So Who Is #1?

[SLUsaints]

It's been difficult all year to pick between Wisconsin and SLU. I would say SLU's undefeated record and win @ Minn are the only reasons why they have stayed atop the polls. However, Wisconsin due to mainly a more difficult schedule have endured a loss, but it was to a strong UMD team. So now that Wisconsin has proven itself with 2 wins over Minn(to SLU's 1) do they have enough to take the top spot? Put yourself in the postion of a pollster and lets here what you have to say<br></br>...and if you do want to vote check out the fan poll (http://ncaahockeyfanpoll.com) (shamless self-promotion, i know!)

[MICZamboni]

I have thought Wisconsin is the number 1 team all year. I have voted for them as #1 in all your polls so far and I honestly think they will end the season there. Those are 2 impressive wins over Minnesota.

[dhmn]

I'd love to see a "rematch" of the opening round NCAA playoff game between UMD and SLU, even if it is a totally different season.

[brookyone]

I've now seen SLU, UMD & UW. Of the games / teams I've seen so far this season my opinion is that the game the Badgers played tonight vs. Minnesota was the best "game" I've seen from any team. My vote would be for Wisconsin. I'm with MICZ as to where I think there likely to be at the end.

[Bemidji Beaver Fan]

I've now seen SLU, UMD & UW. Of the games / teams I've seen so far this season my opinion is that the game the Badgers played tonight vs. Minnesota was the best "game" I've seen from any team. My vote would be for Wisconsin.

What a way to spend post #4,444!

[brookyone]

What a way to spend post #4,444!
Yeah...it hurts, but the Badgers are a heckuva team...didn't notice any weakness this weekend.

[dhmn]

The sweep makes December 9th/10th all the bigger up here in Duluth, maybe even bigger than the Goofer series in January.

[dave1381]

I've now seen SLU, UMD & UW. Of the games / teams I've seen so far this season my opinion is that the game the Badgers played tonight vs. Minnesota was the best "game" I've seen from any team. My vote would be for Wisconsin. I'm with MICZ as to where I think there likely to be at the end.
I'm for Wisconsin No. 1 too now, but do realize you're comparing Wisconsin last night to St. Lawrence in their first game of the season.

[ARM]

The sweep makes December 9th/10th all the bigger up here in Duluth, maybe even bigger than the Goofer series in January.
Definitely UW @ UMD is bigger. You and UW are all done in January already? That bites.

I'd say UMD's pasting of Minnesota was the most impressive performance I've seen. But then the 'Dogs weren't that impressive in game 1 of the series. SLU beat Minnesota handily, but the Gophs played just plain awful. My vote goes to Wisconsin, not so much for tonight, but because they swept the Gophs and won on Friday, even though they didn't start that well and Minnesota played about as well as they did in the win over Duluth. I'd rank them 1) UW, 2) SLU, 3) UMD, not because I think there's much difference between the Bagers and the Dogs, but I can't see ranking a team with 2 losses above a team that doesn't have any.

I wouldn't be surprised to see SLU #1 in the final PWR. With only SCSU and Niagara remaining, they look poised to sweep their non-conference schedule. Perhaps nobody in the ECAC will be able to take a run at them. Meanwhile, UW and UMD figure to have three more games to hammer on each other.

[dhmn]

I was looking at the schedule to see when Wisconsin plays their 'games at hand' and its' the 2nd to last regular season weekend at home against Mankato. By then if Mankato doesn't build a large lead over OSU ..and if the Goofers catch fire Mankato could finish in 5th place in the WCHA when they close out with Wisconsin and then UMD(coming off a bye week though.)

Because Wisconsin swept UMTC and UMD split with both UMTC and Wisconsin you have to rank them ahead of UMD and make Wisconsin prove that up here in that December series, long as everything holds as it is now. Who knows.. Dartmouth or New Hampshire could knock of Wisconsin in the tournament Thanksgiving and change this whole thread considerably. Until Saturday though, Dartmouth had been shut out 3 games in a row, so they dont' seem that strong offensively (not having seen them though....)

Is Clarkson for real or have them been shocking teams? Their next games are that really weird home and home Wednesday/Friday series 11/30 and 12/2 AGAINST SLU. Their schedule looks like hell, with a ton of road games to open the season. They only have 5 home games before new years. 7 maybe if you count 2 games 12/30-31 at Lake Placid against Boston College. If they take 1 OR 2 from SLU who knows what that would do to the PWR computers.

It's 2 A.M. I'm tired of typing

[dave1381]

Is Clarkson for real or have them been shocking teams?
I mean, Clarkson's for real in the sense of they're right in the mix for one of the last NCAA berths. But there's a pretty clear separation between St. Lawrence, UMD, and Wisconsin and everyone else, not so much in terms of the closeness of every game they play, but rather in terms of consistency day in and day out. Seems like Minnesota, UNH, and Mercyhurst are kind of the second tier after the top three, then you have a huge glut of teams like Minnesota State, Harvard, Clarkson, Princeton, Providence, etc. whose tourney hopes may well depend on winning autobids. And that second tier is now clearly closer to the huge glut than the top three.

[SLUsaints]

I mean, Clarkson's for real in the sense of they're right in the mix for one of the last NCAA berths. But there's a pretty clear separation between St. Lawrence, UMD, and Wisconsin and everyone else, not so much in terms of the closeness of every game they play, but rather in terms of consistency day in and day out. Seems like Minnesota, UNH, and Mercyhurst are kind of the second tier after the top three, then you have a huge glut of teams like Minnesota State, Harvard, Clarkson, Princeton, Providence, etc. whose tourney hopes may well depend on winning autobids. And that second tier is now clearly closer to the huge glut than the top three.
Completely agree with your tier analysis. I don't think that a team outside Tier 1 can beat a Tier 1 team two in a row.

[ARM]

I don't think that a team outside Tier 1 can beat a Tier 1 team two in a row.I'd agree right now. But this is still November, and there are a lot of young teams out there that still have to take shape.

[dave1381]

I'd agree right now. But this is still November, and there are a lot of young teams out there that still have to take shape.
And to add to that point, if we believed everything we saw in mid-Dec. last year, Minnesota and Dartmouth were going to have a classic NCAA final matchup, Wisconsin and UMD would be right behind them in the Frozen Four, UNH was going to win Hockey East, and Harvard would be lucky even to squeak into the NCAA tournament.

SLU, Wisconsin, and UMD were clearly the most veteran teams going into the season, so the fact that they've been pretty dominant so far is not all that shocking.

[dhmn]

SLU, Wisconsin, and UMD were clearly the most veteran teams going into the season, so the fact that they've been pretty dominant so far is not all that shocking.

With 11 freshmen I'm not sure that UMD would qualify as a veteran team, though the Junior class has to be the best in the country. I know Lanzl isn't exactly a typical freshman but she's still a rookie playing D1 college hockey for the first time. Only 1 Senior is playing every game for UMD this season (Krista McArthur.)

[ARM]

The 11 frosh number is a little misleading, because only about half of them play in any one game. (whereas Minnesota has 7 freshmen, but last night, they all played) I think the key with UMD is that a lot of the ice time is going to the same people who had it last year, with the big losses being Ouellette and Vasichek.

[dhmn]

Aside from the 2 backup goaltenders, Danielle Ciarletta and Amie Meyer, THIS season every freshman that dresses is on the ice in regular shifts. Kirsti Hakala and Myriam Trepanier seem to now be splitting the weekend D position after the first 2 weekends of the season. It will be fun to watch both develop and fight for the every game spot at that position. Hakala got her first point Saturday night on a nice assist in the first period.

Rathan that a veteran team I'd like to say the team has the depth that coach Miller always talks about wanting.

[dave1381]

dhmn - fine if you don't like the term veteran team, but fact is UMD had more proven experience at the forward position and goaltender than any other team in the country except arguably Wisconsin coming into the season, and they have decent experience at D. And I count Lanzl as having proven experience. All those young players you mentioned, UMD isn't relying on them to score goals, and true freshmen in lots of other places are. Other teams have huge holes in other areas that just don't compare to UMD's use of its freshmen. For instance, Harvard and Dartmouth both play 3 frosh D, and Dartmouth even plays 3 frosh C too. (SLU, meanwhile, clearly is stacked with experience at D but relies heavily on freshmen at F.) With that kind of proven talent, UMD was pretty clearly going to be one of the top three teams early in the season, and I think it's tough to argue with that point.

[dhmn]

Looking at the UMD roster.. it seems to now be set up for a while where there will be a large large freshman class every two years as long as there's players willing to come to Duluth to play for Coach Miller. Whether she finds the players in the US and Canada, or goes abroad to bring in players as she has been know to, I can't really see her style of coaching getting old. (ok.. maybe that's more a homer comment than it's meant to be.....) rambling again...

Anyway.. the only way to get a mostly non-human influence as to who's # 1 is to wait for the computers to tell us.

[dave1381]

So new rankings are out, my thoughts...

Not sure what justification there is for UNH > Minnesota at this point.
Minnesota is 1-4 against the top 3, 8-1 against everyone else.
UNH is 0-0 against the top 3, 7-2 against everyone else.
And on top of that, Minnesota is definitely the younger team.

I think MSU should be higher than 10, and I'd have put Mercyhurst above Princeton, but all those 6-10 teams have plusses and minuses at this point, so you could probably argue those any way you wanted.