USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men's Poll: 10/26/09

By Chris Aliano

November 2nd, 2009

Team			(First Place Votes)	Record	Points	Last Poll
1			Miami	(41)	6-1-1	931		1
2			Denver	( 4)	5-2-1	856		2
3			North Dakota		4-1-1	833		3
4			Michigan		4-2-0	711		5
5			Cornell		1-0-0	657		6
6			Yale	( 1)	1-0-0	634		7
7			Boston University		2-3-0	613		4
8			Mass.-Lowell		4-2-0	572		9
9			Notre Dame		4-3-1	552		8
10			Nebraska-Omaha		4-0-2	430		12
11			Bemidji State		5-0-1	385		14
12			Colorado College		4-1-1	372		15
13			Alaska		5-0-1	363		16
14			Princeton		1-1-0	314		11
15			Vermont		2-3-0	271		10
16			Boston College		2-2-0	233		13
17			Michigan State		6-2-0	231		20
18			Wisconsin		3-2-1	225		19
19			Massachusetts		4-1-0	205		17
20			Minnesota-Duluth		5-2-1	92		NR
Others Receiving Votes: Quinnipiac 53, Minnesota 36, Harvard 22, St. Cloud State 21, Providence 18, Northeastern 10, New Hampshire 7, Merrimack 6, Minnesota State 6, Ohio State 1

Initial thoughts: BU and UML separated by one spot in the rankings now.  Oh boy.  Meanwhile, Nebraska-Omaha cracks the top ten for the first time this season (despite their wacky ending against Bowling Green Friday night), Cornell barely gets by Niagara in OT in its season-opener, and Alaska and Bemidji State (along with NO) are still undefeated.  Yikes.

Stock Rising... Michigan State.  The Spartans pick up a pair of wins over Western Michigan, and have attained their highest ranking since opening last season at No. 11.  Junior Corey Tropp has 7g and 13 points in eight games played. 

Stock Falling... UNH.  Last weekend it was Northeastern, and now the Wildcats feel the sting of this dismal category.  But after getting drubbed by Wisconsin in back-to-back nights, UNH has an uphill battle toward reasserting themselves as a force in college hockey.

Say Hello to... the Bulldogs of Minnesota-Duluth!  They rode solid goaltending to an improbable NCAA regional final last season against Miami, and started the year ranked but struggled to get going.  A pair of convincing victories against Clarkson gets them back on track. 

Say Goodbye to... Quinnipiac.  Beating Robert Morris 5-0 apparently isn't impressive enough, and an 8-5 loss against the Colonials one night later apparently warrants being punted out of the polls.  Tough break for the Bobcats.

Looking ahead... Some big rivalry weekend series coming up: In the CCHA, UNO and Michigan State square off in a big doubleheader on Thursday and Saturday, both at MSU... Alaska puts its unbeaten record on the line against Notre Dame... Michigan heads to Miami in a battle of the top-ranked and No. 4 team in the country... Finally, the WCHA weekend slate is highlighted by Minnesota taking on Wisconsin and Minnesota-Duluth traveling to Colorado College...