So here we are, once again. Saturday night, Boston University came back from a 2-1, third-period deficit to beat Michigan, 3-2, at Agganis Arena.

It was a great win for BU, and a tough loss for a Michigan team probably deserving of the victory. Both of these clubs have a lot to look forward to this season after disappointing years. Right on cue, the questions came in from college hockey fans wondering about this week’s rankings.

Polls — Everyone’s favorite completely meaningless method of measuring a college hockey team’s value and progress. Inevitably, one reader said that the polls were important because “the top 16 make the (NCAA Tournament).”

I always expect these questions early in the season. Like new players come into teams each year, there are new fans or those taking a greater interest because their favorite team is better. And every season, I have to remind people that A. Polls are completely irrelevant and B. Even thinking about the Pairwise until after Christmas is a complete waste of time.

The Pairwise has its problems. It’s made by people and changes from committee to committee, so there are are some biases inherent in the algorithm. Still, it’s a very good process, and it rarely gives us a field with an undeserving team.

The Top 16 teams in some poll have nothing to do with the NCAA Tournament. It’s at best a way to tell fans which teams are better than others. At worst, it’s an inelegant way to attract eyes to a website.

Six conference tournament winners make the NCAA field. The 10 remaining teams with the best Pairwise standing earn the at-large bids. They’re then seeded, banded and grouped based on their Pairwise standing and a few other considerations designed to make the tournament more exciting and profitable for the NCAA.

Please stop paying attention to polls. It’ll make you smarter. Just enjoy wins for now. Even some clubs with poor records are in good shape for the rest of the season despite pollsters arbitrarily shooting them down the top 20 because a goalie on some team played out of his mind for a night.

Polls are bad because they mislead fans. Polls are bad because they emphasize fleeting results instead of focusing on a strong couple games that will eventually yield wins for teams. Stop asking me about polls. Stop looking at them. Stop thinking about them. They mean absolutely nothing. Just worry about the way teams play right now. It’s all that matters. 

Jack Eichel is the truth, but his teammates are too

Everyone with even a fleeting interest in hockey knows who Jack Eichel is at this point. The kid’s hype isn’t on par with that of Connor McDavid, but it’s certainly getting there.

In his first three games for BU, Eichel has three goals and three assists. BU is 3-0-0 in those games, and he’s been the Terriers’ best player in all of those games. He is every bit as good as people say he is. After watching live this weekend, I can safely say he’s even better than I thought.

BU coach Dave Quinn isn’t only excited because of Eichel, though. This freshman class has completely revamped the BU roster. Forwards, such as Matt Lane and Nick Roberto, thrust into top six roles a year ago are now grinding away on the bottom half of the depth chart where they can be far more effective.

The Terriers’ blue line, so routinely pinned in their own end for minutes at a time last season, is now an efficient, fast machine.

Youth and inexperience are still problems for the Terriers, but this is an issue elite programs will always face. Their best players are 18 or 19 instead 20 or 21. In the early portions of a season, that youth means a bit steeper a learning curve on play without the puck. Once those issues resolve themselves, the highly skilled 18- and 19-year olds start to become dominant players at this level. And BU’s roster is now stacked with those players. Early recruiting for the next few seasons suggests this isn’t going to change either.

Aside from Eichel, defenseman Brandon Fortunato, forward A.J. Greer and defenseman Brandon Hickey, along with a few others, all look like premier college hockey players in the making. Their talent was on display at each end of the rink during BU’s sweep of Michigan State and Michigan. However, their experience was as well.

Junior goaltender Matt O’Connor bailed out his young team on a few occasions last weekend, and he must to bring trophies back to Agganis Arena this season.

A rough stretch or two will come for BU, but the Terriers haven’t been at their best yet, either. And they’re still undefeated.

Jack Eichel is every bit the special talent we thought he was. But BU had plenty more to get excited about this season.

Providence will get better

Providence goaltender Jon Gillies hasn’t been very good to start the season. In four games, he’s posted an .882 save percentage. A couple tough trips out west — one against a good North Dakota team and the other against an average Ohio State team — isn’t an easy way to start the season. Moreover, the Friars have already dealt with their share of injury issues. PC expected to compete in Hockey East and nationally this season. A 1-2-1 start may have some wondering what’s going on but shouldn’t be too alarming.

Mark Jankowski hasn’t played since the season opener against Ohio State. Despite an inconsistent first two seasons, the junior’s talent revealed itself more often last year. Once he’s back and healthy, the Friars’ lineup will get that much deeper. Jankowski and senior Ross Mauermann running the pivots on a top six gives gives PC one of the best 1-2 punches at center in the country.

Recovering from difficult starts to weekend road trips is an equally good sign for the Friars.

The schedule gets a bit less difficult moving forward. After a home and home with BU next weekend, three straight Hockey East weekends against mid-level league teams should yield a few more wins for the Friars.

The trick for Nate Leaman and his staff is keeping his players focused on improving the process, boosting their performance in possession and letting Gillies find his game without being under siege each night.

A few more home dates against familiar opponents will help solve a lot of that.

BC looks much different, but BC is still going to score a ton

Last season, Boston College’s top line was the best college hockey has seen in some time. Johnny Gaudreau, Bill Arnold and Kevin Hayes were three of the best players in the country and complemented each other perfectly.

With all three of them gone, BC needed to replace their offense. This far, the Eagles have found their offense, but it’s coming from the entire lineup this time around. Every coach would love to have a line as dominant as the Eagles did a season ago, but the only true concern is winning hockey games. Depth scoring is one way to do that, and it’s exactly how BC’s done it.

Six BC players have at least two goals in the Eagles’ first five games, including Cam Spiro and Quinn Smith.

The depth the Eagles have on the blue line with truly special talents on each pairing, along with Thatcher Demko in goal, should come together in a dominant defensive club. All that could hold BC back is some trouble scoring goals. That’s the last thing to worry about with a BC team.

The Eagles’ forward group probably won’t produce any Hobey Baker finalists this season. But they’re going to put pucks in the net. It’ll just look a little different than it has in the past.

Monday, October 27th, 2014 - 12:51 pm | Hockey East, Notes, Thoughts, Ramblings