It took Miami only two weeks to return to the top of the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll.
The RedHawks earned 37 of the 50 first-place votes to claim the top spot ahead of No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 3 Denver.
Wisconsin’s win and tie against Denver, the former No. 1, last weekend was enough to get eight first-place votes. The Pioneers were tops on five ballots.
Related link: USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll: Jan. 25, 2010
The biggest moves of the week belonged to St. Cloud State and Bemidji State, which moved up seven spots to Nos. 5 and 7, respectively.
The Huskies improved their winning streak to eight games with a home-and-home sweep of Minnesota last weekend. They’re 11-1-1 in their last 13 games.
St. Cloud State has its highest ranking since March 12, 2007, when it was fourth.
The Beavers, meanwhile, rallied in the final seconds Saturday to force overtime, then complete a sweep of Minnesota-Duluth in overtime. The Bulldogs fell five spots to ninth in the poll.
At No. 20, Michigan returns to the poll for the first time since Nov. 16. Before missing out on the Nov. 23 poll, the Wolverines had been ranked in every poll since Nov. 24, 1997.
Lake Superior State fell out of the rankings.
The six WCHA teams in the top 11 of the rankings pair off this weekends for series Friday and Saturday. No. 9 Minnesota-Duluth hosts No. 2 Wisconsin; No. 4 North Dakota hosts No. 3 Denver; and No. 11 Colorado College hosts No. 5 St. Cloud State.
In other games between ranked teams this week: No. 6 Yale hosts No. 18 Union on Friday; No. 12 Michigan State hosts No. 20 Michigan on Friday before the teams play Saturday at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena; and No. 17 Vermont hosts No. 19 Maine on Friday and Saturday.
