Five League Teams Recognized by Voters
ALBANY, NY – Five ECAC Hockey teams continue to earn the respect of the national voters in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll and the USCHO.com Poll released Monday, February 7. Yale bumps up one spot to the No. 2/2 position in each poll; Rensselaer climbs to the No. 8/8 position; Union enters the top-10 in the No. 9/9 slot; Dartmouth remains in the No. 17 spot; and Princeton slips to the No. 20 position.
After slipping out of the No. 1/1 position last week, Yale bounced back in a big way by earning two wins over the weekend. The Bulldogs blanked Harvard, 1-0 in a classic rivalry game Friday evening and scored an impressive 4-2 win over nationally-ranked Dartmouth, 4-4 at Ingalls Rink Saturday. The two wins move the Bulldogs to the No. 2/2 spot in each poll. Yale earned one first-place vote in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll and 468 points and one first-place vote in the USCHO.com Poll garnering 932 points. Yale is now 19-4-0 overall and 13-3-0 in conference action, holding one point lead over Union. The Bulldogs are the only team in the nation which is averaging over four games per game (4.35) and boasts the nation’s largest scoring margin at 2.22. Yale treks up to the North Country this weekend to take on St. Lawrence and Clarkson in ECAC Hockey action.
Currently riding the nation’s third longest unbeaten streak (6-0-1), Rensselaer is now ranked No. 8 in both national polls. RPI is coming off a three-point week, which saw them earn a 3-3 overtime tie at Quinnipiac Friday and a 5-2 win over Princeton, Saturday. As a result the Engineers continue to climb in the national polls. The Engineers remain in the No. 8 position in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll (255 points) and slide into the No. 8 in the USCHO.com poll (599). The Engineers overall record is now 18-6-4 with a winning percentage of .714, which is sixth best in the nation. Rensselaer looks to improve on its 12-1-0 record at Houston Field House this season as Colgate and Cornell come calling.
Coming off a weekend sweep at Princeton and Quinnipiac, Union earned a No. 9 ranking in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Polls. The Dutchmen earned 558 points in the USCHO.com poll and 247 points in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, both season highs. The No. 9 ranking in both polls is the highest ranking that Union has earned since moving up to Division I before the 1991-92 season. This marks the 30th consecutive week the Dutchmen have been ranked in the USCHO.com poll, extending a school record. Union has been ranked for 15 consecutive weeks in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. Union became the first team in the nation to reach the 20-win mark with a 3-2 OT win at Quinnipiac on Saturday night.
Dartmouth earned a weekend split by blanking Brown, 3-0 Friday and falling to Yale Saturday, 4-2. With their 1-1-0 record last week, the Big Green maintained their No. 17 raking in the USCHO.com Poll earning 191 votes. Dartmouth is once again tied for fourth in the conference standings with a mark of 9-5-2 league mark and 20 points. The Big Green will be back in Thompson Arena on Feb. 11 and 12, hosting Quinnipiac and Princeton.
Princeton remains in the top-20 despite posting a 0-2-0 record last week against two top-10 teams. The Tigers fall one spot to No. 20 in the USCHO.com poll earning 58 points. Princeton could not hold a 4-1 home lead against Union, as the Dutchmen stormed back scoring the next six goals to take the contest, 7-4 Friday. On Saturday, visiting Rensselaer handed the Tigers their second straight defeat by a count of 5-2. Princeton’s power-play continues to shine as the Tigers rank No. 6 in the nation Princeton netting 29 goals in 124 chances (23.4%). The Tigers (9-6-1) are now in the sixth-place in the ECAC Hockey standings with 19 points. Princeton continues its league slate next weekend at Harvard and Dartmouth.
Cornell and Quinnipiac each received
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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.
