College Hockey Rankings: Minnesota Clings to the Top

The Minnesota Gophers stumbled this weekend, falling hard to Minnesota Duluth on Sunday after routing the Bulldogs on Friday, but Lucia's team remains on top once again this week.  Despite a fluky tie against Colorado College, St. Cloud State continues to impress as well.

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Ranking	Chris Dilks	Jeff Cox	Nate Wells	Matt Christians	Evan Sporer	SBN FINAL RANK
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1. Minnesota  9-2-1 (48)

It was a weekend of extreme highs and lows for the Gophers. A 6-1 win against Minnesota-Duluth on Friday showed off the team's dangerous nature. A.J. Michaelson, Tom Serratore and Justin Kloos each scored in a 2:54 stretch while Adam Wilcox (Tampa Bay Lightning) made a career-high 36 saves. Sunday's series finale was an 180 degree turn. The Bulldogs exploited Minnesota's special teams, scoring a shorthanded goal 7 minutes in and adding four power play goals en route to a 6-2 win. The Gophers' loss snapped a 10 game home unbeaten streak right before Minnesota begins Big Ten conference play against Wisconsin next weekend.

- Nate Wells

2. Providence  10-2-1 (44)

The Friars avoided disaster when it was learned that Jon Gillies' leg injury wasn't serious. The reigning Hockey East Rookie of the Year left Friday's game with UNH after two periods. PC rallied in that game to force overtime, but fell in the extra session. Nate Leaman's team bounced back with Gillies back in net to salvage a split with UNH.

- Jeff Cox

3. St. Cloud State  9-1-2 (42)

An ugly effort on Friday night yielded an ugly result, as the Huskies tied a terrible Colorado College team, but they rebounded on Saturday night for a convincing 6-2 win. Finding consistent scoring can be a problem for the Huskies, like it was on Friday night, but Saturday's dominating performance showed that when things are clicking, St. Cloud looks very, very good.

- Chris Dilks

4. Michigan  8-2-1  (31)

Michigan trounced Niagara 6-0 on Friday night in their only game of the weekend. Andrew Copp and Alex Guptill each scored twice for the Wolverines and Zach Nagelvoort earned his first career shutout. The Wolverines will open Big Ten Hockey Conference play next weekend in a series with Ohio State.

- Chris Dilks

5t. Ferris State  10-2-1 (26)

In both of Ferris State's wins at home against Alaska last weekend, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 3-0 lead, only to see the Nanooks claw their way back into the game. On Friday, Alaska was able to make it a one-goal game, before Ferris State clinched the game with an empty-netter, and the next night, Alaska tied the game at three, before Ferris State scored the game-winning goal in a 4-3 win. The Bulldogs are still undefeated in WCHA play, and running away with the league. They've got a four-point lead and two games in hand on second place Bemidji State.

- Chris Dilks

5t. Quinnipiac  12-2-1 (26)

The Bobcats saw their 13 game unbeaten streak come to an endSaturday when they blew a two-goal lead at home against lowly Princeton. The line of Sam Anas and the Jones twins (Connor and Kellen) continue to churn out goals.

- Jeff Cox

7. UMass-Lowell  10-4-0 (25)

The River Hawks imposed their will in a weekend sweep of Notre Dame. Norm Bazin's game plan was executed to perfection and Connor Hellebuyck was tremendous between the pipes.

- Jeff Cox

8. Boston College  8-3-2 (15)

Jerry York's team made quick work of Harvard, but then ran into the buzz saw that is currently the Maine hockey team at Alfond Arena on Saturday. Brian Billett has looked good against lesser offenses, but has struggled against teams with more offensive skill.

- Jeff Cox

9. Union  6-3-2 (8)

The Dutchmen had the week off after a physical battle against rival RPI the weekend before. Union returns to action this weekend with a trip to State College to face Penn State.

- Jeff Cox

10. Miami  7-6-1 (5)

The Redhawks hit a pretty big speed bump this week, causing them to fall pretty hard in our rankings.  They were swept by Nebraska-Omaha, losing 6-3 on Friday night and 3-1 the following night while playing in Omaha.  Although it seems as though Miami has everything they need to win games, things just don't seem to be clicking for Enrico Blasi's team.

- Matt Christians

Friendship Awards

Clarkson (3 points), Yale (2 points)

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

Enjoy,

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