First-Place Teams Find Spots in National Polls
ALBANY, NY - The three teams that currently sit atop the ECAC Hockey standings have all merited respect from the voters in this week's national polls released Monday, February 8. Yale, Cornell, and Union continue to grab the attention of the voters. Cornell and Yale sit in the No. 6 and No 7 spots respectively in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Polls, while the Bulldogs jumped passed the Big Red in the USCHO.com Poll, sitting in the No. 6 position, with Cornell positioned in the No. 8 spot. Union lies in the No. 16 position in the USCHO.com Poll.
Yale vaulted into a first-place tie in the ECAC Hockey standings after a four-point weekend. The Bulldogs doubled-up both of their opponents last weekend, handling Brown, 4-2, and easing passed rival Harvard, 6-3. As a result Yale moved from the No. 8 position to the No. 6 position in the USCHO.com Poll (650 points) and crept up to the No. 7 spot from the No. 8 position in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Poll (289 points). Yale continues to be the only team in the nation to net more than four goals per contest (4.04G/GM).
In its two games last weekend, Cornell earned its tenth win of the season in league action with a 2-0 road blanking over Quinnipiac and was downed by host Princeton, 5-3. As a result, the Big Red fell three spots to the No. 8 position in theUSCHO.com (637 points) and one spot in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Polls (289 points) to the No 6 spot. Cornell is part of the trio, along with Union and Yale, which sits atop the ECAC Hockey standings. The Big Red will host the top-10 Bulldogs in a clash of league powers Saturday. Cornell features the nation's second best scoring defense having only surrendered 46 goals in 22 contests (2.09G/GM).
Union made its way back to the top of the league standings with two home victories last weekend. As a result, the Dutchmen climbed four spots in the USCHO.com Poll (248), landing in the No. 16 position. Union exploded for its highest goal total ever in one game, as it overwhelmed visiting Clarkson, 11-2 Friday. The Dutchmen would cap-off the weekend with a 4-2 win over a hot St. Lawrence team Saturday.
Click here to access complete USCHO.com Poll
Click here to access complete USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
About the Polls:
The USCHO.com/CBS College Sports Poll consists of 50 voters, including 28 coaches from the Division I conferences and 22 beat writers and sports professionals from across the country. The poll, published weekly by the Associated Press, is a joint production of USCHO.com, which provides in-depth coverage of college sports, including hockey, lacrosse, soccer and others, and CBS College Sports Networks, Inc., the only digital media company dedicated solely to college sports. CBS College Sports operates a 24-hour college sports cable network, also available via DISH and DirecTV satellite.
The 15th annual USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll is conducted each week in conjunction with the American Hockey Coaches Association. The poll includes input from coaches and journalists representing each of the six NCAA Division I ice hockey conferences, as well as composite votes from officers of the AHCA and USA Hockey Magazine, the most widely distributed hockey magazine in the world.
