Four League Teams Ranked in National Polls
ALBANY, NY – Four ECAC Hockey teams - Yale, Rensselaer, Union, and Princeton have been selected to a spot in the first men’s national polls of the ‘new year’ released Monday, January 3, 2011. Yale maintains its No. 1/1 position for the fifth week in a row, Rensselaer jumps into the top 10 for the first time this season (No. 9/10), Union is ranked for the 25th consecutive week (No. 14/15), and Princeton enters the national scene in the No. 19 position.
Yale is the unanimous No. 1 in this week’s USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll following a 10-3 win over Holy Cross last week. The 10 goal output was the largest of the season for the nation’s leading scoring offense (5.31 G/GM). The Bulldogs now have won seven straight games and won nine straight in the friendly confines of Ingalls Rink. The Bulldogs collected 510 points and all 34 first-place votes to claim the top spot for the third week in a row. Yale was also voted to the No. 1 position in the USCHO.com poll. Yale earned 991 points and 45 first place votes. Yale also leads the nation in scoring margin, by defeating its opponents by an average of 3.15 G/GM. The Elis, tied for first place in ECAC Hockey, are at Dartmouth and Harvard this weekend.
Rensselaer continues to impress the national voters moving up to the No. 9 spot from the No. 14 position in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll (202 points) and to the No. 10 position from the No. 14 spot in the USCHO.com poll. The Engineers improved their overall record on the season to 11-4-3 with a road sweep at Alabama-Huntsville last week. The Engineers lead the country in scoring defense, allowing just 2.00 goals per game. Junior goaltender Allen York has played 93.9% of the games, posting a 10-4-3 record. He is second in Division I with a 1.74 goals against average and fifth with a .931 save percentage. Rensselaer returns to home ice to face two of its oldest rivals in ECAC Hockey action this Friday and Saturday. RPI plays Clarkson, which it has played 131 times, and St. Lawrence (130) at the Houston Field House with both games beginning at 7pm.
Union is now ranked No. 15 earned 321 points in the USCHO.com poll and ranked No. 14 with 72 points in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. This marks the 25th consecutive week the Dutchmen have been ranked in the USCHO.com poll, extending a school record. Union has been ranked for ten consecutive weeks in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. Union is ranked in the top 10 in both scoring offense (No. 8 - 3.55 G/GM) and scoring defense (No. 7 – 2.20 G/GM). The Dutchmen will return to action at Messa Rink against St. Lawrence Friday night at 7 p.m.
Princeton cracks the top 20 for the first time this season. The Tigers enter the USCHO.com poll in the No. 19 position (60 points). The Tigers have won 10 of its last 12 games after starting the season 0-3. Princeton was in action last Wednesday and Thursday and picked up wins over Bowling Green and Connecticut to claim the 2010 Toyota UConn Hockey Classic Championship. The tourney title was Princeton's first since the 1998-99 season when the Tigers took the Mariucci Classic at Minnesota. Princeton returns to league play Monday night when it plays host to Quinnipiac at Hobey Baker Rink. Princeton defeated Quinnipiac when the teams played in November but both teams come into Monday night's game playing well.
Clarkson, Dartmouth, Quinnipiac, and St. Lawrence each received votes in either one of the national poll this week as well.
Click here to access complete USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
Click here to access complete USCHO.com Poll
About the Polls:
The 16th 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 five 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.
The USCHO.com/CBS College Sports XXL 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 production of USCHO.com, which provides in-depth coverage of college sports, including hockey, lacrosse, soccer and others.
