This is about as much shakeup as I can recall seeing in a single USCHO women’s poll. This kind of thing happens regularly on the men’s side, so it’s a good thing to see.
I’ll admit I’m a little surprised that the Gophers jumped four spots, as impressive as the UMD sweep was. Though it’s natural that a team that ties Wisconsin one week, splits unranked Ohio State the next week, and then sweeps UMD the following week, is going to be tough to place.
One last point — Boston College and Princeton must have stronger results than any No. 9 and No. 10 pair ever in the history of the poll at this point of the season. Both teams have a win against a team ranked above them, and no losses to teams ranked below them. In some ways, the Eagles and Tigers have proven themselves more than UMD or Harvard to date, as last week was the first top 10 test for both the Bulldogs and Crimson. However, expectations for all the current top eight were high this season, between the reigning Frozen Four teams and the Olympic boosts to Dartmouth, Harvard, UMD, and Mercyhurst. So it’ll take a few more results before enough voters are willing to boost BC or Princeton into the top eight.
