Charlie Healy

Hockey

The third edition of the Big Ten Power Rankings sees no change from last week. Every team except the Minnesota Women split their weekend series while the Gophers earned the lone sweep in the conference. 

Disagree with my assessment of your favorite team? Post your own rankings in the comment section and explain where I went wrong.  
 

1 (Prev: 1) – Minnesota Women (21-3-4)

      The Golden Gopher women swept Minnesota State and prepare for a matchup next weekend at Minnesota Duluth. Minnesota remains the #2 team in the women’s PairWise rankings behind Mercyhurst.  

2 (2) – Wisconsin Men (15-7-4)

      The #3 Badger Men split a critical series at Minnesota Duluth in their final appearance at the DECC. Duluth is scheduled to open a new arena next December. Wisconsin hosts the Culvers Camp Randall Hockey Classic on Saturday in an outdoor hockey double header. Mike Eaves’ team will face Big Ten rival Michigan after the women face Bemidji State. 

3 (3) – Wisconsin Women (15-10-3)

      The Wisconsin women remain the #9 team in the country after splitting their series at Ohio State. Up next for the Badgers is a critical 2 game series against Bemidji State. The series opener on Saturday will be the first game of the Culvers Camp Randall Hockey Classic. The game will be just the second women’s NCAA game outdoors. 

4 (4) – Michigan State Men (17-9-4)

      The 13^th ranked Spartans split their series with CCHA and Big Ten rival Michigan, winning 3-2 and losing 5-4. Michigan State makes the long trip to Alaska this weekend with the hopes of increasing their NCAA Tournament chances. 

5 (5) – Michigan Men (15-12-1)

      The Michigan Men remained at #17 in the national rankings after splitting their series with in-state rival Michigan State. This weekend the Wolverines travel to Madison to take part in their second ever outdoor game, this time at Camp Randall Stadium. A win against a talented Wisconsin team will greatly increase their chances of making it into the top 16 that will make the NCAA Tournament. 

6 (6) – Ohio State Women (13-11-4)

      The Buckeye women split their series at home against Wisconsin. A season full of improvement has Ohio State ranked #16 in the country with hopes of jumping into the top 8 fading. The Buckeyes face North Dakota this weekend. 

7 (7) – Minnesota Men (13-13-2)

      The #22 Golden Gopher men split their series with Alaska-Anchorage and are quickly seeing their hopes of making the NCAA Tournament vanish. Minnesota has this weekend off, which does not help their cause. The more opportunities they have to play and move up with wins, the better. 

8 (8) – Ohio State Men (11-13-2) 

      Ohio State had another strong weekend as they managed to pick up a win and a shoot-out loss against #6 Ferris State. While still below .500 and unranked, improvement is visible and solid contending team is not far away in Columbus. The Buckeyes travel to Nebraska-Omaha this weekend.