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This year, I'm participating in the first, and I guess last, ever WCHA Web Media Poll, a weekly power ranking of the WCHA's 12 teams. Thanks to the excellent Tech Hockey Guide for organizing this.
Here is what this week's final poll looked like:
| Team | Pts | Previous | Record | High | Low | |
| 1) | Minnesota (12) | 144 | 1 | 2-0-0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2) | North Dakota | 132 | 2 | 0-0-0 | 2 | 2 |
| 3) | Denver | 120 | 3 | 0-0-0 | 3 | 3 |
| 4) | Minnesota Duluth | 90 | 6 | 1-1-0 | 4 | 9 |
| 5) | Colorado College | 89 | 7 | 2-0-0 | 4 | 9 |
| 6) | Nebraska Omaha | 79 | 9 | 1-1-0 | 4 | 9 |
| 7) | St. Cloud State | 66 | 5 | 0-2-0 | 4 | 10 |
| 8) | Michigan Tech | 64 | 8 | 1-1-0 | 5 | 10 |
| 9) | Wisconsin | 53 | 4 | 0-2-0 | 4 | 12 |
| 10) | Minnesota State | 47 | 10 | 1-0-1 | 5 | 11 |
| 11) | Bemidji State | 27 | 11 | 0-0-0 | 8 | 12 |
| 12) | Alaska Anchorage | 25 | 12 | 1-0-1 | 6 | 12 |
And here's how I voted this week, with their change from last week's ranking--in this case the preseason rankings, in parenthesis:
1. Minnesota(NC)-- Duh.
2. North Dakota(NC)-- Their exhibition win wasn't overly impressive, but I don't put much stock in exhibition results. The fact that only one line is going to score goals for them concerns me, but who else are you going to put in this spot?
3. Denver (+1)-- Congratulations on not playing last week, I guess. The beneficiary of no other options.
4. MInnesota-Duluth(+2)-- They were the clear number 2 team in the league after Friday night, and dropped a little with the loss on Saturday. I still really like what this team has though, and wouldn't be surprised to see them moving up as the season progresses.
5. Nebraska-Omaha(NC)--I was pretty impressed with what UNO did in Kansas City. I wasn't sure if they had the depth to be serious contenders in this race after what they lost this offseason, but this weekend was promising.
6. Colorado College(+4)-- I'm not sure how impressive their home sweep over Clarkson is, but they're the only team after Minnesota with two wins right now.
7. St. Cloud (NC)-- Two tough losses on the road at New Hampshire. If they pull out wins there, I would have been bumped them way higher. I'm not going to penalize them much for losses.
8. Michigan Tech(NC)--They took a road loss in a rivalry game; a forgivable sin, and showed their offensive firepower on Saturday.
9. Minnesota State(NC)--They were on the road, and this was probably the biggest weekend of the season for Alabama-Huntsville, but they lost a golden opportunity to pick up two wins that would likely make their overall record a lot prettier at the end of the year. Still, UAH will steal some points from other teams this year, especially if they keep getting 51 save performances from their goal tending.
10. Wisconsin (-7)-- There's a potentially very good team here, and I believe Mike Eaves will get them there by the end of the year, but right now, they're just a little bit lacking in every area.
11. Bemidji State(NC)-Haven't played a game yet, so it's tough to move them anywhere.
12. Alaska-Anchorage(NC)--They got off to a decent start to the season with a win over a weak Canisius team, and a tie with an Air Force expected for big things, but we've seen UAA jump out to good starts on the opening weekend before flaming out and struggling through the rest of the season. I'm not ready to move them up quite yet.