The top four spots in the USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll have been pretty stable over the last five weeks: Denver and Miami taking the top two spots in some order; Wisconsin holding third; and St. Cloud State grabbing fourth.
That fifth spot has been a bit of an enigma, with four teams taking turns. The latest is Boston College, which on Monday moved up two spots to join the top five after Yale was pushed out of the position.
Related link: USCHO.com Division I Men’s Poll: March 1, 2010
The Eagles, winners of eight of their last 10 games and in a tie for sixth in the PairWise Rankings, defeated Merrimack and Massachusetts last week to keep alive their chance at stealing the Hockey East regular season title away from New Hampshire on the final weekend.
To do so, BC needs to sweep a home-and-home series with the 10th-ranked and first-place Wildcats, who own a three-point advantage with two games to play.
On the heels of claiming the WCHA’s MacNaughton Cup last weekend, Denver earned 48 of the 50 first-place votes Monday. Miami claimed the other two.
Yale, North Dakota, Bemidji State, Cornell and New Hampshire round out the top 10.
Alaska made the biggest gain over last week, jumping three spots to 14th after winning the Governor’s Cup with a sweep of Alaska-Anchorage.
Union took the largest fall, dropping three spots to 18th after losing at Cornell and at Colgate.
Northern Michigan entered the rankings at No. 19, while Boston University dropped out after being swept by Vermont.
With three leagues opening postseason play this weekend, there are only two series between ranked teams this weekend. One is the Hockey East title decider; Boston College plays at New Hampshire on Friday before hosting Saturday’s rematch.
No. 1 Denver and No. 15 Colorado College play the other, also a home-and-home series. The Pioneers get the WCHA hardware before hosting Friday, and the Tigers close the regular season at home Saturday.
