Welcome to the top 10, Quinnipiac. And that’s not the only bit of history in this week’s USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I Men’s Poll.
The Bobcats made the program’s first appearance in the Division I top 10 on Monday, checking in at No. 9 after improving to 10-1.
Related link: Full rankings
They improved four spots after beating new No. 20 Colgate and then-No. 5 Cornell, both on the road, last weekend.
Miami still holds the top spot in the poll after a win and a tie at Western Michigan put the RedHawks at 9-1-4. The rest of the top five: Denver, Massachusetts-Lowell, North Dakota and Colorado College.
Another noteworthy event in this week’s poll: Michigan is unranked for the first time since Nov. 24, 1997, when the poll ranked only the top 10 teams. Then again, in 1997-98, the Wolverines rebounded nicely — they won the national championship.
They dropped out of the rankings this week after splitting a series with Bowling Green and moving their record to 5-7.
Quinnipiac and Bemidji State are the only teams with 10 wins already this season, and the Beavers moved up two spots this week to No. 6. That also is a program best in Division I for Bemidji State.
After sweeping Minnesota at Mariucci Arena last weekend, Minnesota-Duluth was the biggest upward mover, jumping six spots to 14th.
Nebraska-Omaha fell seven spots to No. 19 after a pair of losses at Northern Michigan.
Ferris State and Colgate joined the rankings at Nos. 17 and 20, respectively, while Princeton joined Michigan among those falling out.
This week’s list of games between ranked opponents starts at the top, where Miami will play No. 6 Bemidji State on Friday and No. 3 North Dakota on Saturday in the Subway Hockey Classic in Grand Forks, N.D.
Other games: No. 20 Colgate at No. 7 Cornell and No. 10 Massachusetts at No. 18 Vermont on Tuesday; No. 15 Wisconsin at No. 8 Michigan State on Friday; and No. 10 Massachusetts at No. 9 Quinnipiac on Saturday.
