Middlebury maintained its lock on the No. 1 spot in this week’s USCHO.com Men’s Division III poll, getting 11 of 15 first-place votes, after a win over Skidmore and a tie in an exhibition with the US Under-18 squad. Staying in second, with three first-place votes is Manhattanville, which downed Lake Forest and Norwich to win the Times-Argus tournament.
Wisconsin-Superior, idle since the last poll, moved up two spots to No. 3, while St. Norbert remained at No. 4.
Norwich, which survived overtime against Elmira and lost to Manhattanville, dropped two places to fifth.
St. John’s, RIT, Fredonia, and Wisconsin-River Falls all stood pat in the sixth through ninth spots in the poll. St. John’s took two games against Minnesota-Crookston, and RIT split with the US Under-18 team in a pair of exhibitions, while the Blue Devils and Falcons were idle.
Trinity, with a tie against the Under-18 team and a thumping of Skidmore, moved up two places to No. 10. Oswego, inactive during the semester break, stayed at No. 11.
Curry, which handily beat Salem State, but which dropped a game to Bowdoin, dropped three positions. to No. 12. Hobart, which did not play, remained at No. 13.
Entering the top 15 this week is Bowdoin; the Polar Bears had wins over Curry and Worcester State. St. Thomas dropped one spot to No. 15; the Tommies were idle.
Bumped from the poll was Colby, which led teams receiving votes but not making the top 15. Also receiving votes were Utica, Geneseo, and Bethel.
