Trio Claims Spots in National Polls
ALBANY, NY -– The trio of Yale, Rensselaer, and Union have been selected to a spot in the most recent men’s national polls released Monday, January 10, 2011. Yale maintains its No. 1/1 position for the sixth week in a row, Rensselaer remains a top 10 team for the second week in a row (No. 9/10), and Union is ranked for the 26th consecutive week (No. 13/14).
Yale retained the No. 1 spot in both the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll and the USCHO.com polls following two league wins last weekend. The Bulldogs fought in some close road rival games, edging Dartmouth, 2-1 Friday and downing Harvard, 4-2 Saturday. The Bulldogs continue to lead the nation in scoring offense (5.00 G/GM) and are third in scoring defense, only surrendering 2.07 goals per game. The Bulldogs now have won nine straight games and are a perfect 8-0- in league action. The Bulldogs collected 509 points and all 33 first-place votes to claim the top spot in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll. Yale was also voted to the No. 1 position in the USCHO.com poll. Yale once again earned 991 points and 45 first place votes. Yale also leads the nation in scoring margin, by defeating its opponents by an average of 2.93 G/GM. Sophomore forward Andrew Miller leads the nation in assists per game with a 1.20 mark. Yale will play a home-and-home series versus Brown this weekend.
Rensselaer split a weekend league series with North Country foes Clarkson and St. Lawrence this past weekend at Houston Field House. The Engineers were edged in overtime, 3-2 by Clarkson Friday and outlasted St. Lawrence, 5-3 Saturday. As a result RPI maintains its top 10 status holding the No. 9 spot in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll (186 points) and No. 10 position in the USCHO.com poll (492 points). The Engineers overall record is now 12-5-3. Rensselaer has only allowed 2.10 goals per game on defense, which ranks sixth in the nation. Junior goaltender Allen York continues to as he is sixth in Division I hockey with a 1.87 goals-against average and ninth with a .928 save percentage. Rensselaer take to the road this weekend, battling Cornell Friday and Colgate Saturday in league action.
Union moved up one position in each poll this week. The Dutchmen are now ranked No. 14 earning 357 points in the USCHO.com poll and ranked No. 13 with 101 points in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll. This marks the 26th consecutive week the Dutchmen have been ranked in the USCHO.com poll, extending a school record. Union has been ranked for 11 consecutive weeks in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. Union is ranked in the top 10 in both scoring offense (No. 4 - 3.73 G/GM) and scoring defense (No. 5 – 2.09 G/GM). The Dutchmen make their Central New York road trip this weekend facing-off against Colgate Friday and Cornell Saturday.
Clarkson, Dartmouth, and Princeton 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.
