A weekend of ups and downs ended with Minnesota still No. 1 in Monday’s USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Division I men’s poll. The Golden Gophers sustained their first loss of the season in a split with Denver, but defeats for other top teams helped them to 41 of 50 first-place votes and kept them atop the heap for a second straight week.
One team not victimized by the upset bug was Notre Dame, which beat Bowling Green twice and rose three spots to No. 2, earning two first-place votes in the process. Coming in third this week was again Colorado College, which split with Alaska Anchorage but held its ground and notched a first-place nod as well.
Northeastern was fourth this time around, up two places after wins over New Hampshire and Massachusetts-Lowell. Boston College was next at No. 5, down one position in the wake of a split with Massachusetts.
Miami used a sweep of Michigan to move up one spot and earn a first-place vote in the process; the No. 6 RedHawks were followed by Princeton, which won North Country contests against St. Lawrence and Clarkson and was the first choice of three voters.
Coming in at No. 8 was Boston University. Last week’s second-ranked team nosedived six places after being swept by Vermont, but still earned one first-place vote. Denver rose one spot to ninth this week, with Minnesota State completing the top 10, up one after a sweep of Michigan Tech.
Air Force continued its perfect season with two wins against Sacred Heart. The 12-0-0 Falcons moved up one notch to No. 11 and were again the first-place pick of one voter. Cornell, the nation’s other unbeaten team, rose two positions to 12th after wins over Harvard and Dartmouth.
Vermont was up two places to No. 13, while Michigan fell five spots to 14th. The Wolverines were trailed by New Hampshire, down two to No. 15 after losing to Northeastern but recovering to beat Providence.
Ascending to 16th place this week was Nebraska-Omaha, which swept Michigan State to climb three positions. Massachusetts was next at No. 17, while St. Cloud State slipped one position to 18th after a split with Wisconsin. Alaska Anchorage debuted at No. 19, and Dartmouth joined the poll in 20th after a win over Colgate and a loss to Cornell.
Dropping out were Harvard and North Dakota.
