Ben Youds and Minnesota State earned a road sweep against No. 4 Bemidji State

There were three marquee series pitting ranked teams against each other in the WCHA last weekend - and all of them delivered riveting hockey. The most competitive of those matchups took place in Grand Forks in front of crowds greater than 11,500 each night and pitted third-ranked North Dakota against No. 11 Wisconsin. On Friday, the Fighting Sioux had a 30-22 edge in shots, but needed a third-period power-play goal from Danny Kristo to salvage a 3-3 draw. UND put 10 more shots on goal than the Badgers the next night, but Wisconsin scored three times with a man advantage en route to a 4-3 win.

WCHA leader and second-ranked Denver earned a road split against 12th-ranked Minnesota Duluth. On Friday, the Bulldogs had a 5-on-3 advantage for over a minute, down a goal late in the game, but couldn't net the equalizer, as DU went on to a 3-2 win. On Saturday, UMD was able to net three goals in the third period after the teams had battled to a draw through the first two, en route to a 6-3 triumph. Duluth's unrelated sophomore Connollys led the attack, with center Jack scoring twice and adding an assist, while winger Mike had three helpers.

No. 6 Colorado College and 17th-ranked St. Cloud State played an offensive showcase on Friday night that saw the teams combine to put 82 shots on goal. CC scored the game's first three goals, but St. Cloud would eventually rally and earn a 4-4 draw to extend the Tigers' winless streak to four games. But Colorado College would rite the ship on Saturday and earn a 4-1 win in the series finale.

The biggest upsets of the weekend both came in a series between a current WCHA member and a school that will join the league next season. Unranked Minnesota State hit the road and registered a sweep of fourth-ranked Bemidji State. On Friday, the Mavericks broke open a 1-1 game with four unanswered goals in the third period - including a pair from Jerad Stewart - for a 5-1 victory. The Beavers controlled the game on Saturday, finishing with a 31-14 advantage in shots, but Minnesota State was still able to pull out a 3-2 win over the Beavers - who came into the weekend with a record of 13-2-1.

Top-ranked Miami kept rolling in a home-and-home series with Ohio State. Junior forward Tommy Wingels notched four goals and an assist on Friday, and sophomore Cody Reichard stopped all 17 shots he faced in a 6-0 victory by the RedHawks - their third consecutive shutout. On Saturday, the Buckeyes held a two-goal advantage heading into the third period, but Miami would score four times in the final stanza for a 4-2 triumph.

Three ranked teams were able to salvage only splits in series against unranked squads over the weekend. No. 9 UMass Lowell beat Princeton 4-1 on Friday, but then lost 3-2 the next night. No. 16 Alaska edged Nebraska-Omaha by a 4-3 tally before falling 5-3 to the Mavericks. Elsewhere in the CCHA, Michigan topped 18th-ranked Notre Dame 4-1 on Friday before the Fighting Irish got a shutout from freshman Mike Johnson in a 2-0 decision on Sunday.

Most teams will now take a break from action for a few weeks, as there are only six games across the country (none of those involve any ranked teams) from now until the holiday tournaments kick off on Tuesday, Dec. 29. So for now - Happy Holidays, hockey fans!

Bryan Hogan and Michigan beat Wisconsin and Minnesota in the College Hockey Showcase

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
It was a tough weekend for the nation's top teams, as none of the top eight escaped last week with a pair of victories. Top-ranked Miami faced two of its stiffest tests of the season. On Friday, the RedHawks were shut out for the first two periods, but got a pair of goals from junior forward Carter Camper in the third to tie the score against sixth-ranked Bemidji State - only to see senior forward Chris McKelvie jam home a rebound goal with less than three minutes remaining to give the Beavers a 3-2 victory. Junior defenseman Ryan Adams was plus-3 for BSU.

The Beavers could not finish off their weekend prefectly, though, as Ohio State got an overtime goal from Kyle Reed on Saturday to take a 2-1 decision over Bemidji. Miami faced the host school, No. 4 North Dakota, of the Subway Holiday Classic that same night and needed a pair of goals in the third to salvage a 5-5 draw against the Fighting Sioux. Freshman forward Danny Kristo had a pair of goals and an assist for UND, and MU freshman Reilly Smith matched that output and also finished with a plus-3 rating. All four games in the event drew over 11,000 fans each.

Elsewhere in the top five, No. 2 Denver got a pair of goals from junior forward Jesse Martin on Friday in a 5-3 win over St. Cloud State, but junior forward Tony Mosey had two goals the next night to lead the Huskies to a 3-2 upset. After rising to third in the national poll, UMass Lowell was winless in a pair of games last week. The second was a 3-1 defeat at Maine on Friday that saw junior forward Tanner House score a pair of goals for the Black Bears (who, incidentally, beat St. Lawrence 10-1 on Saturday). Fifth-ranked Colorado College got a shutout from freshman Joe Howe in a 5-0 pounding of Alaska Anchorage on Friday that ran the Tigers' winning streak to six. But on Saturday, CC needed a goal in the final minute of regulation to force overtime, and UAA freshman center Daniel Naslund scored a rebound goal in the extra session to give the Seawolves a 3-2 triumph.

The College Hockey Showcase in East Lansing produced some good hockey between four perennial powers. In the end, eighth-ranked host Michigan State was beaten twice - and has now lost three straight (following an eight-game unbeaten streak) - while unranked Michigan was the only team with two wins. On Friday, Wisconsin sophomore forward had a goal and four assists to lead the 15th-ranked Badgers to a 7-3 triumph against the Spartans. Goaltending was the story the next night, as MSU's Drew Palmisano stopped 40 shots and Minnesota's Kent Patterson made 37 saves in the Gophers' 2-1 win. Bryan Hogan helped Michigan post a 6-0 shutout of Minnesota on Friday, and the Wolverines knocked off the Badgers by a 3-2 score in their second game.

In other matchups of ranked teams, ninth-ranked Quinnipiac topped No. 10 Massachusetts in overtime by a 5-4 score, as senior Brandon Wong scored at 18:50 in the third to tie it (after UMass used four straight goals to take the lead) and then potted the game-winner in the extra session. Also, 18th-ranked Vermont edged No. 11 Yale 1-0 on Monday in a defensive battle that saw UVM senior Mike Spillane notch the shutout.

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WHAT'S IN STORE
With just two weeks left until most teams take a holiday sabbatical, we have a truly outstanding slate of games on tap this weekend. In fact, there will be a total of 11 games between nationally-ranked squds, with four of those pitting top-10 teams against each other and all of the top-four schools facing stiff tests. The marquee series of the weekend will be a WCHA home-and-home between the conference's current co-leaders: No. 2 Denver and No. 6 Colorado College. They will play on Friday at 7:37 p.m. MT in Colorado Springs and on Saturday at 7:07 p.m. in Denver. Both games will be televised by FSN Rocky Mountain. CC has held the upper hand in the series of late, taking the Gold Pan trophy in each of the last three years - though last season three of the four games ended in ties. The Tigers are unbeaten in their last six (3-0-3) against DU.

There are some other intriguing matchups, as well. The two highest-scoring teams in the nation - No. 4 Quinnipiac (4.31 goals per game) and No. 10 Yale (4.10) - will play on Friday in New Haven, while the goaltenders who are No. 1 and 2 in Division I in goals-against average - freshman Mike Johnson (1.35) from No. 14 Notre Dame and top-ranked Miami's Cody Reichard (1.59) - will have their teams face each other for two. Below is a complete listing of the matchups of ranked teams.

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD WATCH
Matchups Between Ranked Teams - All Times Eastern
Friday
No. 4 Quinnipiac at No. 10 Yale, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 15 Boston College at No. 9 Massachusetts, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 18 Nebraska-Omaha at No. 17 Ferris State, 7:05 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 14 Notre Dame at No. 1 Miami, 7:35 p.m. - TV: ONN/Comcast | Live Stats
No. 3 North Dakota at No. 12 Minnesota Duluth, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Charter Communications | Live Stats
No. 2 Denver at No. 6 Colorado College, 9:37 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats
Saturday
No. 18 Nebraska-Omaha at No. 17 Ferris State, 7:05 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 9 Massachusetts at No. 8 UMass Lowell, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 14 Notre Dame at No. 1 Miami, 7:05 p.m. - TV: ONN/Comcast | Live Stats
No. 3 North Dakota at No. 12 Minnesota Duluth, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Charter Communications | Live Stats
No. 6 Colorado College at No. 2 Denver, 9:07 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats

Joe Colborne and Denver swept No. 2 North Dakota

The clash of the titans in Denver did not disappoint, but the third-ranked Pioneers were able to pull off a sweep of No. 2 North Dakota behind some outstanding goaltending from junior Marc Cheverie. On Friday, he made 34 saves and pitched his nation-leading fourth shutout of the season, while freshman forward Drew Shore provided the game's only score. North Dakota scored the first two goals on Saturday, but DU would rally thanks to a phenomenal effort from sophomore forward Joe Colborne. He scored twice early in the second and then provided the primary assist on a goal by junior forward Kyle Ostrow that would prove to be the game-winner. Colborne had several other chances and finished the game having put 11 shots on goal. UND had the apparent game-tying goal waived off with 43.9 seconds left in the game, and Denver held on for victory in a game where all five goals were scored with a man advantage. Both games drew capacity crowds of greater than 6,000.

Cheverie - a 2006 draft pick of the Florida Panthers - has been undisputedly the most-impressive goaltender in college hockey this season. He stands 7-0-0 and holds healthy leads among all DI players in both goals-against average (1.19; next best is 1.45) and save percentage (.961; next is .943).

The other series between ranked teams over the weekend saw 14th-ranked Notre Dame cool off one of the hottest teams in the country, No. 6 Michigan State. On Thursday, both defenses fluorished and the result was a 1-1 draw that eventually saw the Fighting Irish prevail in the shootout. The rivals - who played in the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament in both 2007 and '08 - then faced off on Sunday in one of the venues that will host an NCAA regional this season, the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind. In that contest, MSU had a 28-16 advantage in shots, but Notre Dame posted a 4-1 victory that was highlighted by senior defenseman Kyle Lawson recording a pair of assists and finishing with a plus-4 rating.

Fifth-ranked Cornell had a big weekend of action and split its games against ranked squads. The Big Red scored the game's first four goals and eventually won by a 5-2 score over 19th-ranked Princeton on Friday. Senior Blake Gallagher (2-1) and junior Joe Devin (0-3) led Cornell offensively and both finished with plus-3 ratings, while senior Cam MacIntyre had both goals for the Tigers. On Saturday, No. 13 Quinnipiac took control early and survived a pair of late goals by Cornell to take a 3-2 road victory that would propel the Bobcats to a program-best national ranking of ninth this week. QU then stayed hot, scoring five times in the second period - including two markers from freshman defenseman Loren Barron - en route to a 5-1 victory against Princeton on Wednesday. It was Quinnipiac's seventh consecutive victory and gave the Tigers a four-game winless streak (0-3-1).

One team to top Princeton during that stretch was Colgate. On Saturday, the Tigers tied the game at 18:36 of the third, but junior forward Francois Brisebois netted his second goal of the game two minutes into overtime to give the Raiders a 5-4 victory. Princeton - which had won six in a row against Colgate - held a hefty 47-27 advantage in shots and got a pair of goals from Dan Bartlett. That propelled the Raiders into this week's national rankings at No. 20, but now-No. 7 Cornell scored twice in the final six minutes to earn a 4-2 win over Colgate on Tuesday night. CU, which was playing a (different) ranked team for the fourth consecutive game, took 10 more shots (30-20) than the Big Red.

Also on Tuesday, No. 10 Massachusetts trailed 18th-ranked Vermont 2-1 in the second before scoring five straight goals for a 6-2 win. Sophomore forward Casey Wellman had a hat trick, while junior forward James Marcou assisted on five of the UMass goals. On the same night, Providence upset UMass Lowell, which had moved up to No. 3 in this week's rankings, by a 4-2 score. Senior defenseman Mark Fayne led the Friars, setting up PC's first three goals and scoring its final tally to finish with a plus-2 rating.

Top-ranked Miami extended its unbeaten streak to eight in a weekend series at Western Michigan. On Friday, the RedHawks killed off all seven Western Michigan power plays, netted a pair of shorthanded goals, limited the Broncos to only 15 shots on goal and got a shutout from sophomore Cody Reichard in a 3-0 decision. The teams generated many more offensive opportunities on Saturday (73 combined shots, as opposed to 39 on Friday), but strong goaltending by both MU's Connor Knapp (29 saves) and WMU's Riley Gill (42 saves) had the game end in a 1-1 tie. Miami then took the shootout.

In another CCHA series, Northern Michigan put together a sweep of 12th-ranked Nebraska-Omaha. The Wildcats - which earned a win and a tie on the road agaisnt Notre Dame the previous weekend - got a pair of goals on Friday from sophomore forward Justin Florek en route to a 5-1 win. In the finale, the game was tied 3-3 in the third before NMU netted three straight to close out the scoring. Junior forward Mark Olver had two goals and an assist and was a plus-3.

No. 10 Alaska looked to be on its way to being swept, as well. The Nanooks lost 4-3 at Lake Superior on Friday and were down 2-0 heading into the final period the next night, but senior center Dion Knelsen scored twice in the third and junior defenseman Bryant Molle did so with 49 seconds left in OT to salvage a 3-2 win. Two other ranked teams also had to settle for splits over the weekend in conference action. No. 15 Wisconsin lost by a 4-1 score to St. Cloud State on Friday, but rebounded for a win by the same score the next evening. No. 16 Michigan lost 4-2 to Bowling Green before prevailing 4-1 in the series finale.

Jarod Palmer and Miami won twice at Michigan

Top-ranked Miami made a strong case that it is the top team in college hockey early in this season with a road sweep of No. 4 Michigan. The RedHawks - now 8-1-1 on the season - got a pair of goals from senior forward Jarod Palmer on Friday in a 3-1 victory (though U-M had a 28-13 shot advantage) and then scored five straight after surrending the opening goal on Saturday to take a 5-1 win. Sophomore goaltender Cody Reichard It marked the first time that a visiting team came into Yost Ice Arena and left with two victories since Oct. 26-27, 2001, a span of 45 series. Crowds of greater than 6,700 took in both games.

The only team to have defeated MU this season - No. 17 Michigan State - also made a statement in a conference series, getting a win and a tie against 10th-ranked Nebraska-Omaha. Sophomore goaltender Drew Palmisano earned his first career shutout on Thursday in a 3-0 win for the Spartans. The Mavericks did bounce back the next night to register a 3-3 tie and then win the shootout on the fourth skater.

The other big clashes over the weekend all ended with no clear winner. On Friday night, No. 8 UMass Lowell and 15th-ranked Vermont battled to a 3-3 draw, though UVM had a 37-22 edge in shots. No. 9 Notre Dame dealt 13th-ranked Alaska its first defeat of the season on Friday in a 3-2 decision, but the Nanooks snapped their 11-game winless streak (0-10-1) against Notre Dame the next night in a 3-1 game that featured a pair of goals by junior forward Derek Klassen.

In the WCHA, No. 20 Minnesota Duluth battled to a 4-3 road win against 12th-ranked Colorado College on Friday despite being outshot by 12 (33-21). But the Tigers got two goals and an assist from senior left wing Bill Sweatt on Saturday en route to a 6-2 triumph that featured four power-play markers. Two traditional national powers also split their WCHA series, as No. 18 Wisconsin topped Minnesota 4-2 on Friday behind a pair of goals from Blake Geoffrion. The Gophers struck back the next night with a 5-2 victory despite being outshot 47-28. Zach Budish had two goals and an assist and a plus-3 rating and Tony Lucia finished as a plus-4 and also added three points (1-2).

Second-ranked Denver opened the weekend with a 3-2 victory at Alaska Anchorage that saw senior forward Rhett Rakhshani score twice, but the Seawolves would come back the next night with a 7-3 upset win. Sean Wiles had a pair of tallies for UAA.

After a big win to open the season, No. 6 Yale failed to get a victory last weekend. The Bulldogs lost 5-2 to Rensselaer on Friday (Chase Polacek had two goals and an assist for the Engineers) and then managed just a 3-3 draw at Union. Another team that had a disappointing weekend was seventh-ranked and defending NCAA champion Boston University. The Terriers were shut out by Northeastern's Chris Rawlings in a 1-0 game on Friday and then lost 3-2 at Maine on Sunday. BU now stands at 2-5. The other upset over the weekend was delivered by St. Lawrence, which beat No. 14 Princeton 5-2 on Saturday.

Adam Shemansky scored twice in Maine's upset of No. 10 Vermont

The marquee series of the weekend did not disappoint, as the teams favored to finish atop Hockey East this season - No. 4 Boston University and No. 9 UMass Lowell - both battled to road victories against each other. On Friday, BU sophomore defenseman David Warsofsky scored twice (including once on the penalty kill) and had a plus-3 rating to lead the Terriers, and junior blueliner Colby Cohen - who scored the overtime game-winner in last season's NCAA title game - came through with an OT goal to give BU a 5-4 win in front of 5,496 fans. The River Hawks struck back the next night in a 3-2 decision in Boston. Senior forward Paul Worthington had two assists for UML.

The Ivy League schools finally began their 2009-10 campaigns over this weekend - meaning that all 58 Division I teams have now played regular-season games. Two of the Ivies hooked up in a big early matchup on Saturday, and seventh-ranked Yale scored four times in the third to rally from a 2-1 deficit for a 5-2 victory on the road against No. 11 Princeton. Junior forward Denny Kearney had three assists and junior defenseman Mike Matczak finished with a plus-4 rating to lead the Bulldogs.

Top-ranked Miami continued to roll with a road sweep against Northern Michigan. The RedHawks scored the game's first four goals - including two tallies in 41 seconds by junior forward Justin Vaive - and held on for a 4-3 triumph on Friday. Sophomore goaltender Cody Reichard, now 5-0-1 on the season, then made 24 saves the following night to lead MU to a 2-1 win.

No. 2 Denver had to settle for three points in its home series with Minnesota State. The Pioneers got two goals and an assist from junior forward Jesse Martin in a 4-3 win on Friday. The next night, freshman forward Tyler Pitlick had a pair of goals for the Mavericks, and DU needed a late tally from junior forward Kyle Ostrow to earn a 4-4 draw. Both games drew crowds of greater than 5,300 fans.

The biggest upset of the weekend occurred on Friday in Orono, as Maine - which came into the game with a 1-5-0 record - posted a 4-1 home victory against 10th-ranked Vermont. The Black Bears scored three times on the power play - including two goals from freshman forward Adam Shemansky - and also got 31 saves from sophomore Scott Darling. The Catamounts took all three meetings with Maine last season.

Three ranked teams - No. 13 Boston College, 17th-ranked Massachusetts and No. 18 Quinnipiac - earned multiple-goal victories on Friday, but then were knocked off in the second game of the series. BC doubled Merrimack's shot toal (36-18) on Friday in a 4-3 win in its home opener, but the Warriors would strike back on home ice in a 5-3 decision. It ended a 20-game winless streak (0-16-4) against the Eagles for Merrimack - which beat BC for the first time since Feb. 15, 2003, and stands 5-0 at home this season. Merrimack junior forward Chris Barton scored his seventh goal of the season on Saturday - which puts him in a tie (with Justin Fontaine of Minnesota Duluth and Michigan State's Corey Tropp) for tops among DI players.

UMass got goals from five different players in a 5-3 road victory over Providence on Friday that gave the Minutemen their first 4-0-0 start in six years. But sophomore goaltender Alex Beaudry stole the series finale for the Friars, making a career-high 47 saves in PC's 2-1 win that saw UMass hold a 48-28 shot edge. It was the second win over a ranked team already this season for the Friars, who split a series at Notre Dame last month.

Quinnipiac dominated Robert Morris on Friday, as freshman goaltender Eric Hartzell led the Bobcats to a 5-0 victory. It would be a different story for the Colonials the next night, though, as Robert Morris got a school-record four goals from junior forward Nathan Longpre - as well as a program-record 58 saves from freshman goaltender Eric Levine in an 8-5 upset win. Quinnipiac outshot RMU 105-53 in the series, but could manage just a split.

Eighth-ranked Notre Dame and No. 12 Nebraska-Omaha both had to settle for a win and a tie in CCHA series. The Irish topped Ohio State 3-1 on Friday before tying 2-2 the next night. The Mavericks tied Bowling Green, 3-3, on Friday and won 3-1 over the Falcons the next night.

No. 14 Bemidji State came home with a road sweep to remain unbeaten (5-0-1), but it wasn't easy. The Beavers took a pair of 2-1 overtime decisions against Alabama-Huntsville. Junior forward Matt Read had three of BSU's four goals.

Denver's Marc Cheverie has notched three straight shutouts

Four of the top five teams tasted defeat last week, but the lone exception - No. 4 Denver - made quite the statement with a pair of 3-0 victories on the road against 11th-ranked Minnesota in front of over 9,700 fans on both nights. Junior goaltender Marc Cheverie was the brightest star and has established himself as one of the elite players of the first month. He made 30 saves in each game and now stands 4-0-0 on the season with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage to go with a current shutout streak of 203:19. Rhett Rakhshani scored a pair of goals on Friday and again on Saturday and finished with a plus-four rating for the weekend. Kyle Ostrow had two goals in the series finale, which gave George Gwozdecky his 500th career victory and marked the first time since 1930 that Minnesota was shut out in back-to-back games.

Defending NCAA champion and third-ranked Boston University earned its first victory of the season on Saturday, as Joe Pereira scored with 2:31 remaining to give the Terriers a 3-2 win over fifth-ranked Michigan. BU had dropped its first two games of the season, but held a 2-0 lead midway through the third before the Wolverines - who had a 35-22 edge in shots - scored twice to tie the score.

The other matchup of ranked opponents also was decided late, as Joe Whitney tallied the game-winner at 11:29 of the third to give 14th-ranked Boston College a 3-2 triumph over No. 9 Notre Dame and allow the Eagles to regain possession of the Lefty Smith-John "Snooks" Kelley Memorial Trophy. The game was a defensive struggle, as the squads combined to put just 38 shots on net (22 for Notre Dame and 16 for BC).

Both of the top two teams earned victories on Friday night before being upset on Saturday. No. 1 Miami got two goals from junior forward Tommy Wingels and 24 saves - including one on a penalty shot - from sophomore Cody Reichard in a 2-1 win over Michigan State on Friday. The following night, it was Andrew Rowe who scored in overtime to give Michigan State a 3-2 upset of the RedHawks. MU did hold a 37-22 shot advantage. North Dakota freshman goaltender Aaron Dell registered a shutout in his collegiate debut on Friday in a 5-0 win for the Fighting Sioux at Alaska Anchorage. But the Seawolves broke through the following night with a 2-1 victory that saw junior Bryce Christianson make 22 saves for UAA.

Merrimack notched an upset on Friday, topping No. 7 Vermont by a 5-2 score. The Warriors outshot the Catamounts 34-27 and got two points each from three players en route to winning their Hockey East opener for the first time in eight years.

In the WCHA, St. Cloud State got three points with a tie (3-3) and a win over 18th-ranked Minnesota Duluth. Both games drew crowds over 6,000. Meanwhile, No. 17 Wisconsin dominated Minnesota State on Friday in a 6-0 decision, but the Mavericks struck back with a 3-2 victory the next day. Brett Bennett posted the shutout for the Badgers on Friday, while Zach Harrison scored the game-winner at 12:22 in the third on Saturday.

Eric Gryba and BU will look for their first win of the season against No. 5 Michigan

• Again, we'll have 14 of the Top 20 teams in action this weekend - though this is the first time that all of the top five will be playing meaningful games in the same weekend.
• No one has a tougher start to the season this year than No. 11 Minnesota. The Gophers hit the road to begin the 2009-10 campaign last weekend against then-No. 4 North Dakota. The Fighting Sioux got a win and a tie in that series and have moved up to No. 2. This week, Minnesota plays host to fourth-ranked Denver - which began the season as the nation's top-ranked team.
• The teams met twice in Denver last season, with the Gophers winning the first matchup by a 5-2 score and the Pioneers rebounding for a 4-0 triumph the next night. That ended Minnesota's 11-game unbeaten streak to begin the season.
• Denver - which begins league action as the preseason conference favorite after splitting series with Vermont and Ohio State over the last two weekends - is 3-1-1 in its last five against Minnesota.
• Defending NCAA champion and third-ranked Boston University is off to a rough start. The Terriers - preseason favorites in Hockey East - opened the season with a 3-2 defeat against UMass (picked to finish seventh in the league) and then were shut out for the first time in nearly three years on Tuesday in a 3-0 loss at home against ninth-ranked Notre Dame. It doesn't get any easier for BU this weekend, as No. 5 Michigan visits Agganis Arena.
• Ninth-ranked Notre Dame also has another challenge left this week, as the Fighting Irish will play host to No. 14 Boston College on Friday. ND has won four of the last five meetings between the schools, but BC took the most meaningful - a 4-1 decision in the 2008 NCAA championship game.
• Top-ranked Miami begins CCHA action with a home series against Michigan State. The RedHawks have won six of their last eight against MSU, a stretch that followed a five-game winning streak for the Spartans.
• Michigan State junior forward Corey Tropp shares the early national lead in scoring with nine points (5-4). Meanwhile, MSU junior Jeff Petry is tied for the most points for a defenseman, with six (1-5), and Derek Grant leads all freshmen in scoring with seven points (2-5).
• No. 18 Minnesota Duluth - which is atop the WCHA standings with a 2-0-0 league mark - boasts the other two players who share the DI lead in scoring: junior winger Justin Fontaine (6-3) and sophomore center Jack Connolly (4-5). Fontaine leads the nation in goals. The Bulldogs head to St. Cloud State for a pair this weekend.
• One of the more interesting non-conference series of the weekend sees 16th-ranked Bemidji State head to Northern Michigan. The Beavers reached the Frozen Four last season and began this campaign with a pair of wins over defending AHA champion Air Force, while Northern Michigan is receiving votes in the poll after handing Minnesota Duluth a defeat in the Superior Cup two weeks ago.
• Northeastern - which was ranked in the preseason but now finds itself just outside of the Top 20 - has a big weekend away from home ahead. The Huskies will head to New Hampshire - another team receiving votes in the poll - on Friday, before challenging 13th-ranked UMass Lowell the following day.
• The other CCHA series this weekend pits a pair of teams that are receiving votes in this week's poll, as Lake Superior - riding a three-game winning streak - plays host to Ohio State on Friday and Saturday.
• The highest-ranked team yet to play a regular-season game, sixth-ranked Cornell, will hit the ice for the first time this weekend. The Big Red has exhibition contests against the University of Windsor (Friday) and the U.S. Under-18 Team (Saturday).

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD WATCH
Top 20 and Television Schedule
Thursday, October 22
Niagara at No. 5 Michigan, 7:35 p.m. - TV: NSN & FCS | Free Video | Live Stats
Friday, October 23
No. 7 Vermont at Merrimack, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
Colgate at No. 13 UMass Lowell, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
Northeastern at New Hampshire, 7 p.m. - TV: NESN | Live Stats
Michigan State at No. 1 Miami, 7:05 p.m. - TV: ONN | Live Stats
No. 16 Bemidji State at Northern Michigan, 7:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 14 Boston College at No. 9 Notre Dame, 7:35 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 4 Denver at No. 11 Minnesota, 8 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats
No. 18 Minnesota Duluth at St. Cloud State, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Charter Cable Channel 14 (St. Cloud) | Live Stats
No. 17 Wisconsin at Minnesota State, 8:37 p.m. - TV: Charter Media Channel 14 (Mankato) | Live Stats
Michigan Tech at No. 19 Colorado College, 9:37 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 2 North Dakota at Alaska Anchorage, 11:07 p.m. - TV: FSSN & GCI | Free Video | Live Stats
Saturday, October 24
Northeastern at No. 13 UMass Lowell, 5 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 5 Michigan at No. 3 Boston University, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 16 Bemidji State at Northern Michigan, 7:30 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 4 Denver at No. 11 Minnesota, 8 p.m. - TV: FSN (delay) | Live Stats
Michigan State at No. 1 Miami, 8:05 p.m. - TV: ONN & Comcast | Live Stats
No. 17 Wisconsin at Minnesota State, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Charter Media Channel 14 (Mankato) | Live Stats
No. 18 Minnesota Duluth at St. Cloud State, 8:37 p.m. - TV: Charter Cable Channel 14 (St. Cloud) | Live Stats
Michigan Tech at No. 19 Colorado College, 9:07 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 2 North Dakota at Alaska Anchorage, 11:07 p.m. - TV: FSSN & GCI | Free Video | Live Stats

Brad Eidsness shut out Minnesota on Friday

The second weekend gave us a few more clues about which will turn out to be the elite teams in college hockey this season. One squad that has that look early on is fourth-ranked North Dakota. The Fighting Sioux opened WCHA play on Friday by dominating No. 9 Minnesota by a 4-0 score. UND outshot the Gophers 43-22, and sophomore goaltender Brad Eidsness registered North Dakota's first shutout of Minnesota in 10 years. On Saturday, both North Dakota senior defenseman Chay Genoway and Minnesota junior forward Mike Hoeffel scored a pair of markers, but it was UND junior defenseman Jake Marto who made the difference, as he netted the game-tying goal in the third and then blocked a would-be rebound goal with just over a minute remaining as the teams skated to a 3-3 draw. The Sioux again held a sizable advantage in shots (34-19). Both games drew sellout crowds of over 11,800.

It was 11th-ranked Vermont that made a statement in the only other matchup of ranked teams, as the Catamounts earned a 4-1 victory over No. 12 Boston College on Sunday in the Hockey East opener for both teams in front of a sellout crowd of 4,003. UVM killed off all eight BC power plays and had three players register multiple points, as Rob Madore made 22 saves.

The top teams again were vulnerable, as only two of the six top-10 teams that were in action (No. 1 Miami and No. 4 North Dakota) escaped the weekend unbeaten - and they both had to settle for a tie in one of their games. Defending NCAA champion and second-ranked Boston University opened its season on Friday, but was upset by a 3-2 score at UMass in front of a crowd of 8,123. The Minutemen scored the games' first two goals before BU freshman forward Alex Chiasson netted a pair to knot the score. But senior forward Will Ortiz - who had a plus-3 rating - scored the game-winner early in the third. The Terriers held a 41-26 edge in shots, but UMass junior goaltender Paul Dainton made 39 saves.

Both No. 3 Denver and seventh-ranked Notre Dame split their series. Marc Cheverie stopped 36 shots on Friday to lead DU to a 2-0 shutout at Ohio State, but the Buckeyes - who were ranked in the preseason - would turn the tables on Saturday, as sophomore Cal Heeter made 39 saves in a 4-0 win for OSU. For the second week in a row, the Fighting Irish were upset on a late goal in the series opener. This time it was freshman center Aaron Jamnick who scored with 3:46 remaining to give Providence a 3-2 win. But freshman goaltender Mike Johnson stopped 29 saves to blank the Friars in his first collegiate start the next night in a 2-0 Irish victory in front of a sellout crowd of 2,857. Notre Dame will take on the last two NCAA champions this week, including a showdown at BU on Tuesday night on ESPNU in what will pit the top two seeds from last year's NCAA tournament against each other.

Colorado College was impressive in its first conference series, gaining three points at No. 13 Wisconsin. On Friday, the Tigers gave up the first two scores of the game, but rallied for a 3-2 triumph in front of a crowd of 11,751, despite getting outshot 41-26. On Saturday, both goaltenders - Scott Gudmandson (31 saves) for Wisconsin and CC's Joe Howe (26 saves) - were sharp and the teams played to a 1-1 tie. A crowd of 13,126 took in the draw.

Top-ranked Miami also got a win and a tie over the weekend, but its series against New Hampshire featured much more offense. Junior forward Carter Camper scored twice to lead the RedHawks to a 6-3 victory on Friday, before MU had to rally for a 5-5 draw the next night. UNH sophomore defenseman Blake Kessel had two goals and an assist in that contest.

TODAY'S SCOREBOARD WATCH
No. 9 Notre Dame at No. 3 Boston University, 7 p.m. - TV: ESPNU | Live Stats

Minnesota's Jordan Schroeder

The second weekend of the regular season again will see most - but not all - of the nationally-ranked teams in action, as 14 of the top 20 will play. Here are some notes on the big matchups:

• It's the first weekend of league action for the WCHA, and we will be treated with a great matchup when No. 9 Minnesota heads to No. 4 North Dakota for games on Friday and Saturday (on Fox College Sports, FSN North and Fighting Sioux Sports Network). UND is the defending McNaughton Cup (WCHA regular-season) champion and was picked to finish second in the league this season, while the Gophers were picked to finish fourth.
• North Dakota has been successful against Minnesota of late, going 8-2-1 in the last 11 meetings. Last season, the Sioux dominated in registering a sweep in the lone series between the squads. UND won 6-3 and 6-1 in Grand Forks.
• It will be a series with no shortage of talent on the ice, as these two teams boast a combined 34 players who have been selected in the NHL Draft. Minnesota has a roster of 26, with 19 of those players having been drafted (most among WCHA teams) - and North Dakota has 15 players who have been drafted (second in the WCHA).
• One of those players, Minnesota freshman Nick Leddy, will make his collegiate debut this weekend. Selected by the Wild as the 16th overall pick in this year's NHL Draft, he was Minnesota's Mr. Hockey award winner last season while helping Eden Prairie High School to a state title. Inside College Hockey tabbed Leddy as the top incoming freshman defenseman in the country.
• On Sunday, there will be another huge conference matchup between ranked teams, as No. 12 Boston College heads to No. 11 Vermont for a game televised by ESPNU in the first Hockey East contest of the season.
• Last season, BC beat UVM 3-2 at home early in the season, before the Catamounts got three points (3-3, 4-2) in a home series in January.
• Vermont split with then-No. 1 Denver last weekend and had an opportunity to get the sweep - having a two-goal lead heading into the third period on Friday before falling 5-4. It will be BC's season opener.
• Miami is now the unanimous top-ranked team in college hockey, but the RedHawks have a tough challenge this weekend. MU will play a two-game series at New Hampshire, which fell just outside of the rankings this week after being 16th last week.
• Denver - which slipped from the top spot to third this week - also has a tough road series ahead, as the Pioneers will play twice at Ohio State. The Buckeyes were ranked 17th last week, but fell out of the top 20 this week.
• The other two WCHA series this weekend also could be entertaining. Colorado College - which is listed 28th in this week's poll - will head to No. 13 Wisconsin for a pair of games, while two of the first five teams outside the Top 20 - Minnesota Duluth and Minnesota State - will play twice in Duluth.
• Other matchups pitting a ranked team against one that is receiving votes include No. 2 Boston University at UMass (Friday), No. 16 Nebraska-Omaha at Colgate (Friday and Saturday), Rensselaer at No. 17 Alaska (Saturday) and Union at No. 19 St. Cloud State (Friday and Saturday).
• Four ranked teams - No. 2 Boston University, No. 9 Minnesota, No. 12 Boston College and No. 13 Wisconsin - will see their first regular-season action this weekend.
• Three ranked teams - No. 6 Cornell, No. 8 Yale and No. 10 Princeton - will not hit the ice until next weekend (for exhibition action) before beginning regular-season play over Halloween weekend.

WEEKEND SCOREBOARD WATCH
Top-20 and Television Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Thursday, October 15
No. 3 Denver at Ohio State, 7:05 p.m. - Live Stats
Providence at No. 7 Notre Dame, 7:35 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
Friday, October 16
No. 1 Miami at New Hampshire, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 2 Boston University at UMass, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 16 Nebraska-Omaha at Colgate, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
Bentley at No. 20 Northeastern, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
Michigan State at Maine, 7 p.m. - TV: WABI (Bangor) & CW (Portland) | Live Stats
No. 3 Denver at Ohio State, 7:05 p.m. - Live Stats
Providence at No. 7 Notre Dame, 7:35 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 9 Minnesota at No. 4 North Dakota, 7:37 p.m. - TV: FSSN & Fox College Sports & FSN | Live Stats
Colorado College at No. 13 Wisconsin, 8 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats
Union at No. 19 St. Cloud State, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Charter Cable Channel 14 (St. Cloud) | Live Stats
Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Charter Communications | Live Stats
Robert Morris at No. 17 Alaska, 11:35 p.m. - TV: KFXF (airs 11 p.m. AT) | Live Stats
Saturday, October 17
Bentley at No. 18 Quinnipiac, 4 p.m.
Union at No. 19 St. Cloud State, 6:07 p.m. - TV: Charter Cable Channel 14 (St. Cloud) | Live Stats
No. 1 Miami at New Hampshire, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 16 Nebraska-Omaha at Colgate, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
Michigan State at Maine, 7 p.m. - TV: WABI (Bangor) & CW (Portland) | Live Stats
Colorado College at No. 13 Wisconsin, 8 p.m. - TV: FSN | Live Stats
No. 9 Minnesota at No. 4 North Dakota, 8:07 p.m. - TV: FSSN & Fox College Sports & FSN | Live Stats
Minnesota State at Minnesota Duluth, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Charter Communications | Live Stats
Rensselaer at No. 17 Alaska, 10:35 p.m. - TV: KFXF (airs 11:30 p.m. AT) | Live Stats
Sunday, October 18
No. 12 Boston College at No. 11 Vermont, 5 p.m. - TV: ESPNU | Live Stats

Pat Cannone and Connor Knapp helped Miami to a 2-0 start

The first weekend of the regular season featured plenty of surprises and upsets. Of the 20 teams listed in the preseason USCHO/CBS College Sports rankings, 13 of them were in meaningful action over the weekend - and just two of those squads (No. 4 Miami and No. 6 North Dakota) would escape without tasting defeat. The teams in the lower portion of the rankings, in particular, struggled - as the bottom seven teams (ranked Nos. 14-20) combined for a 3-10-0 record, including 2-7-0 against unranked opponents.

Miami - which was the top-ranked team in the preseason USA Today/USA Hockey poll after barely falling short in last year's NCAA championship game - had one of the most-impressive weekends of any team, as the RedHawks earned a home sweep of 15th-ranked St. Cloud State. Junior All-America forward Carter Camper scored the game-winner in overtime in a 3-2 victory on Friday. The following night, it was sophomore Connor Knapp earning a shutout while junior forward Andy Miele had the primary assist on both of Miami's goals - scored 20 seconds apart early in the third in the 2-0 game.

The other marquee series of the weekend pitted No. 1 Denver against 14th-ranked Vermont, a Frozen Four participant last season. The offenses were in high gear, and the weekend ended in a split. UVM appeared to be on its way to spoiling the first game of DU's 60th anniversary season, holding a 4-2 lead after two periods on Friday. But the Pioneers got a quick power play goal and then saw sophomore forward Joe Colborne net two more - one on the power play and then the even-strength game-winner with just over two minutes remaining in regulation - to give DU a 5-4 triumph. Vermont would not make the same mistake on Saturday, as senior forward Brayden Irwin scored twice in leading the Catamounts to a 6-4 win.

No. 6 North Dakota dominated Merrimack en route to a home sweep (5-2 and 3-2). The Fighting Sioux outshot the Warriors by a 75-35 margin, and freshman Mike Cichy had an outstanding first collegiate weekend with a goal, two assists and a +4 rating. Both games drew more than 11,000 fans.

The CCHA saw two of its teams ranked among the top five suffer opening-night defeats before rebounding for decisive wins - while two other squads claimed tournament titles. On Friday, Alabama-Huntsville tied the game in the third period and sophomore forward Cody Campbell scored on a wraparound with just five seconds remaining in regulation to give the Chargers a 3-2 upset win at No. 5 Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish outshot UAH 51-14 the next night in a 3-1 win.

Sophomore goaltender Scott Greenham registered the first-ever shutout for Alaska in 45 all-time meetings with No. 3 Michigan on Friday in a 2-0 decision. The Nanooks then claimed the Kendall Hockey Classic title with a 5-1 win over Mercyhurst. Greenham - who stopped 43 of 44 shots and also had an assist - was tabbed the tournament MVP. Michigan posted a 6-1 win over Alaska Anchorage the next night.

Nebraska-Omaha claimed the title in its Icebreaker tournament. The Mavericks scored three third-period goals to beat Army 6-4 on opening night and then upset No. 11 UMass Lowell 4-3 in the championship game.

Quinnipiac finished off a road sweep of No. 17 Ohio State with a 3-1 victory on Friday despite getting outshot 25-6 in the opening period. Bemidji State also swept a ranked team, with 3-1 and 7-3 victories against 19th-ranked Air Force in the battle of the Serratore brothers.

Other noteworthy results included Rensselaer knocking off No. 16 New Hampshire 3-1, Northern Michigan topping 18th-ranked Minnesota Duluth by the same score and No. 20 Northeastern splitting (2-4 and 4-3) a series at Colorado College.

Eric Lampe and Quinnipiac began the season with an upset win

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Highlights from Last Night
Quinnipiac - which was chosen to finish eighth in the conference by ECAC coaches (and 11th by the media) - made a big opening-night statement, scoring three times in the third to rally for a 4-2 road upset of No. 17 Ohio State. Senior forward Eric Lampe had a pair of goals for the Bobcats. In the other Thursday game, sophomore defenseman Matt Irwin scored twice and junior forward James Marcou added four assists as UMass beat Rensselaer 5-2.

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WEEKEND PREVIEW
A Look at the Biggest Matchups
• Thirteen of the 20 teams in the USCHO/CBS College Sports rankings begin regular-season play this weekend, including five of the top six (No. 3 Boston University has an exhibition game on Saturday before playing its opener next Friday).
• A pair of top-five teams will face big challenges immediately, as top-ranked Denver welcomes No. 14 Vermont for two games and fourth-ranked Miami will play two at home against No. 15 St. Cloud State.
• The Pioneers are No. 1 for the first time since the preseason poll of the 2005-06 season. After winning NCAA championships in both 2004 and '05, DU went on to finish 21-15-3 and miss the NCAA tournament that season.
• DU will face a Vermont team that reached the Frozen Four a season ago. UVM begins this season the same way it ended the last campaign - facing the top-ranked team in the nation. The Catamounts lost 5-4 to BU in the semis.
• Both Denver and Vermont played Calgary in exhibition play and came away with 3-2 victories. The Catamounts also lost by a 3-2 score to New Brunswick in exhibition action.
• Miami - which has the best winning percentage of any Division I team since 2005-06, at .689 - is ranked first in the USA Today/USA Hockey poll, but is fourth in the USCHO/CBS College Sports listing and was chosen to finish third in the CCHA by both the league coaches and media.
• The last time Miami and St. Cloud State played, it was a thrilling game with current senior forward Jarod Palmer netting the game-winning goal in overtime in a 2-1 decision on Dec. 29, 2007, in the Ohio Hockey Classic.
• Another interesting matchup pits the defending champions of Atlantic Hockey and College Hockey America, No. 19 Air Force and Bemidji State. Both squads put together great NCAA tournament runs last season, with Bemidji State advancing all the way to the Frozen Four and Air Force shutting out fourth-seeded Michigan in the opening round and losing in double-overtime in the quarterfinals.
• The game will feature a battle of brothers, as Air Force coach Frank Serratore is the older sibling of Bemidji State coach Tom Serratore. Tom holds an 18-4-2 edge in head-to-head coaching matchups with his brother.
• Air Force dominated Bemidji State in two games last season, winning at home by scores of 6-2 and 6-0, but the Falcons are just 1-13-2 all-time in Bemidji.
• Other intriguing matchups include No. 18 Minnesota Duluth playing host to Northern Michigan (the first team outside of the Top 20), as well as No. 20 Northeastern playing a pair at Colorado College.

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WEEKEND SCOREBOARD WATCH
Top-20 and Television Schedule (All Times Eastern)
Friday, October 9
No. 11 UMass Lowell vs. St. Lawrence (Omaha, NE), 5:05 p.m. - Live Stats
Quinnipiac at No. 17 Ohio State, 7:05 p.m. - Live Stats
Clarkson at Michigan State, 7:05 p.m. - TV: Comcast Television | Live Stats
Lake Superior State at No. 18 Minnesota Duluth, 7:07 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 15 St. Cloud State at No. 4 Miami, 7;35 p.m. - Live Stats
Alabama-Huntsville at No. 5 Notre Dame, 7:35 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
Merrimack at No. 6 North Dakota, 8:37 p.m. TV: Fighting Sioux Sports Network & Fox College Sports Atlantic & DirecTV 617 | Live Stats
No. 19 Air Force at Bemidji State, 8:35 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 2 Michigan vs. Alaska (Anchorage, AK), 9:07 p.m. - TV: KFXF | Live Stats
No. 14 Vermont at No. 1 Denver, 9:37 p.m. - TV: FSN Rocky Mountain | Live Stats
No. 20 Northeastern at Colorado College, 9:37 p.m. - Live Stats
Mercyhurst at Alaska Anchorage, 12:07 a.m. - TV: GCI | Free Video | Live Stats
Saturday, October 10
No. 11 UMass Lowell vs. Army or Nebraska-Omaha (Omaha, NE), 5:05 or 8:05 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 16 New Hampshire at Rensselaer, 7 p.m. - Live Stats
Holy Cross at Providence, 7 p.m. - TV: Cox Sports | Live Stats
No. 15 St. Cloud State at No. 4 Miami, 7:05 p.m. - TV: Ohio News Network | Live Stats
Alabama-Huntsville at No. 5 Notre Dame, 7:05 p.m. - Free Video | Live Stats
No. 19 Air Force at Bemidji State, 8:05 p.m. - Live Stats
Alaska vs. Mercyhurst (Anchorage, AK), 8:07 p.m. - TV: KFXF | Live Stats
Merrimack at No. 6 North Dakota, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Fighting Sioux Sports Network & Fox College Sports Central & DirecTV 617 | Live Stats
Bowling Green at Minnesota State, 8:07 p.m. - TV: Charter | Live Stats
No. 14 Vermont at No. 1 Denver, 9:07 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 20 Northeastern at Colorado College, 9:37 p.m. - Live Stats
No. 2 Michigan at Alaska Anchorage, 11:07 p.m. - TV: GCI | Free Video | Live Stats
Sunday, October 11
Northern Michigan at No. 18 Minnesota Duluth, 7:07 p.m. - Live Stats

Joe Colborne and Denver are No. 1 for the first time in four years.

The preseason edition of the USCHO/CBS College Sports Division I Rankings. You can view it here. Here are a few notes about the poll:

• Denver is ranked first, having received 20 of the 46 first-place votes. Defending NCAA champion Boston University earned 17 first-place votes and is second, followed by a trio of teams from the CCHA: Michigan (2 first-place votes), Miami (5) and Notre Dame (2).
• Denver is ranked No. 1 in the poll for the first time since the first poll of the 2005-06 season.
• Both the WCHA and Hockey East led the way with six teams each among the top 20, while the CCHA has four, the ECAC features three and Atlantic Hockey boasts one. Top-ranked Denver leads the way for the WCHA and is followed by No. 6 North Dakota, No. 9 Minnesota, No. 13 Wisconsin, No. 15 St. Cloud State and No. 18 Minnesota Duluth. Defending NCAA champion Boston University is tops among the Hockey East schools and No. 2 overall, with No. 11 UMass Lowell, No. 12 Boston College, No. 14 Vermont, No. 16 New Hampshire and No. 20 Northeastern behind the Terriers.
• Nineteen of the 20 teams that appeared in the final poll of last season - which was released prior to the NCAA tournament - are listed in the preseason rankings. St. Cloud State is the lone new entry, at 15th, while St. Lawrence dropped out after being 15th in the March 23 edition.
• UMass Lowell moved up five spots to 11th - which marks the highest ranking for the River Hawks since Feb. 21, 2005.
• Minnesota made the largest jump since the last poll, up 10 spots to ninth.
• Vermont dropped three spots to 14th, while the other school that lost in last year's NCAA semifinals, Bemidji State, did not earn a national ranking. The Beavers are the second team listed outside of the top 20.
• Denver is not scheduled to play any of the other teams in the preseason top five during the regular season, but the Pioneers have four games against No. 6 North Dakota (Nov. 20 and 21 in Denver and Jan. 29 and 30 in Grand Forks).
• There are two huge matchups of top-five teams scheduled for later this month. BU will play host to Notre Dame on Oct. 20 and Michigan on Oct. 24.
• The three top-five teams from the CCHA, of course, have regular-season battles scheduled. Miami heads to Michigan on Nov. 6 and 7, while the Wolverines and Notre Dame play two home-and-home weekend series (Dec. 11 and 13; Feb. 25 and 27). Miami welcomes the Fighting Irish on Dec. 4 and 5.
• The USA Today/USA Hockey poll was released last week, and it featured the same teams in the top five spots - but the top four appeared in a different order. Miami was listed first and followed by Denver, Boston University, Michigan and Notre Dame. You can view the full poll here.

The first week of the regular season is finally here. The puck drops for two games that count - Rensselaer at UMass and Quinnipiac at Ohio State - on Thursday to kick off a pretty full weekend of regular-season action. Later in the week, we'll have a preview of the big matchups, as well as highlights of the exhibition play so far, plus a peak at this year's freshmen and which former collegians made NHL opening day rosters. But today, we take a look at the preseason polls in each conference. Here's a look at how each shook out:

Matt Fairchild and Air Force are picked to repeat as Atlantic Hockey champs

ATLANTIC HOCKEY ASSOCIATION
Air Force - last year's tournament champion and one of the regular-season co-champs - was chosen by the coaches as the favorite to take the crown in the Atlantic Hockey Association again this season. The Falcons received eight first-place votes, while Mercyhurst - last year's tournament runner-up - garnered the other two. The Falcons and Lakers play at Air Force on Dec. 11 and 12.

Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Air Force
2. Mercyhurst
3. Rochester Institute of Technology
4. Holy Cross
5. Canisius
6. Army
7. Bentley
8. Sacred Heart
9. Connecticut
10. American International

CCHA
Michigan - which finished second a season ago - was selected by both the coaches and media as the favorite to win the CCHA regular-season crown, marking the first time in four years that those groups agreed on the preseason favorite in the league. The Wolverines received five of 12 first-place votes from the coaches and 24 of 66 from the media. Forwards Louie Caporusso of Michigan and Carter Camper from Miami were unanimous picks on the preseason all-conference team. Last year's regular-season and tournament champion, Notre Dame, was picked to finish second. Michigan and the Fighting Irish - who met in the championship game of last year's conference tourney - will play in Ann Arbor on Dec. 11 and Feb. 25 and at Notre Dame on Dec. 13 and Feb. 27.

Preseason Polls (Coaches/Media)
1/1. Michigan
2/2. Notre Dame
3/3. Miami
4/4. Ohio State
5/5. Northern Michigan
6/7. Nebraska-Omaha
7/6. Alaska
8/9. Ferris State
9/8. Michigan State
10/11. Lake Superior State
11/10. Western Michigan
12/12. Bowling Green

COLLEGE HOCKEY AMERICA
After winning the CHA title last season and putting together a Cinderella run to the Frozen Four, Bemidji State is the coaches' favorite to repeat as champions in the conference's final year. Niagara was picked to finish second, while BSU forward Matt Read was tabbed as the CHA Preseason Player of the Year. Bemidji State and Niagara will meet six times during the regular season: Dec. 4 and 5 in Bemidji, Jan. 15 and 16 at Niagara and Feb. 19 and 20 in Bemidji.

Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Bemidji State
2. Niagara
3. Robert Morris
4. Alabama-Huntsville

ECAC
Yale was selected as the preseason favorite to claim the ECAC regular-season title for the second straight season by both the media and coaches. The Bulldogs received 15 of 25 first-place votes in the media poll, as well as seven of 12 from the coaches. Cornell was picked second in both, and four players - Princeton goaltender Zane Kalemba, Harvard defenseman Alex Biega and forwards David McIntyre of Colgate and Riley Nash from Cornell - were selected to the preseason all-conference team by both groups. Yale and Cornell will play in New Haven on Nov. 13 and in Ithaca on Feb. 13.

Preseason Polls (Coaches/Media)
1/1. Yale
2/2. Cornell
3/3. Princeton
4/4. Harvard
5/5. Dartmouth
6/6. Union
7/9. Colgate
T8/10. Rensselaer
T8/11. Quinnipiac
10/7. St. Lawrence
11/8. Clarkson
12/12. Brown

HOCKEY EAST
Defending NCAA champion Boston University earned six first-place votes en route to being chosen to take the Hockey East title for the second year in a row. UMass Lowell - which has not won a regular-season or tournament title in 25 years of Hockey East membership - was chosen as the runner-up and received two first-place votes. BU beat UMass Lowell 1-0 in the title game of the league tournament a year ago, and the Terriers and River Hawks will play in Lowell on Jan. 23 and Feb. 12 and at BU on Feb. 13.

Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Boston University
2. UMass Lowell
3. Boston College
T4. New Hampshire
T4. Vermont
6. Northeastern
7. Massachusetts
8. Maine
9. Providence
10. Merrimack

WCHA
Denver is the favorite of both the coaches and media to win the WCHA title this season, taking eight of 10 first-place votes from the coaches and 23 of 25 from the media. Minnesota forward Jordan Schroeder was picked as the preseason player of the year by the media, while the coaches tabbed both Schroeder and St. Cloud State forward Ryan Lasch for the honor. Both groups selected St. Cloud State goaltender Mike Lee as preseason rookie of the year and also agreed on North Dakota - the 2008-09 regular-season champ - as the runner-up choice. The Pioneers and Fighting Sioux will play in Denver on Nov. 20 and 21 and in Grand Forks on Jan. 29 and 30.

Preseason Polls (Coaches/Media)
1/1. Denver
2/2. North Dakota
3/3. Wisconsin
4/4. Minnesota
5/5. St. Cloud State
6/6. Minnesota Duluth
7/8. Minnesota State
8/7. Colorado College
9/9. Alaska Anchorage
10/10. Michigan Tech

Jared Tuton and Alaska Anchorage play the exhibition opener tonight.

Hello everyone and welcome to the NCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey blog! From now until the 2010 national champion is crowned in Detroit in April, I'll be providing previews of upcoming matchups, reviews of the biggest action, analysis and breakdowns of the rankings, as well as highlighting milestones and accomplishments and pointing out news and notes.

The exhibition season gets underway tonight at 7:07 p.m. AT, with Alaska Anchorage taking on SAIT Polytechnic in Wasilla. There are 18 more exhibition games scheduled tomorrow, plus 16 on Sunday and three on Monday. The first regular-season contests are set for next Thursday, as Ohio State plays host to Quinnipiac and Rensselaer travels to UMass.

Defending NCAA champion Boston University faces St. Francis Xavier on Saturday in the first of two exhibition games for the Terriers, who begin the regular season on Oct. 16 at Massachusetts. Among the early tests for BU will be home games against Notre Dame (Oct. 20) and Michigan (Oct. 24).

Last year's NCAA runner-up, Miami - which is ranked No. 1 in the preseason USA Today/USA Hockey poll - will play its only exhibition game on Saturday against Windsor before opening the regular season next weekend with two home games against 13th-ranked St. Cloud State. Among the other great matchups next weekend are a pair of games between No. 2 Denver and 15th-ranked Vermont.

Over the next few weeks, we'll take a look at the preseason national rankings, the preseason predictions in each conference, some offseason changes across the country, as well as a detailed look at which former collegians made NHL opening-day rosters. But for now, enjoy the first weekend of the return of college hockey ... even if they are just exhibition games.