It is no surprise there are changes in the rankings with the top three teams in college hockey last week combining to go 1-5-0 this weekend. All of those teams moved down and in their place are two teams from Minnesota.
↵Due in large part to a twelve-game unbeaten streak, Minnesota Duluth (11-3-2, 7-2-1 WCHA) is the new number one team in the country according to the USCHO poll. The defending national champions received 25 of 50 first-place votes after sweeping Michigan Tech.
↵Minnesota (13-4-1, 10-2-0 WCHA) rose from fifth to second after sweeping Minnesota State this weekend and received 9 first-place votes. Although they swept UMD in Duluth earlier in the season, the Gophers’ recent 2-3-1 stretch appeared to be in the back of many voters’ minds.
↵Boston College (11-5-0, 8-3-0 Hockey East), who split a home-and-home series with Boston University for the only top-three win last weekend, drops from second to third this week.
↵Ohio State (12-3-1, 9-2-1 CCHA) jumps from seventh to fourth and the Buckeyes are becoming one of the surprise stories in college hockey this season.
↵Last week’s number one team Merrimack (9-2-1, 6-2-1 Hockey East falls to fifth after being swept by Providence.
↵In other polls, Inside College Hockey had the Gophers at #1 over Minnesota Duluth due to their head-to-head records while USA Today/USA Hockey agreed with the USCHO rankings.