Hockey Ranked No. 11 in Both National Polls
3/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Hockey
March 5, 2012
OXFORD, Ohio - After earning a bye last weekend in the first round of the CCHA Tournament, the Miami University hockey team is ranked No. 11 in both national polls, which were released Monday. The RedHawks have now been in the USCHO.com Poll for eight straight weeks and 13 of 22 polls on the year while being ranked in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll for the third straight week and just the sixth time all season.
Miami (21-13-2, 15-11-2-1 CCHA) stayed put in the USCHO Poll, earning 508 points compared to 487 last week. Despite not playing last weekend, the `Hawks actually fell two spots in the USA Today Poll, slipping from No. 9, as Miami earned 167 points compared to 192 a week ago.
Boston College is the unanimous No. 1 team in the country in both polls, holding down the top spot for the second straight week. The Eagles received all 34 first-place votes for 510 points in the USA Today Poll and all 50 votes for 1000 points in the USCHO Poll. CCHA regular season champion Ferris State moved up a spot to No. 2 in both polls, earning 904 points in the USCHO Poll and 443 points in the USA Today Poll. Defending national champion Minnesota-Duluth fell a spot to No. 3 in the polls after a loss and tie at St. Cloud State while CCHA rival Michigan is fourth in the USCHO Poll and fifth in the USA Today Poll. Minnesota holds the opposite spot in each poll.
Boston University dropped to sixth in the polls after a weekend split. In the USA Today Poll, Union College is seventh with UMass-Lowell at No. 8 while the two are flipped in the USCHO Poll. Denver, who Miami beat earlier this year, and Maine round out the top 10 in ninth and 10th, respectively, in each ranking. The Black Bears have only 10 more points in the USA Today Poll than the RedHawks and 18 more points in the USCHO Poll.
Behind Miami in both polls is North Dakota at No. 12. The Fighting Sioux earned 124 points in the USA Today Poll, 43 fewer than the `Hawks, and 419 points in the USCHO Poll, 89 less than Miami. Cornell and Merrimack are 13th and 14th, respectively, in the polls while Michigan State, who the RedHawks host in a CCHA quarterfinal series this weekend, completes the USA Today Poll at No. 15, where the Spartans also rank in the USCHO Poll. MSU fell one spot in the USA Today Poll from last week despite not playing.
CCHA third-seed Western Michigan sits in 16th after a bye while Notre Dame moved up to 17th after sweeping Ohio State in the first round of the CCHA Playoffs. Colorado College comes in at No. 18 followed by Air Force in 19th. Lake Superior then completes the USCHO Poll, entering at No. 20 after sweeping Alaska in the first round of the CCHA Playoffs.
Seven CCHA teams are ranked in the 20-team USCHO Poll, the most of any league, while four are ranked in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll, second most of any conference in the 15-team poll.
In the latest Inside College Hockey (INCH) Power Rankings, Miami stayed put at No. 8, which is third among CCHA teams behind No. 5 Ferris State and No. 6 Michigan. In the all-important PairWise Rankings, which help determine NCAA Tournament berths, the `Hawks are tied for ninth with Maine, falling a spot from last week.
The fourth-seeded RedHawks host fifth-seeded and No. 15/15 Michigan State in the CCHA quarterfinals March 9-11 in a best-of-three series at Steve Cady Arena. Tickets are on sale here.
--MURedHawks.com--
