Polls/Rankings

The USCHO poll  was released yesterday and has the BU Terriers 10-5-0(8-4-0) up one spot to #6 overall nationally. Here is my breakdown of the rest of the poll and weekly awards.

1. BC(11-2-1)- BU decided to throw York and company  a bone by beating UNH on Thursday night in Durham. Thankfully they returned the favor by gloriously blowing a late lead and pushing off York's 925th(record-breaking win) with a tie at PC. Apparently tying PC is good enough to move you up now.
2. UNH(11-2-2)- They are a tough team to beat especially at home. BU is just that good though.
3. Notre Dame(13-4-0)- Well this is going to get fun next year when they join Hockey East.
4. Minnesota (11-3-3)- They still haven't played anyone great as their 42nd strength of schedule indicates
5. Miami(10-3-3)
6. BU(10-5-0)- This is a team heading the right direction going into the break. It will be good to rest and recharge after a big weekend sweep of UNH and Maine. They played the toughest first half schedule in the country which leaves plenty to look forward to in the second half of the season. 30-5-0 is happening.
7. Western Michigan (10-3-1)
8. North Dakota (8-5-3)- The NoDak/Minnesota game this year is going to feature a few top 10 teams and should be great to watch.
9. Quinnipiac(12-3-2)- Might be the first team from the EZAC that I respect in awhile. They seem like a decent hockey team and their record indicates it.
10. Dartmouth(7-2-2)- They beat UVM like all decent teams should

Polls recap

Here is the updated USCHO poll


1. UNH(31)- BU travels to Durham on Thursday for a big matchup with the WildCats trying to avoid getting swept.
2. BC(19)- Their split with BU moves them out of the #1 spot for this week but they could easily move back in if BU takes down UNH Thursday night. Oh yeah, they still suck.
3. Miami
4. Minnesota, eh?- They have had a cupcake schedule so far but you can only beat the teams you play
5. Notre Dame- They seem to be a typical Jeff Jackson-coached team and going to be back in the NCAA's this year.

Monday Polls posted on a Tuesday- BU stays #11, Grzelcyk wins HE Rookie of the Week

                                          - photo credit to nhl.bruins.com


After BU's split with Merrimack and BC over the weekend, they stayed exactly where they were last week in the meaningless polls. They remain #11 in the USCHO poll with their 5-3 record going into another weekend with 2 HE foes on the schedule. BC remains #1  and UNH jumped up to #5 from #9. No one else in the league is ranked because the rest of Hockey East sucks so far this year. Literally every team from 4-9 are more or less even and Maine sucks worse than the rest. Here is my breakdown of the rest of the poll and HE weekly awards.

1. BC(50)- This is right where you want BC. Let them claim their national title in November and get their winning streak out of the way now. They will suck by March. One and done in the NCAAs here they come.
2. Denver- Going to be another tough test for BU when they travel out there in late December
3. Minnesota- Easily have the most talent in the nation, but the results aren't showing that thus far. They'll click eventually. They have a big winning streak in them.
4. Miami
5. UNH- Big test coming into Agganis on  Sunday. BU needs to hold serve and beat them at home. I hate how all 6 games against BC and UNH are in the first semester but then again BU might not lose in the second semester because of that.

New polls..BU continues to climb

The BU Terriers rose one spot in the USCHO.com poll for the second straight week. They now sit at #11 overall after winning in their season opener against PC.  The Terriers continue to climb from their pre-season spot at #13. Here is my breakdown of the rest of the poll.

1. Minnesota(46)- Minnesota is the new number one. They dismantled Michigan State this weekend putting up 12 goals during the two game set. Those wins along with a BC loss leads them to get 46 of the 50 possible first place votes. They should have gotten all of them.
2. North Dakota(1)- Minnesota's chief rival comes in at number 2 by not playing this weekend. That tells you what kind of weekend the top 5 had.
3. BC(2)- I would like to know what morons still voted BC 1 after they got abused by Northeastern Saturday night.
4.Miami- Two wins and they jump up 4 spots
5. Michigan- They lost to RIT at home on Friday, but rebounded on Saturday with a decisive win. Still not a good look to be losing to Atlantic Hockey teams at home as us BU fans learned all too well last October.

BU moves from 13 to 12 in USCHO.com poll

BU has moved up one spot in the USCHO.com poll this week despite only playing an exhibition game this past weekend. They switched spots with Minnesota-Duluth who also didn't play a meaningful game this weekend. This just shows how easily the polls can shift. The only teams who played regular season games made some significant movement in the polls. Merrimack climbed into the polls at #19 due to their win at now #10 Union(dropped from #5). Maine dropped from 15 to 20 due their one goal loss now #18 Quinnipiac. BC remained # 1 overall while Lowell climbed up one spot to #6 due to Union's loss to Merrimack(which I predicted). Here are what the polls look like now:

Monday Polls

The last week of regular season polls came out today with BU coming at #6 in the USCHO poll while we wait on the USA Today poll. BU came in #7 in the INCH Power rankings.

Here is a look at the USCHO top 10 and any other team I feel like making fun of/giving my opinion on...

1. Newton University (BC) 25-10-1- They got all 50 first place votes this week which is exactly what you want going into the tournament if you're a BU fan. Let every team that they play gear up for the unanimous #1 team in the country.

2. Ferris State (22-9-5)- I honestly couldn't give you one name associated with Ferris State hockey but I guess they're good?

3. Minnesota Duluth (22-8-6)- Scary team come tournament time but have struggled a bit to end the regular season

4. Michigan (21-11-4)- The return of Jon Merrill has been huge for this club and they are one of the hottest teams in the country. I would be shocked if they didn't win the CCHA tournament.

5. Minnesota(24-12-1)- This team has a ton of talent up front with Rau and Bjugstad among others and a stellar goalie so they will be a tough out come NCAA time.

6. BU(21-12-1)- Best team in the country. Just flying under the radar for now. That is all.

7. Lowell(22-10-1)- Will be interesting to see what happens if there is a BU-UML Semifinal at the Garden and Bennedetto is the ref. He certainly won't have a quick whistle in that game if there is a loose puck around the net

8. Union(20-7-7)- Quietly beating up on the rest of the crappy teams in the EZAC with many at-large teams hoping that them or Cornell win the ECAC tournament so another at-large berth is not lost.

9. Denver(21-11-4)- Have hung in there all year long despite some pretty big goaltending injuries and the injury to Zucker a few weeks ago.

10. Maine(20-11-3)- Maine looks destined to return to the NCAA's for the first time since 2007 but that fan base is going to want more than a one and done from Whitehead's team that's top line could be the Hockey East First Team.

14.Merrimack- They need to win their QF series with Maine at Alfond of their season will most likely be over.

17. Notre Dame- They need to make a serious run in the CCHA tournament in order to have a chance of sneaking in. Their 19-16-3 record isn't going to get it done as of now.

BU comes in at #3 in both national polls

The BU Terriers came in #3 nationally in both the USCHO and USA Today polls. They were bested by Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota in both polls. Merrimack and BC trail right behind the Terriers in both polls coming in at #4 and #5 respectively. Here is the rest of the top 10 and other notables in both polls. BU remained #2 in the pairwise rankings which are the only rankings that matter for the NCAA tournament in March.

USCHO/USA Today

1. Minnesota-Duluth
2. Minnesota
3. BU
4. Merrimack
5. BC
6/7. Ferris State
7/6. Notre Dame
8. Michigan
9. Lowell
10. Ohio State
15. Maine

Receiving votes:
Northeastern
Harvard

- INCH dropped BU to #5 in their weekly power rankings behind Merrimack which is understandable but also behind Union? They must be the new Yale of this year aka the winner of the EZAC who's record indicates that they are alot better than they actually are.

- BU players recognized in HE's press release where forwards Alex Chiasson, Chris Connolly, and goalie Kieran Millan

New week of meaningless polls: BU #2

The USCHO and USA Today polls came out this afternoon as they do every Monday and the BU Terriers are ranked #2 in the USCHO poll (with the USA Today poll to come out later), which is their highest ranking in the second half of a season since 08-09. The Terriers were the only Hockey East team to earn two wins this weekend and therefore moved up from 6 to 2 in the USCHO poll. The Terriers also moved up to #3 in the Pairwise rankings, which are the rankings the NCAA committee goes by when deciding the field. I am going to take my first stab at what I think the field will look like sometime this week. Here is the rest of the USCHO top 10 and other notable teams

1. Minnesota Duluth 15-4-3 - This team is clearly the best the in the nation and seems destined to for a #1 seed come March.

2. BU 13-6-1- They're looking pretty good eh?

3. BC 14-8-1 - They have been up and down as of late and kinda don't have a goalie. Should probably fix that.

4. Minnesota 16-8-1

5. Ohio State 14-6-3

6. Merrimack 12-4-5 - They're hanging in there despite the injuries which is impressive for a team that is new to the success. The schedule doesn't get any easier in the coming weeks though

7. Notre Dame 13-8-3 -

8 . Western Michigan 12-7-5

9. Cornell 10-4-3

10. Michigan 14-8-4 -Slowly climbing back into the national picture. Get a huge boost from getting Merrill back on D.

14. Lowell- The loss to UVM certainly isn't selling anyone that they are for real

15. Denver 13-8-3

Receiving Votes

Harvard

Northleastern- Still the 3rd/4th best team in Boston after this weekend

BU moves up to #13 due to 4 game winning streak

BU moved up in the polls 2 spots to #13 as they approach the end of the first semester of play on the season. Hockey East took home all of the first place votes as Merrimack remained #1 in the poll and took home 48 of the 50 first place votes with #2 Boston "superfraud" College taking home the other 2 votes for whatever reason. The voters do realize they squeaked by Yale and had lost 2 in a row before that to ranked teams right? Anyway, polls mean jack shit but here is what the top 10 and significant others looks like this week in the USCHO.com poll

1. Merrimack 9-0-1- Ranked #1 as they should be but their schedule get tougher quickly as they move through December and January as they have 2 left with BU, and 3 with BC. They also have all 3 left with UML(see, I am giving Lowell a chance of beating Merrimack. Who said I don't respect Lowell? Well they were right but Lowell seems to have moved up from awful to middle of the road.)

2. BC aka Newton University 10-4-0- They suck and are going down Fri, Sat. BU sweep here we go.

2. Notre Dame 10-3-3

4.UMD 9-3-2

5. Minnesota 11-4-1 - Easily the most inconsistent team in the country. Either very good or making dumb mistakes left and right

6. Ferris State 10-3-1

7. Ohio State 10-3-1- They got Urban Meyer as their coach! wooo oh maybe not for hockey but whatever

8. Colorado College 7-4-0

9. Union 7-3-3

10. Denver 6-4-3

13. BU 7-4-1

14. Yale 5-3-1

17. Cornell 6-3

19. Michigan 7-7-2 - Going 4-7-1 since you were #1 will drop you 18 spots real quick

- INCH moves BU up to #15 but didn't approve of Gaudet's Tebowing celebration Saturday...such haters. Also, since it is BC week let's cue the music

BU rises another spot in polls, BC falls from #1

Despite last Friday's loss to Providence, the BU mens ice hockey team rose a spot to #7 in the latest USCHO poll, due in large part to a victory over #3 Denver on Saturday. The polls mean nothing, especially this early in the season but it is good to see that the Terriers are respected nationally as a top 10 team which I believe they really are. The Terriers look to hold pace with only one game this weekend at Atlantic Hockey powerhouse Holy Cross...well Atlantic Hockey contender Holy Cross. Here is the rest of the top 10 and significant others

1. Michigan(+3) 4-0 and just destroying whoever they play even without defenseman Jon Merril

2. BC(-1)- The loss to Denver bumps them down a spot but they still remain one of the top teams in the country and I still hate them. That is all

3. Denver- Took care of business perfectly for us last weekend, winning down in Newton and losing in Boston

4. Colorado College(+3)

5. North Dakota(+1)- took 3 out of 4 points from Maine to make up for last year's sweep at the hands of the Black Bears

6. Notre Dame(-4)- Drop down four spots but they open their new rink Friday night so that should make highlight news whether they win or not

7. BU(+1)- Just gotta keep building off the Denver win and not overlook Holy Cross this weekend

8. Minnesota(+6)- The sweep of state rival Duluth certainly helps this young team gain some confidence

9. Yale(+1)- They still haven't played so I have no idea how they stay in the polls

10. Miami(-5)- They seem to be in for a down year without Miele and Campfer

13. Merrimack- Merrihack just sneaking out wins over Army and Maine so far. Northeastern should test them at Lawler Friday night.

18. Maine(-1)- Managed to take one point in North Dakota and get back to the HE schedule this weekend.

Others receiving votes : Providence- 69, UNH - 12, Lowell-12, Northeastern-3

Also here are the inch power rankings and the usa today poll.