Power Rankings: Ties Galore

Dunning:

No huge chances once again this week as there werent any big upsets.

St. Scholastica still holds down the top spot in my book even with the tie against Stout. However, a tie or a loss and they'll definitely lose the top spot to Plattsburgh. I almost switched them this week but as an Oswego fan, I can't give Plattsburgh that satisfaction!

Elmira jumps up a spot to #5 after a strong week destroying Hamilton 8-0 and Neumann 9-2. First night tie against Neumann I'll forgive since St. Norbert lost to Point they get the nod to round out of the top 5 this week. Huge weekend for Elmira upcoming against Manhattanville for a pair of games at the Playland Ice Casino.

Adrian holds steady at #7. 99 shots really?! The Bulldogs should have bought that poor Northland goalie a beer or two after the game for putting him through that abuse.

Manhattanville and Hobart come in next at #8 and #9. The Statesmen swept Lebanon Valley as expected while Manhattanville faced Western New England College at print time. As said before though, the Valiants have a huge oppurtunity to vault up the standings as they'll face their toughest challenge to their current 12 game unbeaten streak (13 with a win against WNEC) in Elmira this weekend.

Stevens Point had an oustanding weekend and their rewarded with the #10 slot. The Pointers swept Lake Forest and then downed St. Norbert 2-1 in overtime in one of the biggest wins in recent program history.

Stout drops to #11 and it's probably a bit unwaranted. They tied the #1 and #3 teams in my poll on the road. Not a bad thing to do but it also would have been nice to see them pull off a win. As sad as this sounds I probably wouldnt have punished them as much if they got a win and a loss. I know makes no sense at all but I dont care.

Oswego moves up two slots to #12 with their win over Cortland and coupled with some losses by teams around them in my previous rankings. The Lakers have won four straight and Tim Potter looks to be the answer Oswego was looking for in net now. He'll get his toughest test this weekend at home once again against Fredonia and Buff State.

Eau Claire checks in at #13. They throttled Lake Forest 7-1 after dropping a close contest to St. Norbert 2-1. The Blugolds make the sixth NCHA team ranked in my poll. Any doubts on the toughest conference in the country?

Trinity makes their first appearance in the rankings this week. They upended Norwich 4-2 which for some reason still didn't knock the Cadets out of the top 15 in the USCHO.com poll. I think if you put a 9-5-2 record next to a team like Buffalo State or Potsdam that team wouldnt be ranked. Norwich is ranked by their name. I'm willing to forgive the Bantams slipup to St. Mike's the next night. 11-4 is still pretty darn good.

Curry rounds out my top 15 this week. The Colonels tied Wentworth 6-6 in a shootout this weekend and then they crushed Becker 6-1. The Colonels are now 12-3-2 on the year but their strong out of conference schedule and record is impressive enough to keep them in the rankings.