National Rankings as of 11.22.09

Rankings as of 11.22.09

1.
Miami
— (change from last week's rank)
The good news is the RedHawks extended their unbeaten streak to eight this weekend. The bad news is that three of those games are ties, and they've all come during the past two weekends.

9-1-4 (6-1-3 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Western Michigan, 3-0; T at Western Michigan, 1-1 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Bemidji State, at North Dakota (Subway Holiday Classic; Grand Forks, N.D.)

2.
Denver
+1 (change from last week's rank)
"It's definitely entertaining to watch," Pioneer goalie Marc Cheverie told the Denver Post's Mike Chambers Friday following his team's knock-down, drag-out, 1-0 win over North Dakota. Based on Mr. Cheverie's weekend numbers—58 saves, 2 GA, and an NCAA-best fourth shutout—he was just as entertaining.

8-3-1 (6-1-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. North Dakota, 1-0; W vs. North Dakota, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. St. Cloud State, vs. St. Cloud State

3.
UMass Lowell
+2 (change from last week's rank)
UMass Lowell was 5-1-0 in its six Hockey East games last season against this week's opponents. The River Hawks outscored the Friars and Black Bears 26-11 in those six games.

8-2-1 (4-1-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W vs. Merrimack, 6-3. THIS WEEK: at Providence, vs. Maine

4.
North Dakota
-2 (change from last week's rank)
The losses at Denver marked the first time the Sioux suffered a weekend sweep since dropping a pair to Michigan Tech Dec. 15-16, 2006. "Hopefully it doesn't happen again," NoDak forward Chris VandeVelde told the Grand Forks Herald's Brad Schlossman.

7-4-1 (5-4-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Denver, 1-0; L at Denver, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Ohio State, vs. Miami (Subway Holiday Classic; Grand Forks, N.D.)

5.
Colorado College
+2 (change from last week's rank)
The Tigers are off to their best start since the 2005-06 season, when they burst out of the gate with an identical 9-2-1 record. CC fans hope the similarities end there; the '05-06 club went 15-14-1 the rest of the way and lost in the first round of the WCHA and NCAA playoffs.

9-2-1 (6-1-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Robert Morris, 4-3; W vs. Robert Morris, 4-1. THIS WEEK: vs. Alaska Anchorage, vs. Alaska Anchorage

6.
Cornell
-2 (change from last week's rank)
Tuesday's home game against Colgate is Cornell's last game at Lynah Rink until Jan. 22-23 when North Dakota visits.

5-2-0 (4-2-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W vs. Princeton, 5-2; L vs. Quinnipiac, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Colgate, vs. Boston University (at Madison Square Garden, New York)

7.
Bemidji State
+2 (change from last week's rank)
The Beavers are one of the nation's two teams with 10 wins and at this rate they'll be the first to 100 goals. The Beavers have scored six goals in each of their last three games, and have 49 for the season - one fewer than nine-win Ferris State, but the Bulldogs have played two more games than the Beavers.

10-1-1 (6-0-0 CHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Alabama-Huntsville, 6-1; W vs. Alabama-Huntsville, 6-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Miami, vs. Ohio State (Subway Holiday Classic; Grand Forks, N.D.)

8.
Michigan State
-2 (change from last week's rank)
The Spartans' winless streak against Notre Dame stands at six following the tie and loss to the Irish this past weekend. In those six games dating back to Jan. 13, 2008, MSU has scored a total of five goals.

9-3-2 (6-2-2 CCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Notre Dame, 1-1 ot; L vs. Notre Dame, 4-1 (at Fort Wayne, Ind.). THIS WEEK: vs. Wisconsin, vs. Minnesota (College Hockey Showcase)

9.
Quinnipiac
+3 (change from last week's rank)
The Bobcats extended their winning streak, which now stands at six games, with a pair of impressive wins at Colgate and Cornell. A key to success? Quinnipiac took first-period leads in both contests.

10-1-0 (6-0-0 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: W at Colgate, 5-3; W at Cornell, 3-2. THIS WEEK: vs. Princeton, vs. Massachusetts

10.
Massachusetts
+5 (change from last week's rank)
The Minutemen have scored 34 goals in their eight wins, a tidy average of 4.25 goals per game.

8-2-0 (4-2-0 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Yale, 4-3 ot. THIS WEEK: at Vermont, at Quinnipiac

11.
Yale
-3 (change from last week's rank)
The Bulldogs haven't managed to string back-to-back wins together yet this season in seven games, but should be considered strong favorites in games this week against Sacred Heart and Holy Cross.

3-2-2 (2-1-2 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Massachusetts, 4-3 ot; W at Brown, 6-5 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Sacred Heart, at Holy Cross

12.
Alaska
-1 (change from last week's rank)
After starting the season with five wins and a tie in their first six games, the Nanooks have become very predictable in their last three series: lose on Friday, win on Saturday, which is what they've done against Notre Dame, Bowling Green, and, most recently, Lake Superior State.

8-3-1 (5-3-0 CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Lake Superior State, 4-3; W at Lake Superior State, 3-2 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Northern Michigan, vs. Northern Michigan

13.
Minnesota Duluth
+5 (change from last week's rank)
Here's pretty much all you need to know about the Bulldogs: they're 9-0-1 this season when scoring three or more goals. Score two or fewer, and UMD is 0-4-0. Home series against North Dakota and Denver are on tap following a bye this weekend.

9-4-1 (6-3-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: W at Minnesota, 4-3 ot; W at Minnesota, 3-2. THIS WEEK: Off

14.
Notre Dame
+5 (change from last week's rank)
The Fighting Irish snapped a four-game winless streak with an impressive 4-1 win over a Michigan State team that was 6-0-1 in its last seven games. Notre Dame's task is turning the win and tie with MSU into a winning streak.

6-5-3 (3-2-3 CCHA) LAST WEEK: T vs. Michigan State, 1-1 ot; W vs. Michigan State, 4-1 (at Fort Wayne, Ind.). THIS WEEK: vs. Bowling Green, vs. Bowling Green

15.
Vermont
-1 (change from last week's rank)
The Catamounts play nine of their next 11 games at home, beginning with Tuesday's game against UMass. Vermont is 2-0-1 at the Gut so far this season.

4-4-1 (3-3-1 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: Off. THIS WEEK: vs. Massachusetts, at Northeastern

16.
Wisconsin
+1 (change from last week's rank)
The school is reportedly enamored with the idea of a Big Ten hockey conference. Must've been the reason the Badgers split a series with St. Cloud State this past weekend—they were looking ahead to this weekend's "conference" tilts against Michigan and Michigan State.

7-4-1 (5-4-1 WCHA) LAST WEEK: L at St. Cloud State, 4-1; W at St. Cloud State, 4-1. THIS WEEK: at Michigan State, at Michigan (College Hockey Showcase)

17.
Boston College
+2 (change from last week's rank)
Junior forward Brian Gibbons is BC's leading scorer with 12 points and nine assists. He had two helpers in Saturday's tie at Maine.

5-3-2 (4-3-2 Hockey East) LAST WEEK: W at Maine, 4-3; T at Maine, 3-3 ot. THIS WEEK: vs. Clarkson

18.
Ferris State
NR (change from last week's rank)
Not a bad weekend of work for Ferris State forward Blair Riley. He scored 4-2—6 (including a hat trick Friday) in the Bulldogs' sweep of visiting Ohio State. Not to be outdone, linemate Cody Chupp had 3-3—6 for the series.

9-3-2 (4-2-2 CCHA) LAST WEEK: W vs. Ohio State, 8-1; W vs. Ohio State, 6-5 ot. THIS WEEK: Off

19.
Nebraska-Omaha
-9 (change from last week's rank)
Since opening the season with a 4-0-2 mark, the Mavericks are 1-4-1 in their last six games. The difference? Offense—UNO scored 21 goals in its first six and has just 12 in its last half-dozen outings.

5-4-3 (2-4-2 CCHA) LAST WEEK: L at Northern Michigan, 5-1; L at Northern Michigan, 6-3. THIS WEEK: vs. Western Michigan, vs. Western Michigan

20.
Colgate
— (change from last week's rank)
Colgate rallied from three different one-goal deficits in its win over Princeton Saturday. The Raiders are 5-1-2 in their last eight games.

6-3-4 (4-1-1 ECAC Hockey) LAST WEEK: L vs. Quinnipiac, 5-3; W vs. Princeton, 5-4 ot. THIS WEEK: at Cornell

Dropped out: Princeton

Bubble-licious: St. Cloud State, Merrimack, RIT