The top three remain the same, but that’s about it. Due to the fact that there wasn’t a single split last weekend, everyone else is either rising or falling.

1. Minnesota (4-1-0, 1-1-0 WCHA) — Last week: 1
It wasn’t pretty, but the Gophers survived a scare from Canisius and came away with a 1-0 win Sunday. Kyle Rau scored the game’s lone goal 12 seconds in and Adam Wilcox made 20 saves to pick up his first career shutout. The gap between first and second in these rankings certainly shrunk this weekend, but I’m not going to drop Minnesota after a win, even if the game was closer than it should’ve been.

2. Denver (4-0-0, 2-0-0 WCHA) — Last week: 2
The Pioneers remained perfect after wiping the floor with Michigan Tech, winning 5-1 on Friday and 5-2 on Saturday. They’ve scored five goals in all four of their games, and they haven’t allowed more than two in any of them. Nick Shore tallied four points on the weekend to give him nine in four games, good for first in the league in points per game. David Makowski also had a four-point weekend, while Shawn Ostrow and Joey LaLeggia chipped in three apiece. (more…)

Another week is done and it’s time for the Atlantic Hockey Power Rankings. This week’s rankings have several teams moving spots, including a new No. 1.

1. Niagara – The Purple Eagles jump to the top spot after un defeated weekend, going 1-0-1 against Clarkson. Carsen Chubak may have moved closer to claiming the No. 1 role in net after he shut out Clarkson on Friday and then allowed one goal in relief of Cody Campbell, who allowed three goals on nine shots on Saturday.

2. Holy Cross – The Crusaders earned a tough two points with a win over UConn on Friday but then were blown out by Army on Saturday. The good news is that all three Crusader goals came on the powerplay. (more…)

All ECAC teams have finally played a game so things are starting to take shape. Cornell had a big weekend defeating Colorado College twice and Dartmouth won the annual Ivy Shootout. This week has two top movers as Dartmouth and Colgate both jump two spots. Quinnipiac and RPI both fell two positions on the week.

ECAC hockey has had a strong start to the year in terms of non-conference play. In the first three weeks of the season, the teams have a combined 16-10-5 record against teams in the other conferences, including a 3-1-0 record against Hockey East and a 7-4-2 record against the CCHA. This weekend will mark the beginning of the conference season for most teams and the teams that belong at the top will begin to stick out while the others will start to fall. (more…)

Up

Drew LeBlanc, Forward, St. Cloud State

LeBlanc was granted a medical redshirt after suffering a terrible leg injury last winter, and many expected his return to bolster the Huskies offense immediately. It has. For the season, LeBlanc has 10 points, five of which (two goals, three assists) came last weekend against Minnesota State.

Joel Rumpel, Goalie, Wisconsin

After a lackluster debut against Northern Michigan a couple weeks ago, it looks like Rumpel is back on his game. While helping the Badgers earn three points in Duluth last weekend, he posted a shutout and a .969 save percentage and was the main reason why UW was in the position to make its third-period comeback on Saturday night.

David Makowski, Defenseman, Denver

Denver’s loss of scoring was a big worry surrounding the team at the beginning of the year. So far, though, it hasn’t been much of a problem, thanks largely to the contribution from the blue line. Makowski is just another example of a defenseman stepping up to put up points for the Pios, notching two goals and two assists this weekend in a sweep over Michigan Tech.

Down

J.P. Lafontaine, Forward, Minnesota State

After six games, Lafontaine is living the sophomore slump. He posted great rookie numbers in 2011-12, but Lafontaine has been invisible for the Mavericks so far this year, and his single assist at this point proves it. Against rival St. Cloud State last weekend, he had zero points and was a minus-four.

Matt White, Forward, Nebraska-Omaha

Omaha’s best returning forward hasn’t played well this year. White is way below his usual points-per-game mark, and his single point (a second-period goal on Friday) is a big reason why the Mavericks continued to struggle against Bemidji State.

Pheonix Copley, Goalie, Michigan Tech

Following a very solid showing against then No. 1-ranked Minnesota at home two weekends ago, Copley was given a taste of what it’s like to play on the road in the WCHA this past weekend in Denver. On Friday, he gave up four goals on 15 shots and was yanked after the second period. In Saturday night’s rematch, he surrendered five goals on 28 shots.

Army has gotten off to one of their best starts in awhile. Their two conference wins are just one short of the total conference wins they had last season. And they scored seven goals against Holy Cross, considered to be one of the better teams in Atlantic Hockey, which is the most they have scored since 2009. They scored more than three goals just once last season. The signs are pointing to the Black Knights being better than last season. (more…)

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Mike Collins scored twice for Merrimack as the Warriors forced a 2-2 tie against Vermont to take three of four points on the weekend. The Warriors (2-3-1, 1-1-1 Hockey East) opened the scoring with 3:05 left in the first when Brendan Ellis walked in from the left point and found Collins at the back door.

They held the lead for nearly a full period before the Catamounts (0-1-2, 0-1-2 HE) tied it. Pete Massar poked the puck past a Merrimack defender, walked in alone and beat Rasmus Tirronen (31 saves). Vermont took the lead just 34 seconds later when Nick Luukko shot through a pile of bodies on a delayed Merrimack penalty.

The Warriors battled back in the third, though. Josh Myers drew a penalty while charging hard to the net on a 2-on-1, and Merrimack capitalized on the ensuing power play. After Brody Hoffman (32 saves) turned away one quality chance, Collins found a loose puck in the left circle and buried his second goal of the game. The Warriors got another power play in overtime, but they couldn’t capitalize. (more…)

DULUTH, Minn. – Wisconsin sophomore goaltender Joel Rumpel was good when he had to be in the Badgers’ 2-0 conference win against Minnesota Duluth, stopping all 29 shots he faced – including 12 in the final period – for his fourth collegiate shutout. Mark Zengerle (goal, assist) and Jake McCabe (two assists) led UW (1-2-0 overall, 1-0-0 WCHA) offensively. Rookie goalie Matt McNeely was solid for the Bulldogs (2-3-0 overall, 0-1-0 WCHA), turning away 24 shots in the losing effort.

What I saw

– Wisconsin’s defense was in complete control the game, even when the Bulldogs put on a late-game charge; the unit got the puck out of the zone quickly, limited their mistakes and chipped in offensively. Through two periods, UMD had only managed a handful of shot attempts from anywhere close to Rumpel, and once the Bulldogs woke up and started pressuring in the final period, UW’s blue-liners blocked shots and made simple, smart plays to clear any danger.

– Zengerle was great all night, and he probably could have had four or five points. There were several times when Zengerle gained control of the puck, changed speeds to create time and space, and then sauced a pretty pass into an area that only a teammate could get to. He also took advantage of shot opportunities (he threw nine pucks at the net in all) and it paid off with a snipe on the power play.

– Rumpel made some giant saves in the third to preserve the shutout and keep the Bulldogs frustrated. There was one save in particular – a sprawling backdoor stuff of UMD’s Joe Basaraba – that probably sealed the deal.

What I thought

– The Bulldogs have either played really well or really terribly in their first five games, and they need to find a way to play consistent hockey on a night-to-night basis. Several players – McNeely, Tony Cameranesi, and Drew Olson – played well tonight, but many other Bulldogs didn’t. Coach Scott Sandelin expected some growing pains, but, based on his emotions after the game, he’s not expecting anything like what we saw tonight out of UMD.

– Wisconsin responded very well to the adversity they faced, both coming into the series and during the course of the game. Obviously, losing a key player to injury is something that most teams deal with throughout a long season, but the Badgers didn’t miss a beat without center Derek Lee in the lineup. And when UW took a major penalty with the game still in question, it buckled down and killed it off thanks to some great efforts up and down the bench.

What they said

UMD coach Scott Sandelin: “Our energy level was good; our execution was not. We again dug ourselves a hole, and if Matty McNeely hadn’t been very good, it could’ve been more of a hole. Wisconsin played good, tight defense. We have to get into the tough areas and stay on pucks.”

UMD forward Tony Cameranesi: “We came out right away and then we kind of went on the brake pedal. We weren’t ready to play the whole game. Wisconsin is a good team, and you can’t just come out there and expect to win. It’s a team game, and they outplayed us in that category. We just got to do the little things. I think we have to go out there and work hard, get in the corners and do the little stuff. Hopefully the goals will come.”

BOSTON — Freshman goaltender Matt O’Connor made 28 saves, and fellow rookie Danny O’Regan scored twice to lead Boston University past Massachusetts, 5-2. O’Regan first goal extended BU’s lead to 2-0 at the time, and his second marker pushed the advantage to 3-1. Sophomore Cason Hohmann continued his hot start scoring a pair of goals, including an empty-net goal to seal the win. Hohmann’s first came 43 seconds after UMass’ Joel Hanley cut the BU lead to 3-2.

The win helps the Terriers recover from last week’s 4-1 loss to New Hampshire. UMass, on the other, suffered its second consecutive defeat. Still winless in the league play, the Minutemen host BU Saturday night at the Mullins Center in Amherst.

What I Saw

• BU’s underclassmen were its best players once again. Against Providence on Oct. 13, Hohmann led the way for the Terriers with a goal and two assists in a 4-2 win over the Friars. O’Connor stopped 26 shots that night, and he continued his strong start on Friday night against UMass. O’Connor stopped 28 shots against the Minutemen, including 11 in a second period UMass controlled for long stretches. The Terriers upperclassmen are among some of the league’s best players. Wade Megan picked up his second goal of the season to open the scoring, and others put together strong efforts. It was O’Regan, Hohmann and several other BU underclassmen leading the way Friday night, though. (more…)

LOWELL, Mass. — Parker Milner stopped all 38 shots he faced to lead Boston College to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Massachusetts-Lowell on Friday. The River Hawks (1-2-1, 0-1-1 Hockey East) controlled play for the vast majority of the game and nearly doubled up BC (3-1-0, 3-1-0 HE) in shots, but they couldn’t solve Milner, who earned his second consecutive shutout. Steven Whitney scored the game’s lone goal 3:17 into the third when he took a pass from Johnny Gaudreau in the high slot and beat Doug Carr (19 saves) with a quick snap shot.

What I saw
-The River Hawks dominated most of this game, but just couldn’t get one past Milner. They outshot BC 12-4 in the first (at one point it was 9-1) and registered eight grade-A chances to BC’s three. Some of the River Hawks’ best looks came on their first power play, just over a minute into the game, but they put a few shots wide and Milner stopped the rest. Even 5-on-5, Lowell was able to pin the Eagles in their own zone for extended stretches. The second and third periods were more of the same. The River Hawks continued to win the lion’s share of foot races and puck battles. Although shots were closer in the second (15-11 Lowell), grade-A chances were 13-4. In the third, it was 11-5 in shots and 7-3 in quality chances. Getting shots but not goals has been a problem all season for the River Hawks — they’ve registered at least 38 shots in all four of their games, but they only have five goals to show for it. (more…)

The CCHA staff took its first shot at predicting last weekend’s games, and here’s how we did:

Taylor Lewis: 9-6-5 (.575)

Avash Kalra: 9-6-5 (.575)

Sam Obermyer: 9-6-5 (.575)

Caleb Saunders: 6-9-5 (.425)

We release our CCHA Power Rankings yesterday, and those are subject to change based on this weekend’s results. Here are the staff’s picks for this weekend’s slate of games — and we have only one “consensus” pick out of the 10 games this weekend: (more…)