The top three remain the same, but eight of the nine teams to follow are in a different spot than last week. Although the top three didn’t change, things certainly got more interesting at the top thanks to Denver being swept.

1. Denver (9-3-0, 7-1-0 WCHA) — Last week: 1
The Pioneers had a comfortable enough lead over Minnesota that they remain at the top despite losing a pair of nonconference games over the weekend. They lost to Yale 2-1 in overtime on Friday, then blew a 3-0 lead en route to a 6-4 loss to New Hampshire on Saturday. Friday was just the second time the Pioneers scored fewer than three goals in a game, and Saturday was the second time they allowed more than three. Denver went 0-for-10 on the power play in the two games.

2. Minnesota (9-2-2, 4-2-2 WCHA) — Last week: 2
The Gophers closed the gap between first and second by sweeping Vermont with a 5-1 win on Friday and 3-1 win on Saturday. Adam Wilcox stopped 48 of 50 shots in the series and now ranks second in the conference with a .931 save percentage. Kyle Rau tallied three points on the weekend, while five others registered two. The Gophers went a perfect 8-for-8 on the penalty kill. (more…)

The way I see it, Hockey East has four tiers right now — the top two, BU, the middle four, and the bottom three. This weekend helped highlight the line between the latter two tiers, but it didn’t result in a whole lot of movement in this week’s rankings. Two teams swapped places, but everyone else stayed where they were last week.

1. Boston College (10-1-0, 8-1-0 HE) — Last week: 1
The Eagles extended their winning streak to 10 with a 6-3 triumph over Dartmouth on Saturday. With the victory, Jerry York is now just one away from tying Ron Mason’s all-time wins record. BC’s top line of Johnny Gaudreau, Pat Mullane and Steven Whitney combined for an incredible five goals and seven assists in the game. Gaudreau has at least one point in every game this season and is second in the league in points. Mullane and Whitney both rank in the top five as well.

2. New Hampshire (9-1-2, 6-1-1 HE) — Last week: 2
The Wildcats blew a 4-0 lead and ended up tying Colorado College 4-4 on Friday, then they overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat Denver 6-4 on Saturday. Grayson Downing and Kevin Goumas each registered a hat trick on Saturday, while Casey Thrush scored twice on Friday. Goumas ended up with seven points on the weekend and now leads the league with 20 on the season. The eight goals allowed on the weekend were more than UNH had allowed in its previous eight games combined. (more…)

Another weekend of ECAC non-conference action brought us even more turmoil in these rankings. Yale went out to Colorado over the weekend and swept Denver and Colorado College. This sweep has to move them up in the rankings as they are the only ECAC team, save Union, to take two wins out of the weekend. Cornell also won against Michigan at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night.

Friday night was a success for the conference as a whole as the teams had an aggregate 4-0-1 record, but Saturday night was more of a struggle as the conference went 3-4-1 against teams from the other conferences. The conference still looks good in terms of non-conference tilts and should bode well going forward. Cornell and St. Lawrence have done well in their non-conference games while they have struggled within the league.

1. Union (8-2-1, 3-1-0) – Last Week 2

Troy Grosenick returned for the Dutchmen on Sunday and this can only improve an already good team that was ranked second last week in these rankings. Union swept Penn State over the weekend, sending 88 shots at the Penn State goal.  (more…)

Boston University outshot the Saints 17-8 in the first period and escaped the first period up 1-0, on a wicked wrister by Wade Megan at eleven minutes, 15 seconds that found the back of the net. The second period turned into the Matt Weninger show as he kept his Saints in the game by making 21 of 22 saves the Terriers sent his way in the period. BU would score two third period goals to put the game away and win it 4-0. The Terriers sent 47 shots at the St. Lawrence net and controlled the game from start to finish.

What I Saw

• Matt Weninger was the star of the show on this night despite giving up a goal apiece in the first two periods and two more in the third. The Terriers dominated the second period and until late in the period were unable to solve the Saints goaltender. For 19 minutes BU threw shot after shot at Weninger but he was able to come up big.   On the 22nd BU shot of the second period (more…)

BURLINGTON, Vt. — Spurred by a three-goal second period, Minnesota beat Vermont 5-1 in its first game ever at Gutterson Fieldhouse and its first regular-season game out east since 2005. Seth Ambroz gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead 7:52 into the game when he cut to the middle from the right side and slid a backhander past Brody Hoffman (30 saves). The Catamounts (2-6-2) tied it with 4:34 left in the first when Matt White found Brett Bruneteau alone at the top of the crease, but the Gophers retook the lead three minutes later when Kyle Rau capitalized on a Vermont turnover at the side of the net.

Minnesota (8-2-2) put the game out of reach with three straight goals in the second. Zach Budish scored on the power play 2:26 in when he pulled the puck out of a scrum in front and fired past a down-and-out Hoffman. Ten minutes later, Nick Bjugstad scored on a breakaway just after exiting the penalty box. Mike Reilly made it 5-1 when he beat Hoffman with a shot through traffic for his first career goal. Adam Wilcox stopped 22 of 23 Vermont shots to improve to 7-1-2 on the season.

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NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Merrimack College and Colgate skated to a 1-1 tie on Friday afternoon at J. Thom Lawler Arena. A first-period goal by Mike Collins put the Warriors on the board and Joe Wilson knotted things up early in the second period.

Freshman netminder Spencer Finney stopped 23 shots for the Raiders (6-6-2) while the Warriors (4-6-2) were backstopped by Rasmus Tirronen, who made 21 saves.

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If non-conference action is what you like this weekend will be a dream for you. Hockey East action takes a back seat this weekend to the 11 games that will be played against the WCHA and ECAC. These games do not play a role in the Hockey East standings, but this weekend will be absolutely crucial for many teams if they have hopes of making the NCAA tournament come seasons end. This may be one of the most important weeks in terms of the conference there will be, so here is my try at it.

Colgate at Merrimack (Friday)

The Warriors have been lackluster in non-conference action, with just a victory on opening night to Union in their hands. Since a four game unbeaten streak Merrimack has three straight losses. Last weekend they took a 3-0 lead against Boston College seven minutes, 39 seconds into the second only to have that lead disappear five minutes later. They would eventually lose that game to the Eagles 4-3.

Merrimack will need a bounce-back from that game but can take some positives, as they took a 3-0 lead against arguably the best team in the country. Their opponent this weekend is playing some great hockey and ranked fourth in this week’s CHN ECAC Power Rankings. Colgate defeated both Dartmouth and Harvard at home last weekend, but a silver lining that Merrimack might be able to take advantage of is the Raiders lack of prowess on the road. They are winless in five games on the road this season, going 0-4-1.

Prediction: Gate 4-3 (more…)

Last weekend was another interesting weekend throughout the ECAC. The last undefeated team, Dartmouth, fell but does this mean we have a new number one? Quinnipiac is red hot and a perfect 4-0-0 in conference play, while Cornell continues to falter going 0-1-1 on the weekend. Dartmouth leads the conference outright with nine points, but parity throughout the conference is reigning supreme as every team except for RPI has points on the year and seven teams have five or more. With all the parity throughout, fans should be getting excited because there will be some great games at all the ECAC rinks his winter. In the mean time, enjoy the weekly Power Rankings. (more…)

The top three continue to solidify their positions, while everyone else struggles to find any sort of consistency.

1. Boston College (9-1-0, 8-1-0 HE) — Last week: 1
The Eagles fell behind Merrimack 3-0 on Friday, but they came storming back to earn a 4-3 victory and extend their winning streak to nine games. Steven Whitney scored two goals, including the game-winner, and Johnny Gaudreau registered two assists. Gaudreau continues to have at least a point in every game this season, and he is now tied for the conference lead with 14 total. BC is first or second in Hockey East in offense, defense, power play and penalty kill.

2. New Hampshire (8-1-1, 6-1-1 HE) — Last week: 2
Casey DeSmith and the Wildcats earned their third straight shutout on Friday, beating Lowell 3-0. They extended their program-record shutout streak to 204:40 before BU scored on them Sunday, but UNH still won the game 3-1. DeSmith now ranks second nationally with a .961 save percentage, a mark that’s 20 points better than anyone else in Hockey East. The Wildcats went 8-for-8 on the penalty kill and now rank second in the country at 94.6 percent on the season.

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Going into Thanksgiving, we still have a clear top six and a clear bottom six. Within those two bands, there continues to be plenty of movement, aside from at the top, where Denver has put some space between itself and the rest of the pack.

1. Denver (9-1-0, 7-1-0 WCHA) — Last week: 1
The Pioneers strengthened their hold on the top spot by sweeping Colorado College, winning 6-5 on Friday and 6-2 on Saturday. They’ve scored three or more goals in all but one game, and they now lead the country with 4.50 goals per game. Ten different players registered multipoint weekends, with Chris Knowlton’s three goals and two assists leading the way. Knowlton now has eight goals in the last five games. Denver went 3-for-7 on the power play in the series.

2. Minnesota (7-2-2, 4-2-2 WCHA) — Last week: 2
The Gophers stay at two after taking three of four points from Wisconsin. They tied 2-2 on Friday before coming away with a 3-1 win Saturday. Adam Wilcox stopped 38 of 41 shots on the weekend and now ranks third in the conference with a .924 save percentage. The Gophers are first in the WCHA in team defense with a 1.91 goals against average. Erik Haula registered a goal and two assists in the series and is now tied for second in the league with 14 points.

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