College Hockey Rankings: Gophers Survive Tie; Bulldogs Stumble

In a tournament that many fans hoped to see our former #1 and #2 ranked teams square off, the Mariucci Classic, troubles struck both teams and our the hopeful game of the week failed to come together.

Minnesota took all 50 votes once again, despite falling to Colgate in a shootout which went down as an official tie in the Mariucci Classic.  Ferris State tumbled down two spots after falling to the Colgate, allowing St. Cloud State to move into second.  Boston College, Providence, and Quinnipiac shuffled around, while the #8, #9, and #10 spots all remained the same.

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Ranking	Chris Dilks	Jeff Cox	Nate Wells	Matt Christians	Evan Sporer	SBN FINAL RANK
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1. Minnesota  13-2-3 (50)

The Golden Gophers remain on top this week despite finishing third in the Mariucci Classic. Kyle Rau scored his 100th point in a 2-2 tie with Colgate, but the Raiders won a shootout 2-1 Friday before the team defeated RPI 6-2 Saturday. Minnesota next travels to Penn State College, PA for the first-ever Big Ten conference series at Pegula Arena.

- Nate Wells

2. St. Cloud State  11-2-3 (44)

The Huskies obliterated the NTDP U18s 8-0 in an exhibition game on Saturday night to open the second half of their season. They'll head out west next weekend for a series against Denver looking to extend their two-point lead atop the NCHC standings.

- Chris Dilks

3. Union  12-3-3 (36)

The Dutchmen had another off week last weekend. They haven't played since their impressive win and tie at St. Cloud in mid-December. They'll have to jump right back into things next weekend, however, when their first game in nearly a month will be a huge top-10 match-up at Quinnipiac on Friday night, before traveling to Princeton the following night.

- Chris Dilks

4. Ferris State  15-3-3 (33)

Ferris State took care of their end of the bargain in creating a potential #1 vs. #2 match-up at the Mariucci Classic by defeating RPI 6-2 in the tournament's opening game. But in the afternoon championship game, the Bulldogs were shutout 3-0 by Colgate snapping a 16-game unbeaten streak. Two of the Bulldogs three losses this season are now shutout losses to Colgate.

- Chris Dilks

5. Boston College  13-4-2  (29)

The Eagles only game was on the ice at Fenway Park, where they defeated their rivals Notre Dame under the lights. What’s going right for Boston College right now? Jerry York’s squad is daring teams to keep up with its scoring, with Johnny Gaudreau riding a 14-game point streak during which he’s scored 14 goals and added 13 assists. The Eagles are undefeated (5-0) since York put Gaudreau on a line with Bill Anrold and Kevin Hayes, outscoring their opponents 25-8 during that stretch, a downright dominant showing.

- Evan Sporer

6. Providence  13-3-4 (26)

The Friars will welcome back Jon Gillies, fresh off competing in the World Junior Championship as the workhorse for Team USA in goal. A 1-1 tie against Merrimack in Frozen Fenway isn’t a great result for one of the nation’s best teams, but offense was hard to come by with the ice conditions in the outdoor rink. The upcoming week could be a statement one for the Friars though, with Providence hosting conference foe Northeastern Tuesdaybefore traveling to Chestnut Hill Friday to take on Boston College for first place in Hockey East.

- Evan Sporer

7. Quinnipiac  15-3-4 (1824)

The Bobcats only played once this week and it was a doozy. For the second straight year, QU's Jordan Samuels-Thomas scored late to beat Maine. This time the junior forward beat Black Bears Martin Ouellete with 1:03left in regulation for a 2-1 win. Quinnipiac has three ECAC games this week against Princeton, Harvard and RPI.

- Nate Wells

8. UMass-Lowell  13-5-0 (15)

Playing a Clarkson team just outside of the top ten for the second straight weekend, the River Hawks tied Friday before finding a way to win 4-3 Saturday. Despite giving up 3 goals on 10 shots to the Golden Knights, Joseph Pendenza scored midway through the third period for the game-winning goal. Since November 12, UMass-Lowell is 9-1-1.

- Nate Wells

9. Michigan 14-5-1 (13)

The Wolverines had the weekend off to rest and regroup after a disastrous Great Lakes Invitational. The Wolverines play just their second conference series of the season next weekend when they travel to the Kohl Center to take on Wisconsin

- Chris Dilks

10. Yale  7-3-4 (3)

The Bulldogs tied Vermont 3-3 at Gutterson Fieldhouse in the team's only game of the week. Vermont's Chris McCarthy scored twice Saturday, including the game-tying goal with the goalie pulled, as Yale extended its unbeaten streak to four. The Bulldogs sit tied for sixth in the ECAC with RPI and will have a chance to move up this weekend when facing Harvard  in a single game at Ingalls Rink.

- Nate Wells

Friendship Awards

Clarkson (1 point), Cornell (1 point)

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