League Leaders Ranked in National Polls
ALBANY, NY - While Yale, Cornell, and Union continue to battle for supremacy in ECAC Hockey action each, its on-ice performances are being recognized by college hockey's voters in the national polls. In the latest USCHO.com Poll and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Poll released Monday, February 15, Yale has moved into the No. 5/5 spot, Cornell sits in the No. 10/10 position, and Union holds its spot in the No. 16 position.
With two league wins last weekend, including a 2-1, overtime victory in a league showdown at Cornell, Yale has taken over sole possession of first-place in the ECAC Hockey standings. As a result, the Bulldogs continue to move up the ladder in each national poll. Riding a four-game winning streak, Yale now sits in the No. 5 spot in both the USCHO.com (778 points) and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Hockey Polls (369 points). The Bulldogs continue to showcase an aggressive style on offense, as they peppered opposing goaltenders for 39 and 54 shots in two games last weekend. With a record of 16-6-3 Yale sports the nation's fourth best winning percentage (.700).
Winners of four of its last six league games, Cornell continues to be a mainstay in the top-10 rankings. Coming off a weekend split, downing Brown, 5-3, and falling in the clash of league powers to Yale, 2-1, in overtime, the Big Red slipped to the No. 10 position in both the USCHO.com Poll (577 points) and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Poll (231 points). As a result of the weekend split in league-play, Cornell is now tied for second with Union with two full weekends of intra-league competition left in the regular-season. Cornell has three road games this week, as it meets with Central New York foe Colgate Tuesday and then travels to rival Harvard Friday and Dartmouth Saturday.
Union's unbeaten streak of four games ended Saturday, as it was upended by Harvard, 4-3. The Dutchmen would salvage two points out of the weekend play, netting five unanswered goals to stun Dartmouth, 5-4, Friday. As a result, the Dutchmen maintained its No. 16 spot in the USCHO.com Poll (230 points). Union plays its regular-season home weekend finale as it hosts Princeton and Quinnipiac at Messa Rink.
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.
