In the wake of its dominating weekend at the College Hockey Showcase, Minnesota leapfrogged to the top of Monday’s USCHO.com/CSTV Division I men’s poll.
The Gophers, who beat Michigan and Michigan State by a combined score of 10-1, earned 36 of 40 first-place votes to outdistance Boston College, which climbed to No. 2 after two wins, and Colorado College, whose wins over Hockey East foes Boston University and Massachusetts propelled the Tigers up to No. 3.
Wisconsin, which split its Showcase appearances by losing to Michigan State and beating Michigan, was fourth, and the previously-No. 1 Wolverines fell to fifth after losing two games on the weekend.
WCHA teams occupied the next two slots, giving the conference five of the nation’s top seven teams. North Dakota inched up to No. 6 with a pair of wins, and Denver used wins over BU and UMass to rise three spots to seventh.
New Hampshire, which tied Massachusetts-Lowell before losing a last-second stunner to Vermont, fell to eighth, followed by idle Ohio State and then Maine, which dropped to No. 10 after beating Providence and tying Dartmouth.
Vermont made the biggest jump in the poll, moving up to No. 11 with wins over two Hockey East teams in UMass and UNH, and Cornell rebounded to No. 12 after beating Canisius.
Colgate reappeared in the poll at No. 13 after beating Atlantic Hockey member Mercyhurst twice, followed by Minnesota-Duluth, which continued to lose ground after a split with St. Cloud State. Northern Michigan came in at No. 15.
Boston University dropped out of the poll after three straight losses, to Harvard, CC and Denver.
