Norwich went from a dogfight in the USCHO.com Division III Men’s Poll over the last two weeks to a unanimous selection as the nation’s No. 1 team this weekend. The Cadets trounced Amherst 7-4 on Friday before escaping from Hamilton with a 2-1 win, which combined with a loss by last week’s No. 2 team, Wis.-River Falls, led voters to award all 15 first-place votes to Norwich.
St. Norbert used a convincing weekend, outscoring opponents 15-3 in two games, to climb two spots to No. 2. St. Norbert held first place three weeks ago.
Despite winning two games over the last week, dropping a 5-2 decision to No. 6 St. Thomas was enough to move Wis.-River Falls down to a distant No. 3 team. Challenging the Falcons for that spot is No. 4 Bowdoin, which improved to a perfect 6-0-0 with three wins in five days. Bowdoin trails Wis.-River Falls by just one point.
No. 7 Manhattanville made great strides this week, delivering a 7-2 blow to No. 5 RIT. It was the first loss of the season for the Tigers. The win moved the Valiants into first place in league standings in the ECAC West.
The biggest surprise this week was turned in by Fredonia, which kept its spot at the top of the SUNYAC standings by defeating No. 9 Plattsburgh as well as previously ranked Potsdam. The Blue Devils improved to 7-0-0 in conference play, but is just 2-3-0 in outside the league.
While there are a number of games taking place next weekend, only one is taking place between two ranked teams, as No. 2 Wis.-River Falls tries to get back on track when it hosts No. 10 St. John’s.
The USCHO.com Poll is compiled by U.S. College Hockey Online, and consists of 15 voters, including coaches and beat writers from across the country.
