Following last week's third place finish in the Great Lakes Invitational, Boston College (13-7-0) dropped just one spot in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls. Defending National Champ Minnesota-Duluth (12-3-3) retains the top spot in both major polls this week.
Ohio State (14-4-1) is up two spots this week to claim the second spot in both major polls. Notre Dame is ranked third in USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine, while Minnesota is third in the USCHO.com poll.
The Eagles are still the highest ranked team in Hockey East this week, while Merrimack is now ranked 6/7 and Boston University 10/11. UMass Lowell jumps five spots in the USCHO.com poll and cracked the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll for the first time this season, coming in at No. 12.
You may be a bit surprised that BC is still ranked in the top 5 considering that the Eagles are just 5-5 in their last 10 games, but that's partially due to the fact that BC has played one of the most difficult schedules in the country so far this season.
The Eagles have already faced 18 teams under consideration, tied for best in the nation, and BC's 11-7-0 record (.611) against TUC is fourth best behind only Ohio State (11-4-1), Minnesota-Duluth (6-3-3) and UMass-Lowell (5-3-0). Already this season, BC has faced 12 teams ranked in this week's USCHO.com poll Top 20:
(5) Notre Dame
10) Boston University
(10) Boston University
(10) Boston University
(11) Denver
(12) UMass Lowell
(12) UMass Lowell
(12) UMass Lowell
(15) Michigan State
(16) Michigan
(19) North Dakota
(20) Yale
The second half of the season is shaping up to be much more manageable for the Eagles when compared to the first half. The Eagles have just three games remaining against teams ranked in this week's Top 20 -- all three games against No. 7 Merrimack (and a fourth game should BC and Boston University meet in the Beanpot Championship Game).
Speaking of Merrimack, BC next hosts the Warriors in a matchup of Top 10 programs on Sunday, January 8 at Conte Forum. Game starts at 1 PM.
Go Eagles!