By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
Top 20 USCHO Hockey Poll
College hockey has a new number one ranked team as previous No. 2 Boston College swept a home and home series against No. 6 Providence. MSU moves to number two after splitting against No. 10 Michigan. The Big Ten (B1G) has four teams ranked in the Top Ten and two others receiving Top 20 votes this week. The CCHA has only one ranked team (Minnesota State/14th), and three others (Augustana, Michigan Tech., and Bowling Green receiving Top 20 votes. Finally, the NCHC has the third-rated team in the country in Western Michigan and they swept a weekend series against North Dakota, who fell to 16th in this week’s USCHA poll.
Others receiving votes: Augustana 61, Wisconsin 55, Cornell 41, Massachusetts 36, Sacred Heart 30, Dartmouth 27, Northeastern 17, Michigan Tech 13, Omaha 7, Bentley 3, Bowling Green 2, Colgate 1, Holy Cross 1, Penn State 1
Team Factoids
Boston College is in the top spot after their split with No. 6 Providence. Eleven different players saw the scoresheet in last weekend’s home and home games.
No. 2 MSU split two games against No. 10 arch-enemy Michigan. Both teams won on their home ice. Forward Isaac Hughes had three assists in the second game at home. Joey Larson had a goal and an assist for MSU. They host No. 4 Minnesota this weekend at Munn Ice Arena.
No. 3 Western Michigan The Broncos rose to No. 3 in the USCHO poll, matching the program’s highest ranking since Jan. 24, 2022. That season, WMU went on to claim a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and won the program’s first ever NCAA Tournament game. The Broncos will return home this weekend to square off with Miami. Puck drop for Friday’s series opener at Lawson Arena is set for 7 PM EST. Western Michigan is 15-4-1 overall and 8-1-1 in NCHC play.
No. 4 Minnesota split on the road at Notre Dame last weekend and drops to No. 4. Winning a pair at MSU would set the Gophers up for a top ranking although a split will work fine.
Denver is ranked No. 6 in the country with a record of 17-5-0. They travel to unranked Minnesota Duluth for a pair of games this weekend with the highest-scoring team in the country.
No. 9 Ohio State was idle last weekend and plays three games this week. A Tuesday tilt against Mercyhurst and a pair of games against Penn State. OSU is looking to get the sweep and move up the Top 20 poll standings.
The NCHC continued its run of having six teams ranked in the national polls. Denver, Arizona State, North Dakota, St. Cloud State and Colorado College joined WMU in the rankings. Omaha was receiving votes in both polls.
Roy J. Akers is a college hockey reporter for www.skyviewsports.net
