The Bulldogs are No. 1 in Monday’s U.S. College Hockey, USA Today-USA Hockey Magazine and Inside College Hockey Power Rankings — the CCHA leaders from Ferris State. Minnesota Duluth is No. 4 in the USCHO poll and No. 3 in USA Today-USA Hockey Magazine and INCH.
The USCHO poll is here, the USA Today-USA Hockey Magazine poll here and INCH here.
The top three teams in the WCHA — Minnesota, UMD and Denver — are separated by two points with three series (six games) remaining. They do not meet each other again in the regular season. Denver was 2-0 vs. Minnesota. UMD was 1-0-1 vs. Denver. Minnesota was 2-0 vs. UMD.
The remaining schedule: UMD, at Minnesota State-Mankato, home with Colorado College, at St. Cloud State. Minnesota, home with Bemidji State, at Nebraska-Omaha, home with with Wisconsin. Denver, at Wisconsin, home with North Dakota, at Nebraska-Omaha.
Other teams are certainly still in the race — Colorado College, Nebraska-Omaha and North Dakota.
The Let’s Go DU blog details the WCHA tie-breaking procedures for post-season seeding, if there is a tie at a position in the standings, in a post here.
U.S. College Hockey Online reviews last weekend in the WCHA in a Monday update here.
Lots of photos from the Amsoil Arena stands from UMD’s weekend games vs. North Dakota, from Dave Harwig are right here.
Goon’s World ranks the WCHA top to bottom here.
UMD recruit, forward Austin Farley of the Fargo Force of the U.S. Hockey League, is sidelined by an injury and Ryan Clark of the Fargo (N.D.) Forum has an update here.
College Hockey News had a recent update on the progress in the makeover or start up of three Division I leagues, the NCHC, Big Ten and WCHA for 2013-14 in a story here.
What’s the word on JT?
We probably can’t trust twitter:
https://twitter.com/#!/search/realtime/%23jtinternetrumors
I will likely also mention this in a Tuesday post: Nothing definite on J.T. Brown, at least to the media, on Monday. He was not at practice and Scott Sandelin said Brown was being further examined for an upper body injury. Sandelin said it was not likely a season-ending injury, but it may keep Brown out of the lineup, at least for this weekend’s series at Minnesota State-Mankato. Not as serious as early, unconfirmed reports during Saturday’s game, which were relayed by Rink and Run as unconfirmed.
Will Justin Crandall be back this weekend at Mankato?