COLLEGE HOCKEY UPDATE:  Well I’m a bum once again to be “starting” this so late.  Not only is the the latest ever for the “first posting,” but there is only one weekend of conference playoffs remaining to be played as well.  As is the case when “starting” this late, this post will cover a lot of ground — last weekend’s top ten results; a very short recap of the season, including a look at the #1 team; conference tournament results, and what is happening this weekend. So let’s get to it.

Last weekend featured five top twenty matchups, and Maine held at #4 after hosting and dispatching UMass-Lowell in a Hockey East quarterfinal (Lowell edged down to #20, after they had also beaten #26 New Hampshire to make it to this point); while Connecticut edged up to #7 after hosting and beating Providence in a Hockey East quarterfinal, dropping Providence three pegs to #10.  Boston University edged up to #8 after hosting and beating Massachusetts in another Hockey East quarterfinal (UMass held at #14 after they had also beaten Vermont to get to this point); Ohio State edged up to #9 after hosting and beating Pennsylvania State in a Big Ten semifinal, dropping Pennsylvania State two rungs to #13; and North Dakota held at #17 after visiting and sweeping Nebraska-Omaha in a best-of-three NCHC quarterfinal, which dropped Omaha out of the top twenty, to #23.

Elsewhere, Michigan State edged up to #1 after hosting and surviving a great defensive effort by Notre Dame in a Big Ten semifinal; Boston College edged down to #2 after hosting and falling to Northeastern in a Hockey East quarterfinal; and Western Michigan held at #3 after hosting and sweeping St. Cloud State in a best-of-three NCHC quarterfinal.  Denver held at #6 after hosting and taking two of three from Colorado College in a best-of-three NCHC quarterfinal; Arizona State edged up to #11 after hosting and sweeping Minnesota-Duluth in a best-of-three NCHC quarterfinal; and Quinnipiac edged up to #12 after hosting and sweeping Brown in a best-of-three ECAC quarterfinal.  Mankato State held at #15 after hosting and beating Bemidji State in a CCHA semifinal; Clarkson held at #18 after hosting and taking two of three from Harvard in a in a best-of-three ECAC quarterfinal; and Holy Cross entered the top twenty at #19 after hosting and sweeping Army in a best-of-three Atlantic Hockey quarterfinal.  Minnesota held at #5, and Michigan held at #16 on idle weekends (Minnesota had fallen to Notre Dame in a best-of-three Big Ten quarterfinal in the previous week, and Michigan was swept by Pennsylvania State in a best-of-three Big Ten quarterfinal in the previous week).

TODAY/TONIGHT

In about twenty-five minutes we have the first of two games.  I will do another post to catch us up on other news, but for now:

HOCKEY EAST SEMIFINAL GAMES AT THE BOSTON TD GARDEN

#7 Univ. of Connecticut vs #8 Boston Univ. at 1:00pm Pacific Time on NESN+

#5 Univ. of Maine vs #27 Northeastern Univ. at 4:30pm Pacific Time on NESN+

This provides the top twenty teams, rankings, and records in Monday’s Poll: