January 28, 2013

Bobcats Retain No. 2 Ranking In National Polls; Receive Most First-Place Votes In Program History

The nationally-ranked Quinnipiac men's ice hockey team retained its No. 2 ranking in the USCHO.com Division I poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, as announced on Jan. 28, 2013. The Bobcats received the most first-place votes in program history in both polls, collecting 22 in the USCHO.com poll and 11 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.

The Bobcats have now been ranked in the Top 15 in NCAA Division I ice hockey since Dec. 3, 2012 and in the Top 5 in each of the last five polls, including their second week at No. 2. Despite widespread speculation that Quinnipiac may pass Minnesota for the polls' top spots, the Bobcats narrowly missed the No. 1 ranking. Instead, they collected 22 of 50 first-place votes in the USCHO.com poll and finished just eight points behind Minnesota (975-to-967). In the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, Quinnipiac received 11 of the 34 first-place votes and trailed the Gophers in total points, 497-to-485. 

Perhaps more important than the two polls, Quinnipiac remains first in the PairWise Rankings, the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) and the KRACH Rankings. 

Quinnipiac, currently in first place in the ECAC Hockey standings at 11-0-1, returns to action on Friday, Feb. 1 when it travels to Providence, R.I. to take on Brown at Meehan Auditorium at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Feb. 2 the Bobcats will face No. 7/8 Yale at Ingalls Rink in New Haven, Conn. at 7 p.m., in an ECAC Hockey match-up that can be seen live on CPTV Sports, where available. 

USCHO.com Division I Poll - Jan. 28, 2013    
  Team (First Place Votes) Record Points Last Poll
1 Minnesota -28 18- 4-4 975 1
2 QUINNIPIAC -22 18- 3-3 967 2
3 New Hampshire   15- 6-2 871 4
4 Miami   15- 6-5 835 6
5 Boston College   14- 7-2 771 3
6 Western Michigan   16- 6-4 723 9
7 North Dakota   13- 8-5 633 5
8 Yale   12-5-3 605 8
9 Notre Dame   16-10-0 564 7
10 Denver   13- 8-4 506 10
11 Boston University   13- 9-1 479 11
12 St. Cloud State   15-10-1 446 16
13 Massachusetts-Lowell   14- 7-2 416 15
14 Nebraska-Omaha   15- 9-2 406 13
15 Minnesota State   16- 9-3 393 14
16 Dartmouth   11-7-2 302 12
17 Niagara   15- 4-5 180 17
18 Union   13- 8-4 151 19
19 Wisconsin   11-8-5 127 20
20 Alaska   12-8-4 69 NR

Others receiving votes: Ferris State 42, Colgate 19, Providence 11, Cornell 5, Holy Cross 2, Merrimack 1, Northern Michigan 1.

USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine Poll - Jan. 28, 2013  
 Rank Team (First Place) Last Week's Ranking 2012-13 Record Weeks in Top 15
1 University of Minnesota, 497 (23) 1 18-4-4 17
2 QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY, 485 (11) 2 18-3-3 8
3 Miami University, 420 6 15-6-5 17
4 University of New Hampshire, 417 4 15-6-2 14
5 Boston College, 369 3 14-7-2 17
6 Western Michigan University, 330 9 16-6-4 17
7 Yale University, 290 7 12/5/2003 8
8 University of North Dakota, 239 5 13-8-5 17
9 Boston University, 182 10 13-9-1 17
10 University of Denver, 174 11 13-8-4 17
11 University of Notre Dame, 169 8 16-10-0 17
12 UMass-Lowell, 145 12 14-7-2 9
13 St. Cloud State University, 141 15 15-10-1 5
14 University of Nebraska-Omaha, 77 14 15-9-2 10
15 Minnesota State University, 65 NR 16-9-3 4
Others Receiving Votes: Dartmouth College, 43; Niagara University, 17; University of Alaska, 10; Union College, 6; University of Wisconsin, 3; Ferris State University, 1.