Wisconsin racked up 37 of 40 first-place votes to again lead the USCHO.com/CSTV Networks Division I men’s poll Monday. The Badgers retained the top spot after beating Western Michigan and then Northern Michigan to claim the Badger Showdown title.
Miami was again No. 2 as holiday tournament champions held down the top six spots in the poll. The RedHawks beat Rensselaer and then tied Ohio State, winning the Ohio Hockey Classic championship in a shootout and earning the remaining three first-place votes. Minnesota toppled Union and Massachusetts-Lowell to stay No. 3, adding the Dodge Holiday Classic title to its trophy case.
Vermont moved up a spot to No. 4, shutting out Dartmouth and then Clarkson to win the Sheraton/TD Banknorth title. The Catamounts traded places with No. 5 Boston College, which won the Denver Cup by beating Princeton one night after advancing with a shootout win after tying Ferris State.
Colorado College, which beat Michigan State to claim the Great Lakes Invitational, was No. 6. The Tigers beat Michigan in the GLI semifinals, and the Wolverines rebounded the next night to top Michigan Tech but fell one position in this week’s rankings.
Cornell won the Florida College Classic in a shootout after tying Minnesota-Duluth, one night after beating Northeastern to advance, and was again No. 8 this week. The Big Red were followed by North Dakota, which split with Harvard, and then by 10th-ranked Maine, which beat Northeastern after falling to UMD in Florida.
The next five positions in the poll were held down by St. Lawrence, Colgate, Providence, Harvard and New Hampshire.
Rounding out this week’s top 20 were Ohio State, Denver, Clarkson, Lake Superior and then a tie for 20th between Boston University and Ferris State.
