Five League Teams Again Sit in Polls
ALBANY, NY – For the eighth time in row, the national voters have selected Yale as the nation’s top men’s college hockey team in the country. The Bulldogs are the unanimous choice in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll earning all 34 first-place votes and received 46 of 50 first-place votes in the USCHO.com poll. For the second week in a row five total teams from ECAC Hockey teams are now ranked in the men’s national polls released Monday, January 24, 2011. Along with top-ranked Yale, Rensselaer is in No. 10/10 position; Union slips to the No. 12/13 position; Dartmouth remains in the No. 18 slot; and Princeton jumps to the No. 19 position.
Leading the ECAC Hockey standings by five points, Yale earned a weekend sweep over visiting Clarkson, 5-2 and St. Lawrence, 4-1 last weekend. With the two victories the Bulldogs are now 17-2-0 overall and 11-1-0 in conference action. Yale senior netminder Ryan Rondeau has won 16 of 17 starts and had only allowed 30 goals in 997:40 minutes this season (1.80G/GM). The Bulldogs grabbed 46 of 50 USCHO.com first-place vote and 995 points, while receiving all 34 first-place votes in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll (510 points). The Bulldogs continue to lead the nation in scoring offense (4.79 G/GM) and are third in scoring defense, only surrendering 2.05 goals per game. The Bulldogs travel to the Capital District this weekend for a solid test taking on nationally-ranked foes Union Friday and Rensselaer Saturday at 7 p.m. both nights in important conference showdowns.
With a home series sweep over visiting Harvard, 3-2 and Dartmouth, 5-1 last weekend, Rensselaer vaults into the top-10 in both national polls this week. The Engineers moved from the No. 14 spot to the No. 10 position in the USCHO.com poll (466) and from the No. 13 position to the No. 10 spot in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Men’s College Hockey Poll (201 points). The Engineers overall record is now 15-6-3. Rensselaer will play host to Brown and Yale this weekend. The Engineers are 10-1-0 overall at Houston Field House on the season and will host their 34 Annual Big Red Freakout! Saturday.
After a weekend split at Messa Rink last weekend Union dropped in both national polls. The Dutchmen are now ranked No. 12 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll (122 points) and No. 13 in the USCHO.com poll earning 397 points. This marks the 28th consecutive week the Dutchmen have been ranked in the USCHO.com poll, extending a school record. Union has been ranked for 13 consecutive weeks in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll. Union fell at home for the first time this season when it was downed by Dartmouth 4-1 Friday, but rebounded with a come from behind win to top Harvard, 2-1 Saturday. The Dutchmen sport the nation’s top power-play unit, scoring on 34 of 155 chances with a man-advantage (29.6%). The Dutchmen will welcome Yale and Brown to Messa Rink this weekend.
With a weekend split on the road in conference play Dartmouth remained in the No. 18 spot in the USCHO.com earning 179 votes up from the 147 votes it earned last week. The Big Green scored an impressive victory over Union, 4-1 Friday, but suffered 5-1 setback at Houston Field House against the Engineers Saturday. Dartmouth sits tied for third in the conference standings with a 7-4-1 league mark. The Big Green will host Cornell and Colgate this weekend in Hanover, NH.
Despite having the weekend off Princeton moved from the No. 20 position to the No. 19 spot in the USCHO.com poll with 88 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.
