For the first time this season, the Wolverines take over as the No. 1 team in the USCHO poll, jumping from No. 2 after a 13–3–0 start and grabbing 42 first-place votes. They swap spots with in-state rival Michigan State, which slips to No. 3 but still holds five first-place votes at 9–3–0. Sandwiched between them is the week’s big climber: Wisconsin. The Badgers rocket from No. 7 to No. 2 and even snag three first-place votes after a weekend sweep in East Lansing, firmly planting themselves back in the national-picture.
Denver (No. 4) and Minnesota Duluth (No. 5) round out a top five. Denver dips one spot, while UMD holds steady after a 12–4–0 start. North Dakota stays put at No. 6, and the NCHC muscle continues with Western Michigan at No. 7, up one slot after improving to 9–5–0.
Quinnipiac and Penn State swap vibes more than spots. Quinnipiac stays at No. 8, while Penn State tumbles from No. 5 to No. 9 following a bump in the road but still sits at 11–5–0. Maine holds firm at No. 10 to keep the Black Bears in the poll's top half.
The middle of the poll is mostly minor shuffling. Northeastern (11) and UConn (12) trade places, Dartmouth, which was idle this weekend remains unbeaten and unmoved at No. 13 (6–0–0), and Minnesota State, Boston College, and Providence lock in at 14, 15, and 16.
Cornell is the biggest riser in the back half, climbing from No. 19 to No. 17 at 6–2–0. UMass slips one spot to 18, and Boston University’s slide continues as the Terriers fall to No. 19 with a 6–7–1 record. Union holds steady at No. 20 to close out the ranked field.
There are no brand-new entrants this week — the same 20 teams remain in the poll — but the pressure is on from below. Harvard leads the “others receiving votes” pack, followed closely by Colorado College and Michigan Tech, with Bemidji State and Miami also lurking on the bubble.
Aloha!
Gophers win at Denver and still no votes for top 20
https://www.uscho.com/rankings/d-i-mens-poll/
Aloha!
Given the overall season, I wouldn't vote for them in the top 20 just yet, either.
Check back with me after next weekend.
Given the overall season, I wouldn't vote for them in the top 20 just yet, either.
Check back with me after next weekend.
agreed. we’re under.500. let’s give it a minute
NoDak & St. Cloud this weekend in St. Cloud. Since the Gophers are off on Saturday this is always an entertaining match-up.
It's not often that I cheer for Jan BradyNoDak & St. Cloud this weekend in St. Cloud. Since the Gophers are off on Saturday this is always an entertaining match-up.
The Michigan/MSU series this weekend might see a ton of powerplays. Michigan is #2 in Penalty Minutes, MSU #4
From the top 18 players in the country in Penalty Minutes:
#1 - Porter Martone - MSU
#4 - Patrickj Geary - MSU
#5 - Tyler Duke - Mi
#6 - Will Horcoff - Mi
#9 - Kienen Draper - Mi
#14 - Garrett Shifsky - Mi
#16 (3-way tie) - Malcolm Spence
Incidentally, Mooney is in a 3-way tie for 19th. No other Gopher is in the top 49 (I don't know why CHN has the cutoff at 49. Best guess is that there's a huge tie at 50th)
Duke, Draper, and Shifsky all sound familiar. I wonder why….?
Hmmmm... 2 seniors and a junior.Duke, Draper, and Shifsky all sound familiar. I wonder why….?
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you've watched them play over the past few years, perhaps?
Hmmmm... 2 seniors and a junior.Duke, Draper, and Shifsky all sound familiar. I wonder why….?
I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that you've watched them play over the past few years, perhaps?
More specifically when those hacks keep taking penalties. Especially against our beloved Gophers. Sorry, should have clarified better initially.
Another case of Mono in college hockey.
https://twitter.com/ToddMilewski/status/1996010558257078636
Looking down from my High Horse
Morality Police
Not very objective
Another case of Mono in college hockey.
someone needs to tell these guys to stop kissing each other!
Baddddgers blowing out Notre Dame 4-1 in the 2nd period
Aloha!
NDSU sweeps Jan Brady
Went to the purple cows game tonight to get a hockey fix as a friend had some extra tickets. They looked like the Gophers with only 10 shots after two (had a flurry in the third to make it to 20), some questionable reffing and they couldn’t buy a goal. Although Ferris blocked 27 shots in the game! A lot guys will need an ice pack or two tonight. For as old as the Mavs players look, Ferris has an even older average age (a little over 22.5 for the Mavs and just over 23 for Ferris.)
There was of course a token whioux fan who must have been mistaken about where St. Cloud is on the map…😂
They are a plague upon humanity.There was of course a token whioux fan who must have been mistaken about where St. Cloud is on the map…
Of course, the worst had to be when we saw them in freaking ANCHORAGE of all places.
Duluth has lost 3 of their last 5 games and scored a total of 3 goals in the 3 losses.
Duluth has lost 3 of their last 5 games and scored a total of 3 goals in the 3 losses.
I thought it was nonsense when voters rocketed them up to #4 in the poll literally two weeks after sweeping us as then-#18. Maybe all those beatwriters for irrelevant AHA/ECAC teams think of Sandelin as “their guy” out west, given how much they love 1, garbage trap hockey and 2, complaining about stuff
I can hear the wails of anguish from Madison.
And they warm my soul.
Went to the purple cows game tonight to get a hockey fix as a friend had some extra tickets. They looked like the Gophers with only 10 shots after two (had a flurry in the third to make it to 20), some questionable reffing and they couldn’t buy a goal. Although Ferris blocked 27 shots in the game! A lot guys will need an ice pack or two tonight. For as old as the Mavs players look, Ferris has an even older average age (a little over 22.5 for the Mavs and just over 23 for Ferris.)
There was of course a token whioux fan who must have been mistaken about where St. Cloud is on the map…😂
The Monday morning breakdown here at work this morning my bosses agreed with your sentiment in your message to me that the Mavs were "Gophering" things up Saturday night. Sounds like the players just thought that they would win, sounds like the coaches are okay with them getting knocked down a peg.
I am the official Iowa Hawkeye football fan of GPL!
Ugly helmets remain ranked #1
Firstly, Maine, Providence, Cornell, and BU are all ranked way higher than they deserve. Eastern mafia really wants to push an “SEC quality loss” type of narrative I guess. That being said, any GPLers seen Dartmouth play? Wanna know if they’re legit or frauds.
Second, Jan Brady State getting >0 votes is laughable.
Third, you’d think voters could at least spend 5min considering top teams’ relative performance vs. common opponents. Michigan being higher than Wisconsin right now makes zero logical sense.
UConn adding a forward at break. They were one of the teams only carrying 25 players like the Gophers.
https://twitter.com/SchlossmanGF/status/1998532937306780133
Looking down from my High Horse
Morality Police
Not very objective
The least surprising news from last night.
https://twitter.com/SchlossmanGF/status/1999719695545708680
Looking down from my High Horse
Morality Police
Not very objective
Anyone else watch any of the game at Amsoil last night? The ASU kid that got hit (Smolen) looked to be in extreme pain when he was being helped off the ice. Hope he’s ok.
https://twitter.com/GabbyJChernoff/status/1999687768105214238
I hate hits when players launch. The player making the hit clearly leaves the ice with both skates. There is no reason to do that and IMO that should be an automatic penalty. Players are bigger, stronger, faster which leads too way more force when making hits then even 10 years ago so for player safety IMO hits like this need to be taken out of the game. Stay on your feet don't launch.
It almost looked like a seizure when they were trying to get him down the tunnel. It was jarring to see
It almost looked like a seizure when they were trying to get him down the tunnel. It was jarring to see
That or just too painful to walk. Agreed it was uncomfortable even to watch.
Kleber did get a 5 min major at least. (They called it interference).
It almost looked like a seizure when they were trying to get him down the tunnel. It was jarring to see
I had the game on my mute and had to turn the volume up when I saw him struggling to get through the penalty box to what I presume is the locker room. I may have missed it, but the announcers didn’t notice. It was hard to see. Get him on the ground as soon as possible before he hurts himself any further. The interference call was a joke too. Clear contact to the head and launching through it.
It will be interesting to see how far they drop. Although maybe the BIG GREEN go undefeated!!!
https://twitter.com/GopherPuckLive/status/1999887840306716783
Apparently, Arizona State was fired up today (was it the hit late in the game last night?) putting up 6 on the Bulldogs in Duluth winning 6-3.
Apparently, Arizona State was fired up today (was it the hit late in the game last night?) putting up 6 on the Bulldogs in Duluth winning 6-3.
I suppose it’s bad for our NPI when teams we’ve played lose…but I still don’t feel that bad about them losing. 😂
I don't normally cheer for Jan Brady, but Denver deserved to lose after that cheap shot elbow to the head.
Sounds like ASU’s Smolen has a concussion. Ouch.
@jupiter can you clean up that last post of mine? Something got messed up when I pasted in the Twitter link
weird time to put duluth in your top 4 when they're 3-4 over their last 7 with losses to 6-10 omaha, 8-7-3 CC, and 8-9-1 ASU
weird time to put duluth in your top 4 when they're 3-4 over their last 7 with losses to 6-10 omaha, 8-7-3 CC, and 8-9-1 ASU
I get Bucci is one of the few national media who promotes college hockey, but he barely watches any games. He’s focused on stars who will make it to the pros. You can tell on a weekend if he’s actually watching because he starts retweeting stuff that schools send out. It’s very sparse when he’s not. He hasn’t paid attention for a few weeks. That’s fine, just don’t take any stock into his opinion.
@jupiter sorry, it did it again, even quoting the existing post farther up. I'd edit or delete it myself, but those links are busted too.
This wasn't a cut and paste. This was hitting the "Quote" button on the post, then adding something after that block. It moved the end of the link block outside the quote block, leaving a spare "/" ">" pair (I don't dare put them together, it'll screw up again, I think) after the quote block and before the text I put in.@jupiter sorry, it did it again, even quoting the existing post farther up. I'd edit or delete it myself, but those links are busted too.
I remember when I learned how to cut & paste back in 1991.
So, there's something wonky with how the forum software handles Twitter links.
This wasn't a cut and paste. This was hitting the "Quote" button on the post, then adding something after that block. It moved the end of the link block outside the quote block, leaving a spare "/" ">" pair (I don't dare put them together, it'll screw up again, I think) after the quote block and before the text I put in.@jupiter sorry, it did it again, even quoting the existing post farther up. I'd edit or delete it myself, but those links are busted too.
I remember when I learned how to cut & paste back in 1991.
So, there's something wonky with how the forum software handles Twitter links.
test on mobile
https://twitter.com/gopherpucklive/status/1996415880004342006?s=46&t=IVR83SJad4Z5x8LmZwiPFg
Do not like how this board is run?
Get your own board!
♃
@steve-mn I just quoted our conversation and pasted a twitter post. Worked for me.
Do not like how this board is run?
Get your own board!
♃
TestThis wasn't a cut and paste. This was hitting the "Quote" button on the post, then adding something after that block. It moved the end of the link block outside the quote block, leaving a spare "/" ">" pair (I don't dare put them together, it'll screw up again, I think) after the quote block and before the text I put in.@jupiter sorry, it did it again, even quoting the existing post farther up. I'd edit or delete it myself, but those links are busted too.
I remember when I learned how to cut & paste back in 1991.
So, there's something wonky with how the forum software handles Twitter links.
test on mobile
https://twitter.com/gopherpucklive/status/1996415880004342006?s=46&t=IVR83SJad4Z5x8LmZwiPFg
OK... it's something with that particular post that's a problem.
Relevant non-con result last night. Omaha beats Augustana, dropping the Vikings to 17 in the NPI. We need the CCHA to be a 1 bid league, so this was big.
Relevant non-con result last night. Omaha beats Augustana, dropping the Vikings to 17 in the NPI. We need the CCHA to be a 1 bid league, so this was big.
the CCHA will only be one aside from if Kato loses in the tournament. Augustana already was swept by BSU and lost to FSU and LSSU. The entire league will drop as they play more with really only Kato having the realistic chance to be an auto (unless augustana and Kato both win every game the rest of the way, which realistically isn’t going to happen). The ccha will never have enough to get 2 teams in autobid range (same as the ECAC who currently has 4 teams in).
more important is what happens out of HE (imo). They have teams in the upper teens but otherwise no one in the field. That will more be the kicker as the leagues with better win % across conf add up more in conf matchups (similar to the gopher npi going up or staying steady if we go anything 2-4 or better in the next 6).
It’s where krach helps just purely to be able to see the sos next to everything so you can see how much teams will drop as they lose
on that note, it’s where the Dartmouth asu series will be huge purely as it will drill the whole ECAC SOS if they lose, hence them all dropping after dartmouths OTL recently
The way I see it, for the Gophers to creep into the tournament the 16 bids need to shake out like so:
- 4 top B10 teams (UW, MSU, UM, PSU)
- 4 NCHC teams (UND, DU, UMD, WMU)
- 1 Atlantic
- 1 CCHA
- 5 or less from HE/ECAC combined
All this leaves room for a fifth B10 team (the best performing conference this year) to squeeze in. None of this is unrealistic either, just need .500 or so hockey from the Gophers to pull it off.
The way I see it, for the Gophers to creep into the tournament the 16 bids need to shake out like so:
- 4 top B10 teams (UW, MSU, UM, PSU)
- 4 NCHC teams (UND, DU, UMD, WMU)
- 1 Atlantic
- 1 CCHA
- 5 or less from HE/ECAC combined
All this leaves room for a fifth B10 team (the best performing conference this year) to squeeze in. None of this is unrealistic either, just need .500 or so hockey from the Gophers to pull it off.
yep i think you're overall pretty spot on. Last year we had these win %s with the new included for this year
4 B10 (.712-->.695)
6 HE (.689-->.563)
2 NCHC (.607-->.683)
1 AHA (.233-->.385)
1 CCHA (.429-->.397)
2 ECAC (.495-->.472)
Because of the changes in win % (ie massive drop from HE), you're going to see multiple of those bids open up to the B10 and NCHC as the CCHA didn't rise and the AHA and CCHA didn't make up enough ground to get more autos instead of the NCHC/B10. Right now I'd look at HE as looking pretty similar to NCHC from last year with them picking up some ground at the expense of the ECAC (Beanpot, remaining OOC) or beating up each other so those win %s are only going to uptick at the expense of the other. Given that, unless it's a slaughter in the conf tourneys and autobids galore (could be), i'd guess your above with expecting 4-5 from ECAC/HE seems right on.
Either way, play above .500 hockey and I'll feel pretty decent about sliding in, particularly given the schedule and then anything can happen as we all know. Easier said than done with our schedule, but why the hell not