Minnesota jumps to No. 1 in men’s college hockey Power 10 rankings

There is an upset among the top programs in the Power 10 after upsets and results over the last two weekends of men’s college hockey.

Reminder: these are just my rankings and I base them on a combination of PairWise, strength of schedule, recent results, and trends over the course of the season. New rankings will be published every other week until the men’s hockey tournament in March.

Here is this week’s Power 10 (previous rankings in parentheses):

1. Minnesota (2): The Golden Gophers (20-7-1, 14-3-1 Big Ten) were idle this weekend after skating in a dominant series against the former No. 1 seed. 15. Michigan State last. Their star players continue to light it up as Jimmy Snuggerud (3g, 3a), Logan Cooley (1g, 4a) and Matthew Knies (2g, 1a) put up massive sets while Justen Close locks it down in the paint. They have a chance to continue their game against Wisconsin this week before a tough top-10 matchup with Penn State next weekend.

2. Quinnipiac (3): The Bobcats (22-3-3, 14-2-0 ECAC) got back on track after a great undefeated weekend at Cornell and Colgate two weeks ago. They marched through the Sacred Heart before coming back against the then Noah. No. 12 UConn claims the Connecticut Ice tournament crown, and they made light work of No. 8 Harvard and Dartmouth last time out. Goalie Yaniv Perets bounced back from rough outings with two shutouts in four games. QU is undefeated against the rest of the regular season.

3. Boston University (4): The Terriers (20-6-0, 14-4-0 HEA) advance in the midst of a seven-game winning streak and a 12-2-0 streak dating back to Dec. 1. Veterans and youngsters along with the entire lineup contributed in big ways as they swept rival Boston College and back-and-forth in Maine. Matt Brown and Lane Hutson continue to pace BU, Dom Fensore didn’t go unnoticed after returning from injury, and guys like Wilmer Skoog, Jay O’Brien and Ty Gallagher are heating up after slow first halves. They are on pace to go into the Beanpot as the defending champions and face rival Northeastern in Monday’s semifinals.

Lane Hutson has FOUR assists tonight and this one was the best of them all.

Watch on ESPN+: https://t.co/IyrdLrf4wy@hockey_east | @espn pic.twitter.com/UC5V1bjB6J

— BU Men’s Hockey (@TerrierHockey) February 4, 2023

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4. Denver (5): The Pioneers (21-7-0, 12-4-0 NCHC) bounced back from St. Cloud’s sweep of Colorado College at the Ball Arena and on the road. The two losses to the Huskies were just the second time this season that DU had lost back-to-back games. Magnus Chrona responded with a shutout against the Tigers in the 27th. January before conceding just one goal in the rematch on February 4. They have North Dakota and Minnesota Duluth in their next two series, and both teams are capable of giving the edge. the teams agree.

5. Michigan (6): The Wolverines (18-9-1, 10-9-0 Big Ten) have found a groove on a five-game winning streak that included sweeps of Penn State and Wisconsin. Adam Fantilli continues to dominate with 18 points (6g, 12a) on an eight-game scoring streak, while Luke Hughes had a monster weekend against PSU after scoring four goals in the previous game with a goal and two assists. UM has a series with rival Michigan State this week. Game 2 will be played in Detroit in the Battle of the D before a series with Ohio State meets the Buckeyes on the road in Game 2 and the Faceoff on the Lake in Cleveland.

This is what the goal of Yost Ice Arena sounds like. Absolutely deafening. @ChildrenOfYost bring energy to this evening @umichhockey pic.twitter.com/Y7cQ884eiG

— Alejandro Zúñiga (@ByAZuniga) January 29, 2023

6. St. Cloud State (1): As quickly as the Huskies (18-8-2, 10-6-2 NCHC) rose to the top of the rankings, they fell out of the top five and went winless in four straight games. The slide began with a sweep at the hands of sub-.500 Minnesota Duluth last weekend before back-to-back ties to Miami (Ohio), also sub-.500. In both shootouts, SCSU had to fight off the Red Hawks late in Game 1, and in Game 2, the Huskies were unable to build on their early lead until Miami tied it with less than a minute left. They have a chance to get right with North Dakota and Omaha coming up.

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7. Western Michigan (9): The Broncos (19-10-1, 11-6-1 NCHC) hit their stride with a win over Minnesota Duluth after splitting with Omaha the previous week. They’ve won nine of 10 since the holiday break, including some midseason fixtures at the Great Lakes Invitational. WMU outshot the Mavericks 6-1 before getting “goaltick” in the rematch and failing to capitalize on 40 shots. Against UMD, a 3-2 overtime win and a dominating 4-1 victory gained momentum. The top line, featuring the nation’s leading scorer Jason Polin and second-leading scorer Ryan McAllister, continues to rise. They face Colorado College this week before a tough test against Denver.

8. Ohio State (8): The Buckeyes (17-10-1, 10-8-0 Big Ten) are coming off back-to-back games with Wisconsin and Penn State. OSU bounced back from a 4-0 loss to the Badgers to take a comprehensive 2-0 Game 2 split. Against PSU, they tied Game 1 before falling behind late and put together a big third period to take the rematch. Tate Singleton (2g), Stephen Halliday (4a) and Cole McWard (1g, 3a) all had big weekends against Penn State, and Jakub Dobeš made 32 saves in Game 2. Big Ten with Notre Dame, Michigan and Minnesota remaining.

A three-goal third period – highlighted by Tate Singleton’s late game-winner – led the Buckeyes to a victory over the Nittany Lions in Columbus tonight in a Top 10 matchup. #GoBucks

— Ohio State Men’s Hockey (@OhioStateMHKY) February 5, 2023

9. Penn State (7): The Nittany Lions (19-10-1, 9-10-1 Big Ten) have lost three of four over the past two weekends as part of a 2-5-1 stretch since Jan. 1. They sank in Michigan. down 7-3 before blowing 3-0 and 4-2 leads to the Wolverines in a Game 2 loss. Against OSU, the Bucks outscored them 3-1 in the third period on Saturday to earn the split. PSU has a chance to reset while on the bye this weekend before it ties with Minnesota and Wisconsin to close out the regular season.

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10: Cornell (10): The Big Red (15-7-1, 12-4-0 ECAC) has won two straight over RPI at 3-1 before going 10-1 at home against Union. They’ve also won five of six, including a 4-0 win over No. 1 Quinnipiac. Against the Dutch, Cornell scored six goals in the first period, four of them within 56 seconds of each other on a big power play. Sam Malinski is hot for 20 points (7g, 13a) during a 10-game scoring streak, and the power play leads the nation at 32.1 percent, albeit with a 6-for-7 showing against the Union. Cornell has a series with pesky Colgate before matchups with Clarkson and St. Lawrence.

In the hunt: Harvard (NR)

The Crimson (15-6-1, 13-4-0 ECAC) is coming off a 3-0 home loss to No. 2 Quinnipiac after beating Colgate 5-4 in overtime and Cornell 6-2. the previous weekend. Leading scorer Sean Farrell went on a six-game hitting streak against the Bobcats, scoring five goals and adding seven assists. They enter Monday’s Beanpot semifinal against Boston College in search of their first title since 2017.