Five League Teams Earn Spots in Polls
ALBANY, NY – For the first time this season five ECAC Hockey teams have earned spots in one of the two men’s national polls released Monday, January 17, 2011. Yale reigns supreme in the No. 1/1 position for the seventh week in a row, Union jumps to the No. 10/12 position, Rensselaer slides into the No. 13/14 spot, Dartmouth and Princeton cracked into the top 20, sitting in the No. 18 and 20 spots respectively.
Despite Yale’s win streak stopping at 10 games last weekend versus Brown (3-2), the Bulldogs claimed the No. 1 spot in both the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll and the USCHO.com polls. The Bulldogs were matched-up in a home-and-home series with rival Brown last weekend, claiming Friday’s game with a 5-2 win, then suffering their first league setback, 5-2 Saturday afternoon against the Bears. The Bulldogs grabbed 38 of 50 USCHO.com first-place vote and 987 points, while receiving 26 of the 34 first-place votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll. Yale continues to sport the nation’s best winning percentage at .882% (15- 2- 0). The Bulldogs continue to lead the nation in scoring offense (4.82 G/GM) and are fourth scoring defense, only surrendering 2.12 goals per game. The Bulldogs, also atop the ECAC Hockey standings with 18 points, host Clarkson and St. Lawrence this Friday and Saturday nights at 7 in important conference games.
Union moved up in both national polls for the second week in a row. The Dutchmen are now ranked No. 10 from the No. 13 spot earning 172 points in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll and from the No. 14 position to the No. 12 spot in the USCHO.com poll earning 451 points. This marks the 27th consecutive week the Dutchmen have been ranked in the USCHO.com poll, extending a school record. Union has been ranked for 12 consecutive weeks in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. In the midst of a four-game winning streak Union is the nation’s top scoring defense thus far only allowing 48 goals in 24 contests. Thus far the Dutchmen are also displaying their prowess on offense scoring netting 89 goals (3.71 G/GM), good enough for fourth in the nation. The Dutchmen will welcome Dartmouth and Harvard to Messa Rink this weekend.
With a weekend split in league play Rensselaer remains a top 15 team this week in the eyes of the voters on the national level. The Engineers were stopped on the road, 5-1 against Cornell at Lynah Rink Friday, but bounced back Saturday to score a dramatic overtime win, 2-1 over Colgate at Starr Rink. As a result RPI fell from the ninth spot to No. 13 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll (121 points) and from the No. 10 position in the USCHO.com poll to the No. 14 spot (364 points). The Engineers overall record is now 13-6-3. Sophomore Nick Bailen is the top defenseman in scoring in conference action with 11 points (5g, 6a) in 10 games. Rensselaer will play host to Harvard and Dartmouth this weekend. The Engineers are 8-1-0 overall at Houston Field House on the season.
With two non-conference wins last week, Dartmouth improved its overall record to 10-5-2, which was good enough in the eyes of the voters as the Big Green now sits in the No. 18 position in the USCHO.com earning 147 votes. The Big Green throttled visiting UConn Tuesday, 5-1 and then scored an upset win over No. 4 New Hampshire in the Battle for the RiverStone Cup in Manchester, NH. Dartmouth take its three-game win streak on the road back to league play next weekend, traveling to Union and Rensselaer on Friday and Saturday.
Princeton is the final ECAC Hockey team to crack the national rankings, earning the No. 20 position in the USCHO.com poll with 45 points. The Tigers have only lost once in their last eight games (6-1-1) and sport an overall record of 11-6-1. Princeton is currently on exam-break and will return to the ice January 25 to host Sacred Heart.
Clarkson also received votes in the USCHO.com 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.
