In the wake of its WCHA tournament championship, Denver earned 17 of 40 first-place votes to finish atop the 2004-05 season’s final USCHO.com/CSTV Division I men’s poll, released Monday.
Last weekend, the Pioneers beat North Dakota and then Colorado College in the WCHA title game, moving them up one spot to the summit of the poll. At No. 2 was Boston College (six first-place votes), which beat Maine and New Hampshire to take the Hockey East title. Last week’s No. 1, Colorado College (six first-place votes), which beat Minnesota before losing to DU, was third.
Cornell (eight first-place votes), the ECACHL champion after wins against Vermont and Harvard, finished at No. 4, while CCHA champion Michigan was fifth after defeating Alaska-Fairbanks and Ohio State.
New Hampshire, which beat Boston University before losing to BC, finished at No. 6, trading places with No. 7 Minnesota, which lost to CC and then North Dakota.
Eighth place belonged to Harvard after defeating Colgate and losing to Cornell. Ohio State, which beat Michigan State and lost to Michigan, was No. 9, and North Dakota climbed three spots to No. 10 with a two-for-three performance in the WCHA playoffs. The Sioux beat Wisconsin, then lost to Denver before rebounding against Minnesota.
Boston University dropped to No. 11 after losing to New Hampshire, and Maine was static at No. 12 in the wake of its Hockey East semifinal loss to BC.
Wisconsin lost to North Dakota and landed at No. 13, followed by Colgate, which bounced back from its loss to Harvard to top Vermont in the ECACHL third-place game.
Dartmouth, which was idle last week, rounded out the final poll, replacing Northern Michigan.
