League Quartet Commended in Polls
ALBANY, NY - Four ECAC Hockey teams earned positions in the latest USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Poll s released Monday, December 7. For the second consecutive week, three teams fill top-10 spots - No. 5/5 Cornell, No. 7/8 Quinnipiac, and No. 8/7 Yale. Also, for the first time in nine years, the Union College men's ice hockey team has cracked the top-20 in the USCHO.com Poll, coming in at number 20.
After its second consecutive 1-0-1 week Cornell jumped to the No. 5 spot in both the USCHO.com Poll (756 points) and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Poll (358 points). The Big Red also earned a first-place vote in the USCHO.com Poll. Cornell experienced a successful road trip in conference action in the Capital District last weekend, stopping Rensselaer, 2-1 Friday and tying No. 20 Union 2-2 Saturday. The Big Red continues to feature the nation's most prolific power-play having scored on 17 of 53 opportunities (32.1%).
Defending league and tournament champion Yale moved from the No. 10 spot in both polls last week to the No. 7 position in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Poll with 287 points and the No. 8 spot in the USCHO.com Poll with 606 points. The Bulldogs improved their record to 7-3-2 overall by winning two conference games last week snapping then ranked No. 4/6 Quinnipiac's eight game winning streak and handling Princeton by a count of 4-1 in league action.
After dropping two league games last weekend Quinnipiac fell from the No. 4/6 positions to the No. 7/8 spots in the USCHO.com Poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Poll respectively. The Bobcats merited 635 total votes in the USCHO.com Poll and 239 points in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men's College Poll. The Bobcats were 0-2 -0 last weekend, dropping the showdown at Ingalls to Yale, 7-4 and falling to Brown, 2-1 on the road. Quinnipiac currently has sole possession of first-place in ECAC Hockey.
Union steps in the USCHO.com Poll at the No. 20 position this week. The Dutchmen received 79 points after extending their unbeaten streak to eight games with a 3-1 win against Colgate Friday and a 2-2 tie against then ranked No. 7/7 Cornell Saturday. Union is 6-0-2 in its last eight games.
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.
