With near-unanimity, Michigan claimed the top spot in Monday’s USCHO.com/CSTV Division I men’s poll for the third straight week. The Wolverines, who beat Notre Dame twice over the weekend to solidify their hold on No. 1, claimed all but one of the 50 first-place votes in the balloting.
Michigan was followed once again by second-ranked Miami, which swept Lake Superior State in convincing fashion to stake out a clear points lead over No. 3 Colorado College. The Tigers pulled out a pair of wins against Bemidji State and Air Force to stay in third place, while North Dakota moved up to No. 4 after taking two from Minnesota State. Leaguemate Denver, meanwhile, dropped one spot to fifth after losing to Air Force and rebounding to beat Bemidji.
Michigan State edged up to No. 6 with a pair of wins over Ohio State, leapfrogging New Hampshire, which fell to seventh with a loss to Dartmouth Saturday. No. 8 this week belonged to Boston College, which rejoined the top 10 after beating Massachusetts-Lowell and tying archrival Boston University.
Notre Dame slipped one place to ninth this week, and Clarkson completed the top half of the poll, climbing two notches after tying Colgate and beating Cornell.
Northeastern dropped to No. 11 in the wake of a one-point weekend against Vermont, followed by Quinnipiac in 12th place. The Bobcats rose two places after beating Holy Cross in their lone game of the weekend. Idle St. Cloud State was again No. 13, and Massachusetts fell four spots to 14th after losing to Providence and then rival Massachusetts-Lowell, which held at No. 15 after splitting its weekend.
Wisconsin was No. 16; the Badgers, who took three points from Alaska-Anchorage, were followed by Minnesota, which also managed three points against No. 19 Minnesota-Duluth. Sandwiched between those three WCHA teams was Princeton, which had the week off. Finally, Air Force reached the top 20, impressing the voters with a win over Denver and a close loss to Colorado College.
