Big Weekend Of Movement Within College Hockey Rankings And We Are Only In Week 2 Of The Season!
This was a weekend in men’s college hockey we’ll be talking about for a long time, especially come the spring. Let’s get after it, here is the new top ten college hockey rankings.
1. Michigan (4-0) | Previous: 3
Out of all the teams in the college hockey top 10 rankings, this weekend was the biggest and most important for Michigan. This was its first large test of the season — dates with Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State — and the Wolverines put up a good enough result to become the new No. 1 team in the country.
Their 5-1 win over the Bulldogs Friday night was impressive. Matty Beniers registered two goals and linemate Kent Johnson posted two assists. It was a convincing win over a good opponent in their arena. But it was Saturday night that saw Michigan play the No. 1 team in the country and edge out a 3-2 win, which was good enough for the Wolverines to knock the Mavericks out of the top spot.
Another player to note from this weekend: sophomore goalie Erik Portillo. He stopped 28-of-29 against Minnesota Duluth and 27-of-29 against Minnesota State. If he plays like that consistently, it’s hard to imagine Michigan giving up this spot in the college hockey rankings.
2. St. Cloud State (4-2) | Previous: 2
It was great to see the Huskies and Golden Gophers do battle twice this weekend, but both games were so close that it was hard to justify moving either team. St. Cloud State took Night 1, winning 2-1. Minnesota took the sequel when forward Sammy Walker potted the OT winner, giving the Gophers a 4-3 victory.
Because the Huskies won the first game and only lost in OT the second, there’s no real reason to move them out of this No. 2 spot.
3. Minnesota State (4-2) | Previous: 1
No one has had a tougher early-season schedule than the Mavericks. They opened their season by sweeping then-No. 1 UMass. Then they split a weekend series with No. 2 St. Cloud State. This weekend saw them beat No. 10 Providence handily and then fall just short against Michigan, 3-2.
The silver lining in that Michigan loss was they outshot the Wolverines 29-19. For the first half of the game, the stingy Mavericks defense prevented the Wolverines from easy offensive zone entries and established o-zone time.
4. Minnesota (3-1) | Previous: 4
Minnesota did show a lot Saturday night. To get an overtime win in St. Cloud after leading for most of the game is a big deal. It’s something that’ll positively follow this Gophers team for the rest of the season. Forward Sammy Walker also stepped up huge in that one, scoring the third goal and the OT winner. When Walker is rolling, so to are the Gophers.
5. Quinnipiac (2-0-1) | Previous: 6
10/16/2021 – No. 8 Quinnipiac 2 at Vermont 0
6. UMass (2-2) | Previous: 9
10/15/2021 – No. 9 Massachusetts 5 at RV AIC 1
10/16/2021 – RV AIC 2 at No. 9 Massachusetts 4
7. Minnesota Duluth (3-1) | Previous: 5
10/15/2021 – No. 3 Michigan 5 at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth 1 (IceBreaker at UMD)
10/16/2021 – No. 10 Providence 2 at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth 3 (IceBreaker third place at UMD)
8. North Dakota (3-1) | Previous: 8
10/15/2021 – No. 7 North Dakota 5 at No. 20 Bemidji State 3
10/16/2021 – No. 20 Bemidji State 4 at No. 7 North Dakota 3 (OT)
9. Boston College (2-1-1) | Previous: 7
10/16/2021 – No. 6 Boston College 2 at Bentley 6
10/15/2021 – No. 18 Northeastern 3 at No. 6 Boston College 5
10. Denver (4-0) | Previous: NR
10/15/2021 – No. 11 Denver 4 at Air Force 1
10/16/2021 – Air Force 0 at No. 11 Denver 8
