Tuesday's look at the polls

This week saw only a little activity in the three big polls, with BC staying put at #3. Last week’s top dog Yale continues to roll, remaining at #1 in all three polls.

The USCHO.com poll saw only slight movements, with Denver jumping two spots to 4, while UNH was the biggest slider, down three spots from 4 to 7 after their loss to Dartmouth this past weekend. Here is their top ten, with Hockey East teams highlighted:

1 Yale 15-2-0

2 North Dakota 17-6-2

3 Boston College 15-6-0

4 Denver 14-5-5

5 Minnesota-Duluth 15-5-3

6 Michigan 15-6-4

7 New Hampshire 12-4-4

8 Notre Dame 15-8-3

9 Wisconsin 15-8-3

10 Maine 11-6-4

In the USA Today poll, we see pretty much the same thing, with Maine exchanged for Union in the 10 spot:

1 Yale

2 North Dakota


3 Boston College

4 Denver

5 Minnesota Duluth

6 Michigan

7 New Hampshire

8 Notre Dame

9 Wisconsin

10 Union

In the Pairwise Rankings, the formula used for the NCAAs, its pretty much the same. If the tourney started today, here is what the field of 16 would look like:

1 Yale

2 North Dakota

3 Denver

4 Minnesota-Duluth

5 Boston College

6 Michigan

7 Notre Dame

8Wisconsin

9 New Hampshire

10 Maine

11 Dartmouth

12 Union

13 Boston University

14 Merrimack

15 Nebraska-Omaha

16 RIT (current Atlantic Hockey 1st place, auto-bid)



This looks pretty good for Hockey East, with 5 bids, but that would be the max, I think. There aren’t really any league teams on the outside looking in with a shot to qualify, and Merrimack and BU are the teams with the most to lose right now, sitting firmly on the bubble. Coincidentally, they play each other (weather permitting) tonight at Lawler Arena. (Both teams tied the first two games.) The Warriors mark the beginning of a brutal week for the Terriers, who, in addition to their game in North Andover tonight, have arch rival BC at home Friday before a trip to UNH on Saturday. This week could really make or break the season for Parker’s crew. Its still early, however, and a lot can change as the meat of the conference season begins.


BC looks to be in good shape despite a loss to Maine Sunday night. They are cemented into the field as a 2, with the opportunity to move into a 1 spot with a good run. Their schedule coming up looks favorable, minus a trip to Agganis Friday night. All in all, you can’t be disappointed in what’s happened so far.


Up Next: A look around Hockey East