College Hockey Update:  Last weekend presented twelve of the top twenty teams matched up against each other, and Providence held on to the #1 ranking with a sweep of Merrimack, which dropped Merrimack down three spots to #19.  Quinnipiac edged up to #2 (partially on a tie by Boston College), after beating Yale (Yale also lost to Princeton, and dropped five spots to #15), and beating Brown.  North Dakota held on at #4 after sweeping Denver, which dropped Denver down a couple to #11.  Nebraska-Omaha and St. Cloud State each moved up a spot (partially on a double-loss by UMass-Lowell) as the two split a weekend series in which each team won (and lost) big, edging UNO up to #5, and edging St. Cloud up to #6.  Cornell jumped up five pegs to #10 on a win over St. Lawrence (St. Lawrence went on to beat Colgate and held at #13), and also a win over Clarkson.  And Bowling Green held on at #14 after playing Mankato State to two ties, which lifted Mankato into the top twenty at #20.

Boston College edged down to #3 after a tie and win against Northeastern, Harvard edged up to #7 on two ties with Union and RPI, and UMass-Lowell caused moves up for three teams after a shocking weekend in which they were swept by Connecticut, which dropped Lowell three spots to #8.  Michigan jumped up three spots to #9 after getting a win and tie with Wisconsin, and Boston University edged down to #12 after a splitting with Vermont.  Meanwhile, Penn State jumped up three spots to #16 after sweeping Michigan State, Minnesota-Duluth held at #17 after sweeping Western Michigan, and Notre Dame rose up a couple of rungs to #18 after sweeping UMass-Amherst.

Last weekend St. Cloud State got huge help from its freshman forward Robby Jackson, of Alameda, CA., as he scored two goals Friday night in his team’s 4-1 win, and scored another goal Saturday night in his team’s 7-2 loss, both against Nebraska-Omaha.  The 5′ 9″ 187lb Jackson is tied for fifth on his team in goals, with six, and is tied for 15th in assists, with three.  Before St. Cloud State, he earned two letters in baseball at Alameda High School, and he also was the rookie of the year in the USHL as he scored 28 goals and had 14 assists in 60 games for the Chicago Steel in 2013-14.  He went on to score 11 goals and had 11 assists in 29 games with the Steel in 2014-15, and also scored three goals and had 13 assists in 15 games for the USHL’s Dubuque Saints.  St. Cloud State, ranked #6, travels to play two at #11 Denver this weekend.

Jackson’s home town of Alameda, CA., is mainly located on Alameda Island on the east side of San Francisco Bay, just west of, and adjacent to, Oakland, CA. It was originally inhabited by the Ohlone Indians in its once lush and dense forest of Coastal Oak trees.  It was founded as a city in 1853, and became a charter city in 1916.  With a population of 76,000, Alameda occupies 23 square miles and has a mean elevation of 33 feet.  Alameda was the original terminus of the first transcontinental railroad in 1869, and today is the home to the museum air craft carrier U.S. Hornet, which is moored at the site of the former Naval Alameda Air Station.  Alameda is home to Rosenblum Cellars Winery, Rock Wall Winery, and St. George Spirits.  NBA player/coach Jason Kidd attended high school in Alameda, as did MLB players Willie Stargell, Tommy Harper, and Curt Motton.  It rarely snows or gets very cold in Robby Jackson’s hometown.

This weekend presents top twenty matchups involving about half of the top twenty, as #2 Quinnipiac hosts #12 Boston University Saturday night — BU will also play at #15 Yale on Friday night.  #3 Boston College will host #18 Notre Dame for one game tomorrow, Thursday night, and #4 North Dakota will travel to play two at #17 Minnesota-Duluth.  #6 St. Cloud State also will hit the road this weekend to play two at #11 Denver.

This provides the top twenty teams, rankings, records, and most recent results:

 [table id=118 /]

That’s all for now.  Stay tuned, and go Terriers!

— Tom