1-1	521	13
10	Colorado College		5-2-1	478	12
11	Nebraska-Omaha		4-1-3	456	10
12	Yale		1-1-1	435	6
13	Michigan State		7-2-1	425	17
14	Massachusetts		6-1-0	357	19
15	Vermont		3-3-1	329	15
16	Boston College		3-2-1	316	16
17	Boston University		2-5-0	235	7
18	Minnesota-Duluth		6-3-1	178	20
19	Princeton		2-2-0	175	14
20	Quinnipiac		6-1-0	139	NR
Others Receiving Votes: Wisconsin 137, St. Cloud State 20, Rensselaer 18, Northeastern 16, Minnesota 13, Providence 9, Ferris State 8, Merrimack 8, Western Michigan 8, New Hampshire 5, St. Lawrence 3

Initial thoughts: What a mess it has become in Hockey East when UMass-Lowell leads the pack ranked No. 5, while the three perennial powers (Vermont, BC, BU) are struggling to stay in the polls.  Meanwhile, I don't know about all of you, but seeing Bemidji State ranked as high as they are (7th this week) makes me giddy on the inside.  Not sure if they're deserving of such an honor, but who cares.  We'll learn more about them as the season goes by, but I think the WCHA might not have been so keen to letting the Beavers into the conference next season with open arms if they knew they'd be playing so well...



Stock Rising: UMass-Lowell.  Already mentioned them, but what's not to say?  They battle to a hard-fought tie against Vermont on Friday, and then score three unanswered goals in the third period to take down UNH 6-3 on Sunday.  The rest of Hockey East may be down right now, but the River Hawks are playing like one of the nation's best.  Their X-factor is the scoring production they've gotten from their defense so far: Maury Edwards and company are one of the best units in the country.

Stock Falling: Boston University.  Hard not to be a homer in this case, but my, oh my the rug has been pulled out from underneath the Terriers.  After stealing a win on the road against UMass-Lowell the week before, BU gets shut out at Northeastern against a freshman goalie (who would proceed to give up five goals the next night against BC, no less), and then drops a 3-2 decision to lowly Maine.  Everyone knew life without Nick Bonino was going to be difficult, but they're making things far worse for themselves.  The defense has been steady, but the inability to finish in front of the net and trying to do too much with too little has plagued the Terriers.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Quinnipiac.  They reenter the polls following their one-week hiatus after beating Clarkson and St. Lawrence.  The Bobcats are 6-1-1, play in a competitive ECAC, and are off to an impressive start.  What's there not to like?  Keep Quinnipiac in!

This Looks Familiar... Miami is off to a red-hot start, and are scoring at a ridiculous pace.  Reminiscent of last year's Boston University squad?  Considering they were considered "a year ahead of schedule" last season, when they reached the NCAA championship game... well, this year could all but make up for the those results.

Looking Ahead: Home-and-home between No. 6 Michigan and No. 13 Michigan State hasn't meant this much in a few years.  Who knows, the Spartans and Wolverines could switch places by next week's poll.