Last week featured an important top ten matchup, as Michigan Tech, a storied D1 hockey program which had just risen to the #1 ranking for the first time since 1976, faced Mankato State in what this column dubbed a test of the new #1.  It could have gone a lot better for Michigan Tech, which watched leads of 1-0 with only twelve minutes left in the game Friday night, and 1-0 with thirteen minutes left in the second on Saturday night, both slip away, as a tenacious Mankato State upended Tech in a big way, sweeping the weekend.  The losses dropped Tech five slots to #6, and lifted Mankato two notches to #7.  So who would be the new #1?  North Dakota’s trip to St. Cloud State could have started better, as the Huskies handed the team to be named later a loss; but North Dakota rallied back on Saturday night to take a narrow win and split the weekend.  North Dakota held at #2, and St. Cloud State held at #16.  So, who would be the new #1?

Boston University was down 2-0 with fifteen minutes remaining in the game against Maine Friday night, and BU scored two goals to tie it, then won it on OT; Saturday night BU was up 3-0 over Connecticut with seventeen minutes remaining in the game, and then surrendered two goals to the Huskies to make it a nail-biter with eleven minutes left; BU scored with three minutes remaining, and also found an empty net with a minute left.  Not powerful wins for BU, but with Michigan Tech’s losses, and North Dakota’s split, BU rose up a couple of spots to #1 in the poll on Monday.  But it’s wasn’t long until they lost, as Harvard beat them Tuesday night in OT  UMass-Lowell beat Notre Dame Thursday night, then had to come back from behind to tie them Friday night; Lowell rose up to a spot to #4.  Miami of Ohio swept Western Michigan and moved up a couple of spots to #5; and Minnesota-Duluth split with Nebraska-Omaha, and held at #8.  Colgate beat Brown, then lost to Yale, dropping a few spots to #9; and Denver beat Air Force and Wisconsin, and held at #10.  Minnesota came out on the short end of a score in and exhibition game against the US Under-18 team, and nudged up a spot to #3 in the poll on the losses by Michigan Tech.

UMass-Lowell was helped big time last week by junior forward Michael Colantone, of Cave Creek, AZ.  the 5′ 11″ 205lb. forward scored a goal in Thursday night’s 3-1 win over Notre Dame, and added an assist in Friday night’s 2-2 tie in Indiana.  Colantone is tied for second on his team in goals, with four, and is tied for eleventh in assists, with three.  Before he came to UMass-Lowell, he played the 2010-11 season with the Victoria Grizzlies of the BCHL, and scored 13 goals and made 22 assists in 57 games; in the 2011-12 season with the Prince George Spruce Kings of the BCHL, he scored 33 goals and made 41 assists in 59 games.

This weekend features one top ten matchup as currently ranked #1 Boston University will host #9 Colgate Saturday night.  In addition, three top ten teams will play top twenty teams:  #2 North Dakota will host a seemingly hot #11 Nebraska-Omaha for two gams; #3 Minnesota travels to play #12 Boston College for one game Friday night, and #4 UMass-Lowell will host #18 Harvard for one game Saturday night.

This provides the top ten teams, rankings, records, and last week’s results:

[table id=95 /]

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

— Tom