College Hockey Rankings: Minnesota Remains On Top

The Minnesota Golden Gophers remain at the top of the rankings this week as they split this weekend against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.  Providence reclaimed their spot in second after a successful weekend, making the jump from 4th last week, and Michigan remains in 3rd place, as they have since mid October.

Northeastern and Clarkson enter the rankings as the 9 and 10 teams for the first time this year, taking the place of UMass-Lowell and North Dakota.

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Ranking	Chris Dilks	Jeff Cox	Nate Wells	Matt Christians	Evan Sporer	SBN FINAL RANK
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1. Minnesota  6-1-1 (50)

After going last season without being swept, Minnesota bounced back from its first loss Friday. Steven Summerhays stopped 32 shots while special teams helped Notre Dame beat the Gophers 4-1. On Saturday, it was the Gopher freshmen who came through. All five Minnesota goals in a 5-4 win were scored by first-year players. Minnesota returns home next weekend to face Minnesota State.

- Nate Wells

2. Providence  7-1-1 (41)

The Friars swept Merrimack this weekend 1-0 on Friday and 4-2 on Saturday, starting a 3-game win streak and adding two win tallies to their record.  Jon Gillies continues to play well for Providence, stopping all 23 shots on goal Friday and making 31 saves on Saturday.  Providence will head to Vermont next weekend for Hockey East action.

- Matt Christians

3. Michigan  6-1-1 (39)

The Wolverines were off this weekend preparing for a two-game road series against Nebraska-Omaha. Michigan head coach Red Berenson will have a tough choice in net. Sophomore goaltender Steve Racine should be healthy against the Mavericks while freshman Zach Nagelvoort is in the top-5 of several goaltending categories.

- Nate Wells

4t. Boston College  6-2-1  (31)

The Eagles soared past Boston University on Friday night leaving the Terriers in the dust 5-1, followed by a dismantling of Army on Sunday afternoon, which ended 11-0.  Johnny Gaudreau had a very impressive weekend, recording 3 points on Friday and another 4 points on Sunday for a 7-point weekend. His brother Matt, a freshman, scored his first goal on Sunday in his first collegiate game. Ten different players tallied goals in Sunday's whitewashing of Army.

- Matt Christians

4t. St. Cloud State  6-1-1 (31)

The Huskies were stymied on Friday night by Ryan McKay and a very difficult Miami defense, but they found a way to bounce back from their first loss of the season to earn a series split with a Saturday night win. Offense is beginning to look like a concern for the Huskies, but their defense, led by goalie Ryan Faragher is playing exceptionally well.

- Chris Dilks

6. Quinnipiac  9-1-1 (28)

The Bobcats haven't lost a game since October 11th in the Kendall Hockey Classic against Alaska-Anchorage.  Three goals seems to be the magic number for Quinnipiac, who shutout Brown on Saturday 3-0 behind Michael Garteig's 20 saves and tied the defending national champions, Yale, 3-3 on Saturday while outshooting the Bulldogs 51-20. Quinnipiac's big issue this weekend was their powerplay, which went 0-14 against Brown and Yale.

- Matt Christians

7. Miami  6-3-1 (23)

A split on the road against a very good tough St. Cloud team is a solid result for Miami, but the RedHawks have to feel like they left some meat on the bone by only getting one win on a weekend where goalie Ryan McKay only allowed two goals on 66 shots. An impressive defensive effort on Friday served notice that the RedHawks are capable of shutting down any offensive attack they face.

- Chris Dilks

8. Notre Dame  7-3-0 (16)

The Fighting Irish became the first team this season to beat Minnesota and in effect showed a gameplan others can follow. Where Notre Dame might be concerned, however, goes further than seeing a 11 game win streak at Compton Family Ice Arena snapped Saturday. Freshman Vince Hinostroza (Chicago Blackhawks) left Saturday's loss after a knee-on-knee hit with Gopher forward Tom Serratore and did not return. Hinostroza leads the Fighting Irish with 12 points (3G-9A) in 10 games. Notre Dame hosts Merrimack for two Hockey East games next weekend.

- Nate Wells

9. Clarkson  9-2-1 (9)

Clarkson played two close games on the road this weekend, but came out undefeated nonetheless.  On Friday, the Golden Knights squeezed by Dartmouth, 3-2, thanks to Ben Sexton's game-winning goal with six minutes to play in regulation, and on Saturday they held Harvard to just a single goal, winning 2-1.  Netminder Greg Lewis started both games for Clarkson, making 48 saves on 51 total shots.

- Matt Christians

10. Northeastern  6-3-0 (5)

After getting swept by Boston College in the opening weekend of Hockey East play, the Huskies responded strongly this past Saturday with a 4-2 win over UMass Lowell. Northeastern traveled to Tsongas arena and picked up a big conference win on the road. The Huskies have been bolstered by the strong play of freshman Mike Szmatula, who leads all freshmen in points per game (1.62) and has recorded at least a point in each of Northeastern’s first eight contests. In Saturday’s win over the Riverhawks, Szmatula recorded a goal and an assist, his fifth multi-point game of the season. The duo of Szmatula and Kevin Roy have buoyed Northeastern’s potent attack early on, and represent only one of three sets of teammates who currently both sit in the top 10 for scoring in the country.

- Evan Sporer

Friendship Awards

Ferris State (1 point), Yale (1 point)

Agree? Disagree? We want to hear what you think!

Enjoy,

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Matt Christians covers Minnesota Duluth and the NCHC for SB Nation and College Hockey News. You can also give him a follow here -> Follow @matt_christians