College Hockey Rankings: Consistency Is Key

For the second week in the row the Boston College Eagles have claimed the number one spot, this time in a unanimous manner.

Consistency among top contending teams is proving more and more important as teams towards the bottom are finding themselves bobbing in and out of the rankings, as others have slowly been climbing the ladder to the top.

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Ranking	Chris Dilks	Jeff Cox	Nate Wells	Matt Christians	Evan Sporer	Ryan Evans	SBN FINAL RANK
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1. Boston College  21-4-3 (60)

It was another routine week for the Eagles: A 6-1 win against Hockey East foe Merrimack, with the line of Johnny Gaudreau, Kevin Hayes and Bill Arnold combining for three goals and four assists. The magic number for the Eagles to clinch the conference is now at four points, with UMass Lowell trailing the Eagles by seven with only five games remaining.On Monday, the Boston College will travel to TD Garden to try to capture their fifth consecutive Beanpot championship against Northeastern, having already defeated the Huskies twice this season.

- Evan Sporer & Jeff Cox

2. Minnesota 19-4-5 (54)

After sweeping Wisconsin at home in November, the Badgers returned the favor to Minnesota by winning a pair of 2-1 games. It was the first time since February 10-11, 2012 in Denver that the Gophers have been swept in a two-game series. Both games saw Minnesota come back from a 1-0 first period deficit only for Wisconsin to score a third period winner. While currently ahead in the standings by 4 points over Wisconsin, the sweep tightened up the inaugural Big Ten race that sees third-place Michigan visit Mariucci Arena next weekend.

- Nate Wells

3. Union 19-6-3 (48)

With head coach Rick Bennett serving the final two games of his four-game suspension, the Dutchmen pulled out home wins over Brown and Yale. Union was tied heading into the final frame of both games, but strong periods allowed them to secure two wins. A loss by Quinnipiac on Saturday allowed Union to increase their lead in the ECAC standings to three points.

- Chris Dilks

4. Ferris State 20-6-3 (40)

The Bulldogs got back on track in the WCHA with a sweep of Northern Michigan at home, with wins of 7-1 and 2-1. CJ Motte started both games in goal and picked up both wins, after losing his last three starts.

- Chris Dilks

5. Quinnipiac 19-5-5  (38)

Dealing with some injuries, including to Jordan Samuels-Thomas and Connor Clifton, the Bobcats were upset on home by St. LawrenceSaturday night, but Rand Pecknold's team is still extremely dangerous with a full arsenal. Michael Garteig has been steady in net despite not seeing as many shots as many other goaltenders around the country.

- Chris Dilks

6. UMass-Lowell 19-7-3 (28)

Cornell took it on the chin against ECAC travel partner Colgate over the weekend. The Big Red faces a stern test this weekend with a visit from RPI and Union.

- Jeff Cox

7. St. Cloud State 15-6-5 (22)

The Huskies gave up a late game-tying goal on Friday night to finish tied 2-2 with Denver, and the Pioneers took the extra point in the shootout, dropping St. Cloud to 0-5 in shootouts this year. They rebounded the next night, erasing a 2-0 deficit in the second period to come back for a 4-2 victory. The win keeps St. Cloud in sole possession of first place in the NCHC, with the league's second place team, Minnesota-Duluth, coming to town next weekend.

- Chris Dilks

8. Wisconsin 16-8-2 (21)

Behind two spectacular performances from goaltender Joel Rumpel and a pair of late goals, the Badgers swept top-ranked Minnesota at the Kohl Center, earning 2-1 wins both Friday and Saturday. The sweep was Wisconsin's first over the Gophers in Madison since 1999 and its first over a No. 1-ranked team since 2004. Rumpel was the series' MVP, turning away 59 of 61 total shots. He was backed by a pair of third period goals on both nights, Friday from Jake McCabe and Saturday from Nic Kerdiles, to ensure the Badger victories. Wisconsin continues to shine at home this season, pushing its record at the Kohl Center this season to 15-2-1 with the sweep.

- Ryan Evans

9. Cornell 12-5-5 (10)

The River Hawks skated to a tie with BU before jumping out to an easy victory over rival UMass a night later. Lowell finishes its regular season series with UMass this weekend. Norm Bazin's team is still recovering from some injuries to star players including Scott Wilson and Zach Kamrass.

- Jeff Cox

10. Minnesota Duluth  13-9-4 (7)

The Bulldogs took a disappointing 2-2 tie against Colorado College on Fridaynight, but managed to win the shootout for the extra league point, and came back the following night with a 2-1 win over CC to take 5 of 6 points on the weekend, and keep their recent momentum going. The five points moved Minnesota-Duluth into sole possession of second place in the NCHC, setting up a big match-up with first place St. Cloud State this coming weekend.

- Chris Dilks

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