Minnesota and Minnesota Duluth continue to be mainstays in the top spots of both the USA TODAY and USCHO polls while Hockey East takes the next 3 spots. After a weekend sweep at the hands of the streaking Maine Black Bears, BU drops to 3rd while Merrimack and BC ride rebound weekends to take the 4th and 5th slots respectively.
UMass Lowell continues to surprise and has finally started to gain some respect as they have cracked the top 10, earning the #9 spot in both polls. Although we don’t like to use the word “crack”-ed and Lowell in the same sentence as it usually insuates another meaning for many of Lowell’s upstanding citizens. That said, this Lowell team continues to defy the odds in its quest to become one of the best one year turnarounds Hockey East has seen in quite some time. Lowell continues its see saw ride up and down the Pairwise rankings and moved up to the #3 slot this week after the sweep over UMass and claiming of the Alumni Cup over the weekend. As of today, Lowell would be a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament which is absolutely remarkable and has to be one of the most refreshing storylines of the year….hats off to Norm Bazin .
Maine’s impressive back to back sweeps of the two Boston powers, BU and BC, has earned the Black Bears a #15 slot in the polls and a #10 Pairwise ranking.
USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll
January 30, 2012
| No. | Team (First-place votes) | Points | Last Wk. |
| 1. | Minnesota (18) | 475 | 3 |
| 2. | Minnesota Duluth (16) | 473 | 1 |
| 3. | Boston University | 394 | 2 |
| 4. | Merrimack | 376 | 4 |
| 5. | Boston College | 332 | 8 |
| 6. | Notre Dame | 320 | 4 |
| 7. | Ferris State | 317 | 12 |
| 8. | Michigan | 278 | 9 |
| 9. | UMass Lowell | 250 | 11 |
| 10. | Ohio State | 178 | 7 |
| 11. | Colorado College | 150 | 10 |
| 12. | Union | 128 | 13 |
| 13. | Denver | 118 | 15 |
| 14. | Cornell | 108 | 6 |
| 15. | Maine | 60 | NR |
Also receiving votes: Western Michigan 44, Miami 34, North Dakota 24, Northern Michigan 12, Colgate 7, RIT 2.
USCHO.com Poll
January 30, 2012
| No. | Team (First-place votes) | Points | Last Wk. |
| 1. | Minnesota Duluth (28) | 959 | 1 |
| 2. | Minnesota (21) | 918 | 3 |
| 3. | Boston University | 799 | 2 |
| 4. | Merrimack | 784 | 5 |
| 5. | Boston College | 777 | 7 |
| 6. | Ferris State (1) | 716 | 10 |
| 7. | Michigan | 689 | 8 |
| 8. | Notre Dame | 673 | 4 |
| 9. | UMass Lowell | 596 | 11 |
| 10. | Ohio State | 531 | 6 |
| 11. | Colorado College | 451 | 12 |
| 11. | Union | 451 | 14 |
| 13. | Denver | 383 | 15 |
| 14. | Cornell | 338 | 9 |
| 15. | Maine | 326 | 20 |
| 16. | Western Michigan | 290 | 13 |
| 17. | North Dakota | 227 | 18 |
| 18. | Miami | 220 | 17 |
| 19. | Northern Michigan | 111 | 19 |
| 20. | Colgate | 87 | NR |
Also receiving votes: Michigan State 69, Lake Superior State 52, RIT 15, Nebraska-Omaha 10, Michigan Tech 5, Quinnipiac 5, Harvard 4, Northeastern 1.
Accolades and Awards in HE:
| ATHLETIC REPUBLIC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK | |
| #79 CODY FERRIERO, NORTHEASTERN (Sophomore Forward; Essex, Mass.) |
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| Ferreiro recorded five points (4g,1a) in the road sweep of Vermont, Northeastern’s first hat trick in over two years on Friday and scored another goal on Saturday. He also added an assist on Friday. Ferreiro finished the weekend with five shots on goal and a +3 plus/minus rating. | |
| ATHLETIC REPUBLIC CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK | |
| #19 CHRIS KREIDER, BOSTON COLLEGE (Junior Forward; Boxford, Mass.) |
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| Kreider registered team-high five points (2g,3a) in a two-game series sweep of New Hampshire over the weekend. He recorded three points (1g,2a) in the 4-3 win on Friday night at Conte Forum and followed that up with two points (1g,1a) in the 3-2 overtime victory on Saturday at the Whittemore Center. Kreider has 10 shots on goal on the weekend with a +2 rating. | |
| PRO AMBITIONS ROOKIE OF THE WEEK | |
| #9 TERRENCE WALLIN, UMASS LOWELL (Freshman Forward; Yardley, Pa.) |
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| Wallin scored four points (1g,3a) and a +3 rating in a 2-1-0 week for the River Hawks. He registered two assists in the 4-2 triumph on Friday at the Mullins Center and then tallied two points (1g,1a) in the 5-2 victory Saturday at the Tsongas Center. | |
| HOCKEY EAST DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK | |
| #30 DAN SULLIVAN, MAINE (Sophomore Goaltender; York, Pa.) |
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| Sullivan went 2-0-0 on the weekend with a 1.50 GAA and a .957 save percentage in the road sweep at No. 2 Boston University. He stopped 28 shots on Friday night and finished with a career-high 38 saves on Saturday. He was honored as the game’s No. 1 star in both contests | |
Filed under: BF's Benchmark Monday - Polls Tagged: BC Hockey, BU Hockey, Hockey East, Maine Black Bears, Pairwise
