What a weekend!  As the headline says, BC crushed BU, and big.  Friday night’s game saw BC score three in each period, entering the third up 6-1.  In the third BU rallied, scored four compared to three for BC, but the lopsided final was 9-5, and the next night 5-2, all BC.  While BC has jumped back up to #4  in the rankings, don’t be surprised to see them take a January nap, drop back to 8 or so, only to come back barnstorming hard in February.  Just a guess . . .  BU is ranked at #7, down from #2.  Minnesota-Duluth split with Denver, both games very close, and UMD is now down to #2 from #1, and Denver up to #9 from #10.

In other action, Nebraska-Omaha was swept by Bemidji State, including a shutout, dropping UNO from #4 to #10.  North Dakota continued in its steady rise in the rankings with a sweep of St. Cloud State, lifting the Sioux from #7 to the #5 spot.  And New Hampshire’s two wins over UMass-Lowell have lifted the Wildcats from the #5 spot to the #3 spot in the rankings.

And how could I have waited so long to highlight the two wins  by Yale over Rennselaer and Union?  As a result of those wins, the BU losses, and the UMD split, Yale is now the #1 team in the country, and this week’s feature.  Hmmm… Yale, #1?  How big is that?  Well, Yale has never been ranked #1 in a mainstream sport prior to this.  I mean  they might have been ranked #1 in curling or something like that, but never, ever, in anything really significant.  Therefore, this is HUGE!  These guys play in Ingalls Arena in New Haven.  Constructed in 1958, it is really a sight.  Nicknamed “The Whale,” this structure looks half oceanic-creature, and half space ship.  And to the extent it looks like a whale on the outside, when inside, one could assume they were being treated to Pinnochio’s view of the inside of Monstro.  It’s really quite a sight.  What is Yale doing at #1?  Remember the old theory  that a coaching change can make a big difference?  Well, four years ago, welcome, Keith Allain.  In his first Yale had a losing season with only eleven wins; the next year a winning season with 16 wins.  Then the team came alive with two big years — 24 wins two seasons back and a trip to the NCAAs, and last year 21 wins.  And now the team in early December already has ten wins.  The team roster has 18 players out of 28 from the top grade Junior Leagues in the country.  Keith Allain has had a huge impact on Yale, and will coach the US Junior Team at the Junior World Championships in Buffalo at the end of this month.  How legit is Yale’s #1 ranking?  Time will tell the tale.

So last weekend among the top twelve teams, we had four sweeps, five  splits, one win/tie, and two double losses; the teams with the double losses took big dives in the rankings.

This weekend  provides a great top twelve matchup with #3 New Hampshire travelling to play one against #8 Maine on Friday night.  Oh, and another matchup that is of particular interest to me, since I have the great fortune of going to see the first game on Friday night, will be the #2 Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs travelling to play two against the #22 Minnesota Golden Gophers in Minneapolis.  Suffice it to say that I can hardly wait for this treat.  Also this weekend, a biggie, and I mean exactly that, as #12  Michigan hosts #27 Michigan State outdoors in the Michigan football stadium.  I do believe that this will break all hockey attendance records, with over 100,000 in attendance.  I could be wrong about this being the #1 biggest of all time, and if I am, I’ll correct it in the next post.  The next two weekends of play are both a little light, and the third coming up, I believe, has no games scheduled.

Latest  breaking news — just as I am about to post this — Yale has won again, beating Vermont 3-0, and BU had edged out Northeastern 5-4, both games ending just minutes ago on this Wednesday night.

This provides the top twelve teams, records, rankings, and last weekend’s results: 

[table id=7 /]

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