A weekend split by Boston University opened the door, and a three-point series for Minnesota was enough to vault the Golden Gophers to No. 1 in Monday’s USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I men’s poll.
Minnesota tied and then beat Michigan Tech over the weekend to remain unbeaten — though with four ties — and claim 42 of 50 first-place votes and the top spot in the rankings, while the Terriers slipped to second place with four first-place nods. BU lost to Massachusetts Friday before rebounding Sunday with a win over Northeastern.
In third once again was Colorado College, which split with Minnesota State and earned two first-place votes to keep ahead of No. 4 Boston College, which was up one spot after a tie with Merrimack and a win in a slugfest with New Hampshire. Notre Dame, meanwhile, leaped back into the top five, in fifth after a four-position jump. The Irish tied Lake Superior (a shootout win for CCHA purposes), then beat the Lakers in the rematch Saturday.
Northeastern, which beat Vermont before its loss to BU, edged up to No. 6, with Miami rising three places to seventh after a sweep of Michigan State. Princeton was next at No. 8, a four-place rise from last week in the wake of wins over Rensselaer and Union. The Tigers earned one first-place vote as well.
Ninth in the latest rankings was Michigan, which slipped a notch after splitting with Western Michigan, while Denver nosedived six places to No. 10, completing the top half of the poll. The Pioneers were swept by St. Cloud State last weekend.
Minnesota State stayed in 11th this time around, followed by Air Force. The Falcons ran their perfect record to 10-0-0 with a sweep of Holy Cross and earned a first-place vote to boot. New Hampshire was No. 13 after the biggest drop of the week, down seven spots after losing to Massachusetts-Lowell and then BC.
Cornell held its ground at No. 14 with a win and a tie against Colgate, leaving the Big Red as the nation’s third remaining unbeaten team. Vermont came in 15th, losing to Northeastern but beating Merrimack.
No. 16 was Massachusetts, up four places with its win over BU but subsequent loss to UML, and St. Cloud State rejoined the poll in 17th.
Harvard was also back in the rankings at No. 18 after a North Country sweep of Clarkson and St. Lawrence, trailed by Top 20 newcomer Nebraska-Omaha. The Mavericks nosed their way into the rankings after splitting with Ferris State. North Dakota rounded out the rankings after splitting with Alaska-Anchorage.
Dropping out since last week were Clarkson, Michigan State and St. Lawrence.
