SBNation College Hockey Power Rankings

Each week SBNation's college hockey staff will unveil the SBN College Hockey Power Rankings. This week saw some movement at the top of the rankings due to some unexpectedly weak results by preseason No. 1 UMass-Lowell. NCHC favorite Miami and Hockey East newcomer Notre Dame had two of the best weekends of any team in college hockey.

1. Miami (2-0-0) The RedHawks swept in-state and former conference rival Ohio State in a home-and-home series to kickoff the season. Rico Blasi's team put up six goals each night against an inferior Ohio State squad. Riley Barber had four goals and three assists and Austin Czarnik had two goals and three assists on the weekend. The preseason NCHC favorites will open up conference play hosting North Dakota next weekend.

2. Notre Dame (2-0-0) The Fighting Irish also faced a former CCHA rival now playing in separate conferences. Notre Dame outscored Western Michigan 7-0 on the weekend. Senior goaltender Steven Summerhayes only saw 44 shots over the two games, but he stopped every single one of them. Jeff Jackson's club hosts Michigan Tech this upcoming weekend.

3. Wisconsin (2-0-0) The Badgers took care of business against an admittedly undermanned Northern Michigan team. Michael Mersch and Nic Kerdiles, the two offensive weapons you'd expect to see on the score sheet, both had a goal and two assists. Up next for Mike Eaves' team is a trip to Boston to face BC and BU.

4. Minnesota (2-0-0) Juniors Sam Warning (two goals and two assists) and Kyle Rau (one goal and three assists) paced the Golden Gophers as Don Lucia's team took home the IceBreaker trophy. After an expected 6-0 win over Mercyhurst, Minnesota rallied from a one-goal deficit to defeat New Hampshire in the tournament championship game.

5. Michigan (2-0-0) Red Berenson's program missed the NCAA Tournament last March for the first time since 1990. The Wolverines appear on the right track to make last season just a blip on the radar screen. Michigan defeated Boston College, 3-1, on Thursday night before a back-and-forth game at RIT yielded a 7-4 victory. Sophomore Andrew Copp led the UM offense with two goals and three assists. A pair of games at UNH starting Friday in Durham will test Michigan.

6. Boston College (1-1-0) The Eagles took some untimely penalties and made some uncharacteristically undisciplined penalties Thursday night in Ann Arbor. Jerry York's team bounced back with a 7-2 pasting of RPI on Sunday afternoon. BC will host Wisconsin before playing two at Minnesota the following weekend.

7. Providence (2-0-0) Sometimes a team deserves such a big jump in the rankings after a stellar performance. Led by sophomore all-world goaltender Jon Gillies, Nate Leaman's team swept WCHA favorite Minnesota State. Forwards Ross Mauermann and Mark Jankowski and defenseman John Gilmour each scored twice on the weekend. After a one-game set against American International, the Friars will welcome Miami into Schneider Arena for a pair the following weekend.

8. North Dakota (1-0-1) It seems that Dave Hakstol's teams always start off slow, so it's tough to read too much into this weekend's closer-than-expected series against Vermont. Rocco Grimaldi had two goals and three assists on the weekend. UND doesn't ease into NCHC play by any means as first up is Miami this weekend.

9. UMass-Lowell (1-1-0) In a shocking upset the River Hawks fell to Sacred Heart, a team that won just two games a year ago. A night later UML bounced back with a win over rival UMass-Amherst. Lowell will eventually be higher than this spot, but doesn't deserve to be any higher after Friday's dismal performance. A once-anticipated home-and-home series against Quinnipiac is up next.

10. Yale (0-0-0) The Bulldogs, the defending NCAA Champions, don't start regular season action for another two weekends. Keith Allain's team can just practice and get ready for the Liberty Invitational in Newark on October 25 and 26.

11. St. Cloud (1-0-1) The Huskies took three points from Bemidji State in a very tight series at the renovated Herb Brooks Arena at the National Hockey Center. Nic Dowd and Johnny Brodzinski each picked up three points on the weekend as the Huskies ran up against a hot goaltender in the Beavers' Andrew Walsh.

12. New Hampshire (1-1-0) The Wildcats defeated Clarkson before losing to host Minnesota in the IceBreaker Finals. For anyone who followed UNH last season, it should come as no surprise that defensemen Trevor van Riemsdyk and Eric Knodel lead the Wildcats in scoring after the two games. Both goaltenders Jeff Wyer and Casey DeSmith played well between the pipes for Dick Umile's team. Michigan comes to the Whittemore Center for two starting Friday.

13. Denver (2-0-0) In Jim Montgomery's collegiate coaching debut, the Pioneers shut out offensively-challenged Merrimack on back-to-back nights. Sam Brittain, after a tough junior season, stopped all 52 shots he faced.

14. Boston University (2-0-0) Defensemen Ahti Oksanen (four points) and Garrett Noonan (three points) helped offensive production, but the blue line is cause for concern. UMass' speed created trouble for the Terriers despite BU's 3-1 victory on Friday night. David Quinn picked up two wins to start his NCAA coaching career, but the opposition will strengthen this upcoming weekend with RPI and Wisconsin coming to town.

15. Rensselaer (1-1-0) There were some positives and negatives for the Engineers this weekend. Seth Appert's club easily dispatched upset-minded Sacred Heart Saturday before falling at Boston College on Sunday. RPI outplayed BC for much of the first half of the game, but costly mental mistakes and a lack of execution allowed BC's super skilled forwards to cash in.

Jeff Cox covers college and junior hockey, NCAA recruiting, NHL Draft prospects and the AHL for SBNation. Follow him on twitter @JeffCoxSBNation.